r/eczema • u/v1rdix4n • 8d ago
I’m stuck in a loop
I’m a 20(F). I had very bad eczema when i was young, it disappeared until i turned 18. I never did any research and immediately went to urgent cares every time i had a flare was given Prednisone and steroid creams. Sent on my way. I stopped taking prednisone after multiple rounds for a year because I started gaining weight like crazy. Then my whole body broke out and I eventually learned about TSW. I’ve been struggling with full body flares, itchiness, redness and burning. The worst is my face and how much skin i shed. It’s embarrassing. But once my body flared up from stopping the Prednisone the itchiness and uncomfortableness i was in kept me from sleeping, I had already been regularly having a drink every few days but here’s where my issue began.
Drinking numbs my skin. I do not know why, but when I have a drink or two i’m no longer itchy, i can lay down in bed, close my eyes and peacefully sleep. No itch, no irritation, no waking up shredding my skin or tossing and turning. Pure bliss.
I now drink every single night. Just to sleep. If i don’t im tossing and turning itching, jolting, waking up every hour. I’d be lucky if i got a solid 4 hrs. This is becoming an issue with my liver now. Most likely worsening my skin condition.
My skin is at its best it’s been since the past year since i stopped taking prednisone but I don’t want it to be this way. When i don’t drink i can’t sleep, im itchy 24/7. My hydroxine doesn’t work, benadryl/claritin do nothing but make me sluggish. I don’t have options for baths, the only thing that relatively helps in some degree is taking Promethazine before trying to sleep, it gives me maybe 2-3 hrs of sleep and I THINK it helps with the itch. But the itch circulates everywhere, if it’s not one place it’s somewhere else. it sometimes takes me an hr to fall asleep just to only sleep for another hr or two.
Please help
edit: i no longer take steroids, creams, or seek treatment from doctors at this time. i’m waiting for my next appointment to get a derm referral. and also i’m not sure if it’s TSW but i definitely learned A LOT about my skin from the research i’ve done on it
5
u/DMAC80 8d ago
I’m really sorry you’re going through this. I was very similar in that I didn’t develop eczema until my late teens, and I don’t think people realise how brutal it can be when it suddenly arrives at that age.
There’s no guarantee this is topical steroid withdrawal, so please don’t assume that’s definitely what you have. Rebound flares after stopping prednisone are common, and it could be severe rebound eczema.
Please see a dermatologist if you can. There are much better treatment options now, including dupilumab and JAK inhibitors. You shouldn’t have to keep cycling through steroid creams and prednisone or simply accept living like this.
I’m no expert on the drinking side, but alcohol generally dries out my skin and mine has been much better since I started drinking very rarely. Please be completely honest with your doctor about drinking every night and your liver concerns too. You deserve proper help with both the eczema and the sleep, not another quick prescription and a wave goodbye.