2,000 views and starting month 6, here's my advice

My Advice for anyone thinking about withdrawing from topical or oral steroids:

• Do it, start today, don't wait. Honestly, there is no good time for withdrawal, and the longer you wait, the worse it is going to be. 
• Don't feel pressured, stay strong. Your doctor may try and pressure you, talk down to you, or guilt you into using steroids again. Your friends and family may not understand or full believe/support what you are doing. Stay strong, you know that this is the right thing to do. 
• Take a picture of all of your steroids so you can reference the name/potency, then get rid of them. If you were on a diet you wouldn't leave chocolate cake lying around, so why would you keep your steroids. You will be tempted. Take that temptation away. 
• Document your experience. It may be painful to see yourself in the mirror, let alone in photographs, but you will be happy that you have them. Take pictures of yourself before withdrawing (areas with and without eczema) and often through the withdrawal process. I regret not having day one photos, or photos from when I was at my absolute worst. You really do forget the severity of everything as soon as you are feeling/looking better so it is nice to be able to go back and see. 
• Join the itsan google forum and facebook group. Having a support system full of people who completely understand what you are going through makes a world of difference. 
• On that note, do your research. Read the research on itsan.org. Read blogs. Understand what is happening to your body. It is a lot to take in at first, but will make more sense as you go along. 
• There is no timeline, don't stress if someone on the forum has a flare at two months and stops oozing at three, and your symptoms are not the same. Not everyone has the exact same symptoms (I only oozed a little, while others a lot, and some not at all) and everyone is on their own timeline. Just stay in the moment and know that you are going to be a healthy, active person with great some day soon!
• Finally, don't buy into the extra "stuff" (expensive supplements, special diets, etc). There is no way to speed this up or make things happen. Your body will heal on its own, on its own schedule. Do what makes you comfortable and happy in the moment. If that means staying in bed and eating only Doritos and queso dip for a few days, then so be it. Don't beat yourself up about it. Although, if you can, rest and healthy foods will give your body the energy it needs to heal. 

                Happy Healing! Love, 

                      Taylor