"The eczema solution" - it worked for me!

[jamaisjedors]

I have had atopic eczema since I was born, and have had all the food allergy blood tests and the sensitivity prick tests (no food allergies, allergic to every type of pollen and dander and dust mite there is).

I have been seeing a dermatologist for more than 10 years and had UV treatments; every cream you can think of; given up alcohol; tried doing lots of exercise; giving up exercise all together; giving up chocolate, spicy foods, red foods, foods with histamine in; food supplements (zinc, omega oils, evening primrose etc.), and had several series of cortisone injections, the works.

Nothing has shifted it and to be honest I never expected anything to either because it's "atopic" so not just dry skin or a temporary reaction to something and I have never ever been without it somewhere on my body, and lately it has been all over my face and neck causing me to look (and feel) sunburnt.

Recently I read on a forum about the book "The Eczema Solution" here and thought I would try it as its general premise (stop scratching and your skin will get better) coincided with what I had already noticed myself, namely that a LOT of my scratching was learnt behaviour, and a habit, just like smoking, or thumb-sucking.

The book is great - the negative reviews are right actually, the premise/programme is really simple, but if you have atopic eczema you will really recognise where the author is coming from (she is atopic) and you end up convinced by it, to the point where you can carry it out properly and make it work.

I went for 4 hypnotherapy sessions to help me break the scratching habit (which actually we broke in one, the others were to teach me self-hypnosis) and some cortisone injections (which I have had several times before in the past to no avail) and my skin is totally clear now for the first time since I can remember. (both of these things - "proper" use of cortisone initially to let the skin heal, and stress relief are recommended in the programme in the book.)

Anyway I am starting to sound evangelical, but I have my fingers crossed that this will continue (it's been about 6 weeks now) and already my skin is stronger and less sensitive and has no red or eczema patches.

The book doesn't rule out the possibility of flare-ups in the future, which seems feasible, but once your skin is stronger it should be easier to deal with them quickly and I'm hoping the self-hypnosis will avoid or limit the stress-induced flare-ups;

I will probably lose this mega-post now!

There's a tehnique in the book (again I recommend reading it, the woman had such bad eczema that I think you need to read it to convince yourself that stopping scratching and using steriods correctly could actually work - I was very sceptical at first but everything she says rings so true (just like everyone's comments on this thread).

Thanks for that Jamais. Funny thing is, everything you say rings bell and I think I might even have the book and counter buried away somewhere. Because I am sure I tried this technique many, many years ago whilst at the same time using steroid creams for the first time. Iirc, the creams totally cleared up my skin almost immediately and I never really needed to use the technique. My skin was then clear for years, with no medication, until I had DD and then it flared up really really badly and I've never been able to get on top of it for the last eight years.

I am going to try the strong drugs in the new year, even if I stopped scratching I don't think that would solve it.

no you're right, just stopping scratching won't solve it, my stopping was combined with strong cortisone injections BUT I have had them many times before and never managed to let it all clear up because I still had those patches.

The book recommends using steriods quite regularly to start off with until your skin heals.

I don't want to use steroid creams any more as I've already used them far too much and damaged my skin.

I was mentally against the immuno suppressant drugs for ages. They terrified me. But I've now reached the point where I can't go on with my skin the way it is. So I'm going to try them, although I'm going to try the chinese herbal stuff first. So come the new year I will be on a campaign to sort out my skin. Where there's a will there's a way. Until now, for a variety of reasons, I just did not have the will or energy to find a solution for my skin, which is strange considering how bad it has been at times.

I didn't want to use steriod creams anymore either - I was convinced they had totally f*ed up my skin. REad the book again about proper use of them, rather the prolonged use that we tend to do.

My mum has the immuno suppressant drugs. They keep things under control but she can't go out in the sun AT ALL and she still has lots of eczema.

I know what you mean about not having the energy, I kind of felt, well whatever I've tried doesn't work anyway so I just have to live with it.

And you need to be mentally "in the right place" to sort yourself out (pyschobabble!).

Oh no, not good news about your mum taking the immuno suppressants and still having eczema. The lady I know on the same drugs told me they have transformed her life and I'm counting on them transforming mine. She did say they don't work for everyone, I'm hoping they will work for me.

I absolutely agree about needing to be in the right frame of mind to sort yourself out. I am in the right place right now, after many years of feeling too exhausted to do anything.

I know what you said a while ago about holding your breath during times you are clear. When I was clear of it of course I was very happy, but always at the back of my mind there was the fear and dread that it would return. And sadly, return it did, with a vengeance.

my mum's was so bad at one point she nearly died from septicemia, it got infected and she was in hospital for 3 weeks...

They may well work for you -i hope so!

Gosh, your poor mum. Nobody else in my family has it, apart from my dad who gets it slightly (although I must have inherited the dodgy eczema gene from him).

Mine has got very badly infected in the past and there were a couple of years when I was taking anti biotics constantly, alternated with steroid tablets. Thankfully the last few years have been better, no new major flare ups, but it hasn't cleared up either.

It is so debilitating. I think it should be recognized as a disability when it's severe. It has had and still is having a huge impact on my ability to do things in day to day life, both psychologically and physically.

One day when I have the energy, I'm going to start a campaign about the impact it can have, starting with the medical profession who I have found utterly useless so far.

Hey guys, I happened to stumble across this post when searching for the book.

I've read all your comments and felt compelled to join and make a comment, I've never really heard other people discuss eczema like this. It's great, I know this is an old post so I'm hoping some of you guys comment again and let us know if anything has changed. Here's my 2p worth

I'm a dad of two, married 31yo

I suffer from atopic eczema and have suffered since my teens, although it got worst about 11-12 years ago, like every one I have suffered the agonising taunt of the GPs with you need to moisturise and the constant steroid creams for flare ups. About 4 years ago I think it got too much for me and I visited a dermatologist in the Glasgow royal infirmary, they started me on light treatment, worked for the time I was having the treatment, but as soon as the treatment stopped the crazy itchy skin, sores on legs arms neck face and torso came back with a vengeance.

I was put on an immune suppressant called cyclosporine which dampens your immune system, but it comes with a price it is a drug which is given to transplant patients to allow the body to heal without reflecting new organs. It requires constant monitoring, weekly bloods, appointments and tests. This seemed to work for all of the inconvenience I put up with on my daily life, career and family with the appointments and drugs. But this drug has a life span 12 months max, I was on this for 18 months when I was called by my go and told that my kidneys and liver may have been severely damaged due to the drug, so I was told I was not able to take that any further...

Back to the drawing board I went.

My dermatologist explained there was another drug which could be taken long term but was a nasty drug. If you haven't heard of methotrexate then you might want to research it. I started on this drug with slow increases in dosage, after about a month I took very badly to the side affects and with into a very dark depression, with notions of killing my self thinking it was a better option and would be better for my family, now I'm not a half is glass empty kind of guy so with some help from my wife I realised this was. It me but the drugs talking.

It's amazing how something people view eczema as a contagious disease. I for one have had the self esteem issues everyone talks about with flare ups being that bad I just want to hide under my duvet and sleep all day.

Fast forward through many hospital visits and gps creams and various treatments.

To now, about 9 months ago my wife had a sit down with me and said you need to talk to someone, because of my skin I was being short with her and the kids snapping and shouting being a very horrible person to live with, I never had thought that my skin had effected me mentally, but it has majorly!

Living with eczema really is a disability which I feel should be recognised more.

I was diagnosed with severe depression, and advised to have a course of CBT cognitive behavioural therapy, and take Prozac daily.

It is a hard struggle to take yourself out of an equation and look in from another angle but.

Since managing my depression, I do have bad skin, but I'm mentally better equipped to deal with it, I have not been on immune suppressants for a while now and I'm glad I didn't continue with them they are very dangerous drugs and I wouldn't recommend them to anyone.

I'm now looking into the itching as I feel if I can get a handle on that then I'll hopefully allow my skin some relief.

Also I read up there, about getting that bad that you scorch your skin with hot water. I thought I was the only one who did this... I also went down the route of burning my skin with a hairdryer when I got out of the bath or shower, simply to feel the sensation to get a simple release from the innsessant itching to help sleep or deal with my skin.

I know I've rambled on abit so I apologise

But I hope you guys have found some release with this book.

Thanks for reading