The Contessa's New Groove

I finished my first full script of Dupixent. A renewal is underway. I saw my Dermy today. He's doing the happy dance as much as I am these days.  My appointments end in laughter rather than tears, wonder rather than speculation and now, the promise not to see him til November. Of course, with the caveat that if something changes, I'm to come right in. My ankles are really the last place now.  I'm adept at self injection. I notice that my sleeping patterns are less than optimal those nights, but I'm not necessarily calling that out as an effect of the medication. I take my shots on Mondays. Typicality not a good sleeping day for me.  Time will tell. Sanofi didn't lie. This is a game changer. No pain, no itching, I look normal, I sleep, I eat. I'm human again.  It's helping me recover my backbone and my self confidence. I'm still over apologizing but I'm working on that.

I'm between injections. Not a big deal. But I've had AN ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF STRESS. Stress is the number 2 component of atopic dermatitis. One being inflammation. So my readers have a frame of reference: 1. I had a car accident on July 18.  This put me in the ER, banged up, bruised, but nothing broken. Thankfully. 2. I took July 19 off from work as sick to recuperate. 3. I got my insurance provided rental car and returned to work. 4.  Started packing my office pending our move. 5. Assisted a couple of friends for their final details of their wedding. 6. Rested. A lot. 7. Filled out accident paperwork. 8. Received my last Dupixent delivery at the old office, 9. Loaded the moving van on 7/27. 10. Packed all my gear into mine and a colleagues vehicles. 11. Helped her pack the rest of her gear. 12. Washed down all the desks. 13. Moved into new space that us 20-30 minutes longer than the 20-30 minute drive I already have. 14. Sprinted out the door, to get home i...

This is the post to advise that the worst areas in my body are my ankles. And right now, the affected areas are getting smaller but it's taking a long long time. At least based on the timeline for the rest of my body. Oh.my.god. The itching is awful. But it's not like an eczema itch. It's shorter lived, not related to anxiety but incredibly intense. It's generated by healing through peeling. Like a sunburn. Except that the skin coming off is thicker and if you try to "help" it along, you are only hindering the process. Creams help, Cera Ve and aveeno in particular. I can use topical steroids but I'm really enjoying the martyr role I have gong on here, so I'm not using them. Yet. Short update but noteworthy.

I'm getting better at this injection thing.  I still get a little nervous injecting myself, right up til I stick the needle in. Then I don't  much care. My stress level in the last week, on a scale of 1-10, was 9,000,000.  Every single aspect of my life went wrong all at once. I'm not using this as a forum for those gripes and venting of issues, but I do need to illustrate that stress plays a part in AD.  It's 95% less than it used to be. My sleep has improved dramatically. My worst night now, used to be my best night. I no longer take atarax. I am using Valium in 5mg doses on occasion. My anxiety is largely managed, except this past week. My ankles are the last hold out. They are healing, just slowly. I wore white pants. WHITE PANTS. Very exciting. I got my first real sunburn. Ok, not a plus, but shows the reset my body was going through. Conjunctivitis is almost gone. Yay! I had a complete stranger walk up to me in church and tell me how healthy I l...

This shot hurt. No idea why. However, I'm now 90% clear. I saw my dermatologist on Tuesday and he was in awe of how this drug is affecting my skin. I only itch where the new skin is healing. I don't remember anytime in the last ten years where I didn't itch to the point of bleeding. I wore shorts today. Shorts. Haven't done that in two years. The swelling in my skin tissue is nearly gone. I was able to put an anklet on that I haven't worn in two years because it wouldn't fit. Stress is still a major factor. I have been suffering from layered grief since Memorial Day. I lost my mother in law, was treated poorly by the family, lost the son of a close friend to suicide and the three year anniversary of my husband's passing is right around the corner. I am dealing with some non infectious conjunctivitis. Eyes are swollen and itchy as hell. Visible and ice help. My understanding is this will go away soon. All is well...

Holy crap. I am clear from my head to mid calf. Completely clear. My massage therapist was able to treat me without gloves for the first time in a year. Miracle? Hell yes. I actually wore shorts to my band rehearsal this weekend. I didn't feel self conscious at all. i am now experiencing potential side effects.  I have Eyelid swelling. But I experience that frequently with my allergies, so it's hard to know if the swelling is drug or allergy related. Redness in the eyes... same issue. I am experiencing normal temperatures for the first time in years. What I forgot was that my body doesn't respond to high heat well. It's been in the 90's this week and I've been experiencing mild heat exhaustion. I'm fine, but it just reminded me that I have to be careful. I have some appetite back. I love that. I can wear makeup soon. I can wear commercial moisturizers. The only itching I experience is in the form of dead skin falling off. Similar to peeli...