Day 4 Eczema - worst thing doctors.....

[Tanya]

Hi Everyone - I decided to share my experiences about what I've heard Dr's have tell me in the past... they all made impressions on me.
'I've never seen this condition this severe before - let me refer you to another Dr.'
'You need to get it under control. It looks like its very deep into your skin'
'cortisone works and will last if you taper of the usage correctly'
'it looks very angry' (exactly!).

 

[Eric "Herbie" Watson]

So you have been examined by a DR. And you believe you have tms, you have the traits of tms and you believe you can heal?
Do you stay in fear that your symptoms are out control and untreatable? Are you seeing yourself completly healed the way you want to look and feel?
Have you stopped focus on your bodily symptom?
Do want to help the others change if you could just get better?
I learned it was my promises and dedications that really helped me see the way through the woods? Golden lesson.....
Bless You

 

[Tanya]

Hi Eric, thank you for the post and asking all the deep questions that are so important. Yes, I have been examined by Dr's and dermatologists since I was a child and have always been given the eczema diagnosis. The label doesn't mean anything to me anymore as I have always felt that there is a strong psychological component involved - even as a teenager I think I had that feeling although I didn't know what to do with it. I've been through every alternative treatment and diet - ALL of them. Way before that, of course, there were steroids.
I DO believe I can heal - it's on my horizon. I also have a feeling that my fear of uncontrollable symptoms, as you mentioned, is a fantastic hurdle. I am overwhelmed sometimes by the thought of always having this skin condition/symptoms to deal with...They are not just my symptoms, but all of the conditioned physical and mental behavior that accompany, reinforce and worsen the symptoms. When you ask if I can see myself completely healed, looking and feeling as I'd like to - my answer would be yes. (I have periods of years in my life where I am symptom free and no one believes my stories of how intense my eczema can be...in the past when the symptoms clear there is no clear change or indication of change, as far as I can recall - they just disappear. So, yes, I do have a vision as I have experienced - but not from my own work and efforts. I'd like to take control of this - I think it would be akin to taking back control over my life.

I am in the space now where I am working on refraining from focusing on the bodily symptoms - this is extremely difficult for me.
On my bathroom mirror I have a sign written in bold the following lines I copied from another TMS post...

'CONFRONT THE EMOTIONS
IGNORE THE PAIN
RESUME ALL NORMAL ACTIVITY'

Not sure who originally wrote this or if this is someones own creation from the forum.

I need practical help such as this, every hour of the day, especially in the morning and at night. My skin cracks, bleeds, itches beyond belief, is inflamed and raw, followed by crusted and cracked - this is on my right hand and throat, for all to see. Most of the posts here relate to internal muscle/joint pain. When I attend to the symptom it is not lying down or using a pillow, it is scratching/picking or feeling overwhelmed (and intensly self conscious) with the red swollen hand that has difficulty opening and closing as the skin is tight and will crack/bleed when I do so.

There are excerpts from various books, Sarno and Ozanich's and others, that I read over and over again. On page 195 of The Great Pain Deception,
'each time you think of the pain (for me that reads, 'each time you feel the cracking skin calling you to itch or peel or pick)...at that moment...force yourself to think of the possible reasons for it - never allow your attention to lock onto your body. The focus must shift from the pain (read 'inflamed, burning, throbbing itch') to the message, stopping short of obsessing'. The few pages after that are also especially helpful and resonate with me each time I read them....

Helping others would be a blessing - I wonder if I would be capable.

I have to say that journaling was not very enjoyable at the start as I was loath to write more/ think more about myself. What happened after a few quick entries is that I started to be more thoughtful about the facts/events that I always thought of in one way. Different connections and memories and discoveries were and are being made. I am incredibly grateful to have this venue to express myself and be heard by others who listen and are curious to know and relate.

Thank you again for taking the time to write and listen,
Tanya

 

[debbi1955]

Hi Everyone - I decided to share my experiences about what I've heard Dr's have tell me in the past... they all made impressions on me.
'I've never seen this condition this severe before - let me refer you to another Dr.'
'You need to get it under control. It looks like its very deep into your skin'
'cortisone works and will last if you taper of the usage correctly'
'it looks very angry' (exactly!).

Hi, Tanya - this is my first day learning about TMS, but I wanted to share my story regarding eczema. I had been diagnosed with it as a teenager, and had bad symptoms in the winter but most of the year it was manageable. But when my mother passed away unexpectedly, my eczema on my hands flared up. My hands were covered with open sores, and the itching was so bad that I would rub my hands on my sheets at night until they bled. My thumbs at one point swelled and were so painful that they felt as if they were going to explode, and I asked my doctor if amputation was a possibility (thank goodness he said no!).

Nothing helped - not cortisone creams, not steroids. I had to wear cotton gloves all the time to handle papers in my office. Then, after several months had passed, it suddenly cleared up. At about this time, I heard a piece of music that out of the blue reminded me of a day I spent with my mother, and I found myself sobbing with grief months after her death. Until then, I had felt numb when I thought about it, and had never grieved. I realized later that the eczema outbreak and the loss of my mother had to be somehow related. Had I known about TMS then, I would have realized why.

The connection between the eczema and my mother's death was so clear after it all had passed. Not everyone is lucky to get such clarity, but I wanted to share this to let you know that I now realize that the outbreak was a distraction to keep me from having to deal with my emotions. When something happened that brought them to the surface, the eczema no longer served a purpose, and it went away. I wish you success in finding your own way.

Debbi

 

[Tanya]

Hi Debbi, Thank you so much for sharing your story. I did read it when you sent it and thought I had replied, but see now that I didn't. I really appreciate hearing other eczema stories as it verifies a different parts of what I experience. I am so glad you had a breakthrough with your eczema and a release of emotions, even if delayed, after your mother passed. It's really amazing how the mind (and I think the heart) can let go and heal and then allow the body to heal, too. I'm looking forward to that same experience. Thanks again and all the best to you, Tanya