Maybe I'm getting cold feet...
Recall my last post where I talked about how I thought Creme Complete was helping me. I'm now not sure whether it was, or whether it was irritating me. I've always considered peeling to be a sign of progress, and I sure was seeing a lot of it on Creme Complete. However, if I'm honest, I was seeing more of it than I was comfortable with. One big shed in the morning is one thing; two days in a row is another; but three days in a row, from the same area of skin... It just seems wrong to me. Perhaps it was all genuine, accelerated progress.. But I'm not ready to risk it. What's worse is, the parts on the glans where it was peeling were slightly red underneath from where I had helped the skin peel away, so it was making me look really unattractive. Other parts were just a little more 'pink' than usual, and felt a little more sensitive. That is fine, except again I wasn't sure if it was a sign of mild irritation.
So in the end, I lost my nerve and stopped the Creme Complete, moving instead to moisturiser. That helped initially, but the next morning, I still had considerable peeling. So I decided it was time to stop all treatment and go back to basics. I sat in a hot bath with Baking Soda in the water for a long time, and have since kept ALL treatments away from me. I don't know anything about skin pH, but I've read baking soda is a good pH neutraliser, so have taken the attitude that one correction of it (the bath) should be enough, and have left it alone after that to let it return to normal colour.
Worth noting, however, that it's autumn here and my skin does tend to do funny things following a change in season. I have a few spots of eczema that have shown up, and my rosacea on my face has been threatening to emerge again. So it could all be related.
Over the last few days, I did actually begin to contemplate the worst-case scenario - that I may never be healed. It's funny how, given a few days of unexplained behaviour from BXO, you can get down so easily. I was worried that, perhaps it was just the shaft skin that will return fully back to normal. Perhaps western medicine was right when they said that skin will never recover, because they've never seen in a patient with a restored foreskin, so they have only ever seen it on inner (mucosal) tissue. It has always been very apparent to me that the healing mechanisms for outer and inner skin are totally different. At one point, I was even skeptical if inner skin could heal at all.
My inner skin and glans have healed tremendously. Yes, it's still a concern that I am having 'flare ups', 'irritations' and considerable peeling on them, but here's the part that clicked with me. My glans is healing, and it's healing as fast as it can, but that part just takes a painfully long time. Even then skin at the tip that is often not covered (and is dry, hence where I'd expect to see the fastest results) is still not perfect, because even without dampness as an issue, it still takes a painfully long time to heal.
I do have a patch of inner skin that has taken on more of a 'brown' and less of a 'red' colour, and that never peeled with my recent peeling spree. It also has more of the 'crinkled' look of healthy penile skin, even when you attempt to stretch it out taut. That, in itself, is proof that inner skin can and will eventually heal given the right conditions. I just need to have faith in the fact that the rest will one day catch up.
More than anything, I wanted to share with you all that, even after seeing for myself firsthand over the last 10 months how slow this is to heal, and experiencing those ups and downs, even I still have moments where I resign myself to the fact that I will never be healed. It is incredibly isolating, suffering this condition in a world where mainstream medicine just doesn't seem to have an answer, or at least, one that says anything other than "yeah, tough shit mate" and it's easily unsettling because of the fact I have no idea what the end result will look or function like, but I just need to keep remembering that what I have is still a work in progress,that this progress is very slow, and that (unfortunately) change is messy.
So in the end, I lost my nerve and stopped the Creme Complete, moving instead to moisturiser. That helped initially, but the next morning, I still had considerable peeling. So I decided it was time to stop all treatment and go back to basics. I sat in a hot bath with Baking Soda in the water for a long time, and have since kept ALL treatments away from me. I don't know anything about skin pH, but I've read baking soda is a good pH neutraliser, so have taken the attitude that one correction of it (the bath) should be enough, and have left it alone after that to let it return to normal colour.
Worth noting, however, that it's autumn here and my skin does tend to do funny things following a change in season. I have a few spots of eczema that have shown up, and my rosacea on my face has been threatening to emerge again. So it could all be related.
Over the last few days, I did actually begin to contemplate the worst-case scenario - that I may never be healed. It's funny how, given a few days of unexplained behaviour from BXO, you can get down so easily. I was worried that, perhaps it was just the shaft skin that will return fully back to normal. Perhaps western medicine was right when they said that skin will never recover, because they've never seen in a patient with a restored foreskin, so they have only ever seen it on inner (mucosal) tissue. It has always been very apparent to me that the healing mechanisms for outer and inner skin are totally different. At one point, I was even skeptical if inner skin could heal at all.
My inner skin and glans have healed tremendously. Yes, it's still a concern that I am having 'flare ups', 'irritations' and considerable peeling on them, but here's the part that clicked with me. My glans is healing, and it's healing as fast as it can, but that part just takes a painfully long time. Even then skin at the tip that is often not covered (and is dry, hence where I'd expect to see the fastest results) is still not perfect, because even without dampness as an issue, it still takes a painfully long time to heal.
I do have a patch of inner skin that has taken on more of a 'brown' and less of a 'red' colour, and that never peeled with my recent peeling spree. It also has more of the 'crinkled' look of healthy penile skin, even when you attempt to stretch it out taut. That, in itself, is proof that inner skin can and will eventually heal given the right conditions. I just need to have faith in the fact that the rest will one day catch up.
More than anything, I wanted to share with you all that, even after seeing for myself firsthand over the last 10 months how slow this is to heal, and experiencing those ups and downs, even I still have moments where I resign myself to the fact that I will never be healed. It is incredibly isolating, suffering this condition in a world where mainstream medicine just doesn't seem to have an answer, or at least, one that says anything other than "yeah, tough shit mate" and it's easily unsettling because of the fact I have no idea what the end result will look or function like, but I just need to keep remembering that what I have is still a work in progress,that this progress is very slow, and that (unfortunately) change is messy.
keep doing what you are doing..you have got great progress so far...On my side the dmso and tto have already begone help peeling..so amazing how fast it goes...after 3 days..lots of peeling everywhere even on the glands to an extent..and alot around the fenulum. a guy on abc homeopathy used dmso and tto plus red clover supplements and he's BXO free for the past 3 years and has been helping others out..Im just hoping the same will apply to my case of LSA
ReplyDeleteRed Clover is something I never really explored. I did get seriously into picking the flowers over summer, but lost the urge after I had to throw away the entire harvest when it had some kind of insect larvae all through it. I never really got back into it. I definitely think it's worth a shot, however.
ReplyDeleteI'm really glad you've found the TTO + DMSO helpful. Just remember with the peeling. Don't force it. It's really tempting to do that, but don't force the peeling. Also, one other thing... don't force the peeling. I know it's tempting, but don't.
If you're seeing peeling on the glans as well as the urethra, I suspect what you'll eventually find is what I did - that you actually have more BXO than you first thought you did. You don't really see how bad you had it until you start to heal, then you start to realise how far you've got to go.
So by the 3rd day of DMSO and TTO i got good flaking/peeling..then after 1-2 more days a bit more..but now the skin has gotten alot harder..a bit plasticky feel and the DMSO TTO isnt doing anything....just hoping its dead skin that doesnt want to come off..its not wrinkling like it did in the beginning...scary
ReplyDeletewell took a bath and was able to pop the bubbles..my LS is not like the BXOs that you guys have..I was glad to get some peeling on the gland but that place is one tough cookie..and there's not promise the skin will come back like it was...the skin were i got circumcised is alot loose which is weird..i think the dmso did this...so i will take a break today and put some comfrey based cream for the day and wait it out..
ReplyDeleteThanks to the famous bubbles..that i was able to burst..i got access to the dead skin and today i was able to peel off some skin around the frenulum..and a bit onto the gland..so hoping more will come off later..
ReplyDeleteWatch the peeling. I wouldn't force anything. The glans, in my experience, changes at about 10-20% the speed of the shaft skin, so be very very patient and don't forcibly peel anything. Trust me. You'll end up with an infection.
ReplyDeleteI would be inclined to stop treatment for a few days entirely and see if things change.
Have you tried diets? I've been reading about leaving sugar and dairy would help with this disease.
ReplyDeleteBut i just can't imagine drinking my coffee without milk..
I have been diagnosed with bxo/LS. The urologist barely gave me any information, he was googling all about the disease in front of me. He didnt seem very sure of anything and this left me feeling very uncomfortable and alone. He suggested circumcision but didnt seem very sure of himself and also gave me a steroid cream that has not seemed to help me at all. Then he says he will see me in 3 months?? after telling me I have a disease that cannot be cured, giving me no information then not seeing him again until 3 months down the road has left me very upset. Im 27 years old, I quit my job to come home and start a family with my girlfriend then this happens. Please if youre reading this can you please email me at mitchell05501@gmail.com I just need someone to talk to about this, Im scared as hell and feel completely alone. Thank you in advance I appreciate this so much.
ReplyDeleteWelcome. What you are going through is very typical for sufferers of this disease. We are so used to having ultimate trust in medical professionals, and I know that I personally considered their opinion to always be 'final'. From that angle, I found it very hard to take when I saw my GP who told me there was no cure for this, and circumcision was very frequently necessary. Even though I had done my own research and treatments, and had decided I was making progress, to hear that from a doctor suddenly made me question whether I had just imagined the progress, or whether my skin had just 'changed' rather than 'healed'. The important thing you need to try and come to grips with is how much this disease messes with your head.
DeleteFirst of all, you saw a urologist. A urologist is the type of specialist who does surgery on the genitals. I've read many comments along these lines online, and many report having much better success seeing a dermatologist rather than a urologist, as they don't immediately jump to 'remove the skin'. However, you're here now, and I guess what you're perhaps feeling is a sense of "what am I going to do in 3 months time?". First of all, it's your body.
You don't have a disease that can't be cured. I am living proof, as are the scores of others on abchomeopathy.com who have successfully put their disease into remission. I'm not fully healed yet after almost a year of treatment, but I'm much closer than I was when I first diagnosed myself.
Consider it a good thing he didn't want to see you more recently than 3 months from that consult. This disease is painfully slow to heal.
Fact 1 is medicine doesn't really understand this.
Fact 2 is that it's painfuly slow to heal
Fact 3 is that the whole experience messes with your head
Fact 4 is that you can heal it. You just have to figure out what works for your unique case.
Does this make you feel better at all?