A Bunch of Randomness

I don’t know WHAT made me think that I actually had time to maintain a blog for myself. Must have been a bit of temporary over-ambition. So, since so much has happened since I was able to post, and since I really don’t have much time right now, this is going to be very random. (Do you like the squirrel? I like the squirrel. He’s so cute!)

I Have Resorted to Drugs

I got really tired of the itching and the swelling and the frantic wringing of the hands with the towel, so I started taking Benadryl and Advil a few days ago. It has helped tremendously. I got to itching early this morning, but I also had forgotten to take my Benadryl so that was very much my fault. I also had some chocolate milk…again, my fault. Plus, I have some blisters that are very “ripe” and the itching is always worst right before they bust.

Hurrah for Carley's Products!!!

I’ve mentioned Carley’s products several times now, and figured it was just about time I dedicate an entire post to them. The fact that I just received my new order in the mail today might have something to do with it, too. ;) Let me tell you, if you haven’t experienced these products, you’re missing out!

Caffeine: My Number 1 Suspect

Ok, so I didn’t make it through the week without coffee. I had to have caffeine to pull off the hours I needed to a few days ago. However, I did use real cream and maple syrup rather than my non-dairy creamer. My dyshidrotic eczema worsened. (By the way, I just realized I had a touch of dyslexia and have been spelling dyshidrosis and dyshidrotic incorrectly all this time. I can’t figure out how to change my labels, so I’m just going to let it be and do it right from here on out.)

Since I didn’t have any other drinks other than water, La Croix, and peppermint tea, I know it is something in the coffee that’s triggering my flares. Whether it’s caffeine or some other element, I’m not sure. So I’m moving forward with the second phase of experiments. I got some Coke. Caffeine-free Coke, to be exact.

Today, I'm Going to Show You...My Hands!

Ok, so most of the pics I use come from morguefile.com. I just don’t have access to all the props for every single photo idea that strikes me as something that would be cute to use. (Don’t you just love that little baby?) Besides that, my camera is not the best in the world. Not the worst, but certainly not the Canon that I would one day love to have.

Today, though, I’m going to put up some pics I took…just for you. It occurred to me that I can describe this dishydrotic eczema all day long, but it’s really difficult to imagine without some visual aids. But, before you get to see my hands, I have two things you should know:

1.  You are not allowed to laugh at my decaying nail polish. I have been terrified to use nail polish remover, afraid that it might make matters worse. You can, however, laugh at my decaying skin all you like. ;)

2.  These pics do not do justice to the worst parts of dishydrosis. My hands look really, really good in these pics compared to what they were like before. So, as gross as they are now, imagine that times about 10 and you’ll have some idea as to why I spend so much of my time trying to figure out how to treat it.

So are you ready? I now give you…my hands!

A Twist on My Saltwater and Baking Soda Techniques

While we’re talking about my necrotizing skin, I may as well share what I did last night. I was thinking about making the baking soda paste and then wrapping it instead of letting it dry then rinsing. I wanted to look up to see if anyone had done that before, but couldn’t really find any good information. I did, however, come across someone who suggested making a paste with baking soda and olive oil.

Well, that intrigued me so I dug around a little more on the net. I never did find another mention of doing a paste, but I did find a couple of people who had sworn their dishydrosis cleared up after doing this soak for a few days: ½ cup baking soda, ½ cup Epsom salt, 1 Tbl olive oil, all mixed into a basin of water. I didn’t have Epsom salt, so I subbed in sea salt.

I have to tell you that it was one of the grossest feeling soaks I’ve ever done. Quite slimy. I wasn’t sure it was doing much good at the time, but this morning my hands were way better. They have retained much more moisture than usual, which I am attributing to the olive oil. I have still had to use my Carley’s moisturizer, but it’s really been quite amazing how much longer my skin is holding on to it.

So, as gross as it feels and as bad as it stinks—yes, it smells rather repugnant—I will be doing another soak like this tonight. I’m going to cut the amount of stuff I’m using though and just use a smaller bowl. That’s really an awful lot of stuff to use just to dump out, after all. We’ll see if it was a fluke or if it’s really as good as it seems like it could be.

Getting Healthy: Take 2

You could say this is take two, I suppose. You could also say it’s take 200 if you count up all the times I’ve tried to change my lifestyle in the past. It’s either insanity or tenacity…I’m not sure which. What I do know is that, no matter how many times I fail, my health is something I cannot give up on. And so, I continue onward in my resolve to kick the caffeine habit and get well.

Exploring Possible Dishydrosis Triggers

Ok, you know how I said I would have no more soft drinks for at least a week? Yeah, I may have fibbed a bit there. On Sunday, we ended up taking a family excursion, which meant that I would be traveling in the car again. I had more Dr. Pepper. Oops!

In addition to that, I had a good bit of coffee over the weekend. That whole having to stay up all day and all night thing necessitated the heavy use of caffeine. There was really no other option there.

Can you guess what else happened over the weekend?

Melatonin and Me

I’m a tad bit later getting started this morning than I meant to be…especially considering that I got up at 5:30 this morning. Why did I get up at 5:30? I’m not entirely sure. I am suspicious, however, that it has something to do with the fact that I was able to go to sleep by 9:30 last night, thanks to my lovely melatonin.

My brother turned me on to melatonin several years ago, but it wasn’t until about a year or so ago that I actually tried it.

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

I cheated today. I had Dr. Pepper. If I had been smart, I would have taken a bunch of water with me…or drank the La Croix that I did take with me. But no, I didn’t do that.

It started innocently enough. We had to go pick up my step-daughter for the weekend, which is a 2 hour drive one way. I wanted something with some flavor and that would last the trip, so I rationalized that Sprite did not have caffeine. I got a fountain drink and sipped on it.

Then, once we got M, my step-daughter, we needed to pay a visit to my niece since we’d have to miss her birthday party this weekend. We knew it would be late getting home, so we opted to eat at the cheapest place we could think of—Taco Bell. 6 people for less than $20…you can’t beat it. I got one large cup to share with the whole family. We put Dr. Pepper in it.

Healthy Food, Good Food

They’re calling for up to an inch of snow in our area tonight. Even if it doesn’t snow, it’s been raining like crazy, so black ice is almost guaranteed. So, like any good Southern girl, off to the grocery store I went for milk and bread. I don’t know why we have to buy milk and bread when it’s supposed to snow, but we do and so I just carry on tradition.

Finally...Dishydrosis Relief!

So, you know that I had to break the cleanse rather abruptly last night. One of the reasons I was doing the cleanse was in the hopes that it would help to clear up my dishydrotic eczema. I am happy to report that, since I began the cleanse, I have seen virtually no new blisters erupt. That means that the existing blisters finally had a fighting chance to heal.

In order for them to heal, however, I had to dry them out and stop the incessant itching. The vinegar soaks were helpful but less potent than needed. The saltwater soak worked wonderfully to dry the blisters, but within a few hours, the dryness and itching was unbearable. At that point, I was desperate and proceeded to apply generous amounts of alcohol to the lesions. Yeah, that was fun.

The alcohol worked as well, if not better than, the saltwater soak for drying. It certainly hurt enough to make me forget about the itching in any event. Still, in just a few hours, the incredible itching was back. It didn’t seem to matter what kind of moisturizer I used, either. Cocoa butter, Curel Intensive Healing, coconut oil, Carley’s Clear & Smooth products: nothing seemed to help for more than 15 minutes at a time. Though, I will say that Carely’s moisturizers were the most helpful—I love Carley’s!

Help is in the Kitchen

I had come down to the last natural option I’d read about but had dismissed because it just seemed like there was no way it would work: baking soda. Supposedly, you could make a paste from baking soda and a small amount of water, then cake this paste all over your problem areas for relief. The mild abrasiveness is supposed to help the dead, dry skin come off, and the pH of the solution is supposed to balance the skin somehow.

Again, I was desperate and out of options, so I tried it. It felt amazing during application…very soothing and only a mild sting here and there on the worst areas. It wasn’t until I rinsed the stuff off that the burning began, which I found strange. But…immediately after my first application of this stuff, I noticed my skin improving. It was more than just an improvement in the blisters, too; it really did help the dead skin to slough off.

I’ve continued applying the baking soda paste 3 times per day and it’s working wonders on my dishydrosis. I still have some blisters, but they are improving. My skin is pretty irritated in the worst areas and I still have some swelling in my fingers, but it’s nothing like it was before. I am actually beginning to see new, healthy skin forming where there was once nothing but blisters and hard, dry, cracking, thick scales.

It’s really important to stay moisturized so the skin can continue to heal. I’ve given up on everything except my Carley’s products and coconut oil. I alternate applying them about every hour or two. Carley’s seems to absorb better than the oil, but the oil is soothing and smells nice, so I like using it.

I think the cleanse, even no longer than I was able to do it, arrested whatever reaction it was that was making me flare up. This, in turn, allowed the topical treatments to begin working toward healing. So if nothing else good came from this, maybe I’ve gotten the eczema under control. I just hope my having to eat so soon into this process won’t undo the progress. I’ll have to be very careful about the types of foods I eat lest I aggravate the condition again. And it goes without saying that I cannot go back to Coke again. Still having a hard time with that one. 

Know When to Hold, Know When to Fold

I want to apologize for going on hiatus the last couple of days. I’ve not felt well at all and it’s been all I can do to sit up long enough to do my work, much less try to blog. So, that said, I’m a little bit sad, a little bit mad, a little bit frustrated, and a little bit glad. I had to break the cleanse last night.

Now, to be fair, my heart was never in this. I wasn’t doing it because I wanted to; I was doing it because I had to. Because my Coke habit had gotten way out of control, as had my coffee habit. Then the thing with my hands…I’ve been making myself sick and I had to try to undo the damage and get started in the right direction.

However, it looks like that as wonderful as the Master Cleanse was for me last time around, it was not the answer this time. I’ve felt bad the entire time, and yesterday was the worst. If it were just headaches or nausea, I could have dealt with that and continued. But I was severely dizzy all day yesterday. I had to go to town and got scared a couple of times that I might pass out while driving. I made it home fine, but the dizziness only got worse.

Something’s Not Right

Finally, I checked my blood pressure, since I am prone to having lower blood pressure anyway. In fact, I believe the only reason I’m not on low blood pressure medicine is because I smoke and have tons of caffeine. Even with that, my blood pressure stays in the perfectly normal range most of the time. But last night, it was abnormally low—and every time I’d check it after that, I’d just be lower.

My husband and I decided that I must have something to eat to get my blood pressure back up. Knowing that breaking the cleanse the wrong way will result in severe stomach pain and nausea, I thought that maybe just licking on a spoon of peanut butter would help…but I couldn’t get it down. So I opted for a bowl of chicken noodle soup, which has tons of sodium in it. It brought my blood pressure to just within normal ranges, but not much more.

As much as I really wanted to be done with the cleanse, I also didn’t want to give up before it had time to work. Plus, I have all this syrup and just bought a ton more lemons yesterday. So I’ve spent the day trying to rethink my approach, not sure as to whether I should continue or not. Then, about an hour ago, my blood pressure pretty much made the decision for me…it was lower than it was even last night—I could barely stand up properly.

Being Flexible

I’m not entirely sure yet what I’m going to do. All I know is that if I try to continue this cleanse with it bottoming out my blood pressure, I’m going to end up really sick. I have to eat at least a small meal every day. So I think what I’m going to try is to continue drinking the lemonade throughout the day, but allow myself at least one reasonable meal per day. I know I won’t get near the cleansing benefits—I may not get any at all—but it would be stupid to continue in this manner knowing that I could pass out any moment from low blood pressure.

Wellness is a great deal about learning to listen to your body and taking action to give it what it needs. Right now, my body needs food. So, as true to form as it would be for me to beat myself up about failing, I have resolved not to. If the goal is wellness, and this path is leading away from that, then it is not a failure for me to listen to what my body is saying. There is something good that has come from this, though…and I’ll discuss that in another post.

Saltwater Soak for Dishydrotic Eczema and a Rant

Ok, rant first. I was able to sleep for all of 2 hours before my hands started in. This dishydrosis has gone beyond the point of irritating and now has gotten to the point of being flat-out infuriating! Stress supposedly aggravates dishydrotic eczema, yes? And sleep deprivation causes stress, yes? So how on God’s green earth am I supposed to get better from this stuff if it won’t let me sleep?!?!? ARGH!!!!

In addition to the insanity of my hands, I’ve been indescribably thirsty. Since I cannot have my beloved Coke—which I miss sorely, by the way—I’ve been chugging the heck out of some water. This is why I don’t like drinking water…because the more I drink, the thirstier I am. Coke, tea, and coffee don’t do me that way.

Imagine There Being a Witty Title Here

Bleck. Not feeling so hot today. I’m having a hard time thinking well, so creativity has gone out the window. Hence, my apologies for such an underwhelming title. But I did want to at least update…this will probably be a rambly post.

I went to sleep around 11 last night with every intention in the world of sleeping till at least 9 this morning. My hands woke me up at 5:30 with an angry kind of itch. In trying not to actually scratch them, I ended up rubbing them half raw with a towel in an attmept to abate the intensity of the sensation. Excessive weeping ensued. So, as much as I knew it would burn, I thought this was the opportune time for a vinegar soak.

The Master Cleanse and New Beginnings

It took me two hours this morning to get up the gall to do my flush, but once I started I was ok. I’m actually feeling pretty good right now. I’m working on my 10^th glass of lemonade and I only have a mild headache. Of course, I’ve been drinking water like it’s going out of style, too, so I’m wondering if that has helped to minimize the caffeine withdrawal symptoms.

I’m actually just a tad concerned that I’m not feeling like I’m about to die. Don’t get me wrong…I am most grateful that the first day has not been like it was the last time. But at the same time, I should be seriously detoxing from caffeine right now and I feel fine for the most part. So I have to wonder if the worst is yet to come, or worse—the cleanse isn’t doing anything.

The Master Cleanse and Hunger

I was not remotely hungry up until about two hours ago. That’s when the family ate. Grilled cheese sandwiches…and they smelled sooo good. C was originally going to make bacon and eggs, but I gave him a look, while calling him evil, that suggested his life may be at risk if he made me smell bacon cooking right now. ;)

The Saltwater Flush

I purposefully waited to discuss the saltwater flush in detail until today. I wanted to go through the experience again, fresh, so that I could be sure of my feelings about it. They haven’t changed. I do not enjoy this portion of the cleanse overly much.

However, it’s really not as terrible as you might think. The hardest part is getting down a quart of saltwater within a fairly short time. For me, it’s not the saltwater as much as it is that it would be hard for me to chug down a quart of anything within a short period of time. I’m more of a sipper kind of gal.

Getting It Down

I will say this…using very warm water—almost hot—to do the flush is much more pleasant than using cold or lukewarm water. I learned last time that you can easily pretend that the flush is a very salty broth when it’s warm. When it’s not—gag! Also, it’s important to remember that it’s 2 TEAspoons, not 2 tablespoons of seasalt to a quart of water.

Setting and Achieving Goals

It recently occurred to me that, given the timing of this whole wellness thing, some of you may believe that it’s my New Year’s Resolution. It’s not. First of all, I stopped making resolutions a few years ago—they’re stupid and very rarely are true resolutions. Second of all, we’re nearly two weeks into the new year, so I’d be running terribly behind if that were the case. No, this is something I’ve been mulling over and planning for a while now.

Cold Feet and Second Thoughts

I’m getting just a tad bit anxious about tomorrow. I survived the trip to Earth Fare ON CAMPUS of a major university with ALL THREE of my lovely children…and they all lived, so we’re calling it a success. Note to self: Next time you plan to go to Earth Fare, don’t do it on a Friday night while all the students have the same idea.

Despite the crowd and the rain and the incessant “I want this!/Can we get that?/Oooh, what’s this?”’s, it was a good trip. We all got a plate from the hot bar and ate in the car. S, my youngest, stole ¾ of my salmon filet, but it’s ok. I ate her salad, so I guess we’re even. The fact that she did not want her salad and I did want my salmon is irrelevant. I’m just happy she enjoys healthy foods.

Master Cleanse Shopping List

First, let me adamantly state that I loathe to go grocery shopping. It is the bane of my existence and I detest the entire experience. I don’t know if it’s that I’m a semi-recluse, having to fight traffic and rude people, budgeting and spending money, or the insane amount of organization it takes to get the most you can for your money. I suspect it’s all of these things combined with some sort of strange personal quirk, but I digress. Point made.

With that said, today is the day I’m to go shopping for my Master Cleanse supplies. I’ll have to make a few more runs to the local grocery before it’s over to restock on lemons, but everything else I intend to get today. This will include:

Prepping for the Master Cleanse...the WRONG Way

I have two recipes that were my great-grandmother’s: chili and chicken and dumplings. They are a mainstay of my family’s winter menu and I enjoy them much more than I should. This week, I have made both. It’s not that it’s been unusually cold—it’s actually been rather warm for this time of year. But I know that, after Saturday, I won’t be able to enjoy them again for quite some time. So, I indulged.

Master Cleanse Preparation Rachael-Style

A smart person would have taken this week to slowly wean away from caffeine, junk food, and rich dishes—especially if that person had done the cleanse before and knew what the first day is like if you don’t prepare properly. But, I am not a particularly smart person when it comes to things like that.

Vinegar Soak for Dishydrotic Eczema

45 minutes. That’s how long it took me to process my hands just a few minutes ago. 30 minutes of pickling my hands in a bowl of vinegar, followed by rinsing, slathering on a balm, and carefully pulling on my new cotton gloves while trying not to wipe off too much of the balm. Now I am typing in this condition. It’s not easy.

Why would I try to pickle myself? Well, as I’ve mentioned a few times, I am desperate for relief from this dishydrosis thing. In my research, I found multiple mentions of using a vinegar compress or soak in order to get relief and promote healing. So I tried it. 3 nights now, I’ve doused my hands in eau de salad dressing.

Defining Addiction

I’d like to be clear about something before I get too far into this journey. I am not, in any way, trying to minimize serious addictions, make myself a victim, or intentionally publish false or inaccurate information. I do feel that “addicted” best describes my relationship with soft drinks because I feel like I have to have them. And, since Coke is my soft drink of choice, the play on words was too much to resist. But to say that cola addiction is a medically recognized disorder—no, that’s not what I’m doing. So please don’t misunderstand me.

Now that we have that cleared up, I thought it might be appropriate to discuss what addiction really is.

Dishydrotic Eczema: The New Leprosy

Ok, I admit that this title may be a bit misleading. Dishydrotic eczema, also called dishydrosis and pompholyx, is neither new nor a form of leprosy. But it can make you feel like you have a flesh-eating disease, so that’s how I’m justifying my choice of words.

I have had the lovely good fortune to develop dishydrosis in recent months. It started out innocent enough—just a few tiny little bumps on one of my fingers that were strange but didn’t bother me. It stayed this way for weeks so I didn’t think much of it. Then…well, it got angry.

Addictions Come in Many Forms

Street drugs. Prescription pain killers. Alcohol. Pornography. Gambling. Most of us know and recognize these things as forms of addiction. Mine is Coke. Not the white powdery substance you may be thinking—I’ve never actually even seen that stuff in person. No, my Coke is a darkly colored, delightfully sweet, and magnificently bubbled liquid…and I swear, the white stuff could not possibly be more addictive than what I’m using.

Coke is but one of my unhealthy addictions, but it’s the one that makes me the maddest because
it just seems so ridiculous.

I mean, they’ve long known that cigarettes have a chemical that make it difficult for your brain to let them go. That one I don’t feel quite as bad about—at least not from a psychological standpoint. But cola? Who the heck can’t go through their day without at least 6 cans of soda? Me, that’s who!

For the longest time, it was Dr. Pepper. For nearly 15 years it was Dr. Pepper. I didn’t even care for Coke all that much. Then one day several months ago, I got a craving for Coke and we’ve had a shameful love affair ever since. Now, I know that Dr. Pepper is soda, too—that’s why I mentioned it. For nearly half my life, I’ve been incredibly dependent on soft drinks.

An Addiction to Sugar, Caffeine, or Both?

I am a firm believer that high fructose corn syrup—the stuff they sweeten these drinks with—is addictive. I also believe that sugar in and of itself is addictive, no matter the form. I had periods of time that I didn’t drink as much cola, but I did have to have my sweet tea. I could go through a gallon of that stuff in one day all by myself. When I’ve tried to give up soft drinks by not buying them, I default to drinking tea instead of water. Our tea is very, very sweet.

Then there’s the caffeine. Oh, what would I do without my glorious caffeine? I can drink an entire pot of coffee in just a few hours and not think a thing about it. After that, I start in on my Coke. It’s ridiculous! I would bet I get more caffeine in one day than most people get in a week. I know it’s doing nothing for my insomnia except making it worse, but I seriously cannot get through my day without it.

Making a Choice

I’ve been this addicted to Coke and caffeine before. I gave it up—for a while. You can read my story here if you have a while to wade through it. So I know I can come off this stuff, however unpleasant the process may be. It’s staying off it that’s the problem. But I have to. My addiction is doing more than making me fat and keeping me up at night. I believe it may be killing me. And so, I’ve made a choice to begin a journey—and I hope you’ll share it with me.