Saturday 27 February 2016

Time out - holiday

I'm going on holiday for ten days. If I say so myself, I work hard and I need a break. I also need some sunlight. Britain is officially one of the cloudiest nations on earth and, although winters aren't desperately cold, they are very dark and grey. I benefited so much from my trip to the Canary Islands last November that I have decided to go back again.

It will also be an opportunity to see if a change of climate does my debilitating eczema any good. After I come back I will have to decide how to deal with the issue, since the strict regime I followed under the doctors hasn't worked. One part of that deal was that whilst using the various medical creams I should not drink alcohol. The deal is done and today I opened a bottle of wine that a friend gave me for Christmas. If I can't be cured, I might as well be pickled! Cheers!

Sue x


Sunday 21 February 2016

Despair

I have had a very severe bout of 'flu and am still not feeling good after ten days of it. But it's time to update the blog with the results of my other health checks.

I went to the allergy clinic at Guy's Hospital in the howling gales a fortnight ago and had patches with about 80 substances applied to my back to see if my skin reacted to them. In brief, nothing happened. So I'm not allergic to anything.

This is not the good news it may seem. It means that the eczema that has bugged me continually all my life, which erupts on my face every ten years or so and which can last months or usually years, and which has currently brought my femme existence to a halt, is probably genetic in origin and therefore incurable.

As if to mock me further, this morning it was back all over my face, as if the last three months of treatment had never happened.

I started this blog to be a cheerful celebration of trans life. But I don't know what to do any more. There's a hole in my very soul. I feel such despair.

Sue x

Monday 1 February 2016

Health progressing

I'm pleased to say that I have lost a total of nine pounds (4kg) in January and that I can start to come off this medication this week.

The weight loss is what it was at this stage last year but then my resolve just petered out. I have a feeling that this year I will actually get back to the weight I was when I first started this blog, i.e. 2 1/2 stone (15 kg) lighter than I am now.

As for the medication I have been on, I'll be glad to see the end of it. It looks and feels like slug slime and comes in a tube that has the size and feel of a squishy slug! You can imagine that it's not the pleasantest thing to have on your face. However, it seems to have done the trick of clearing my face and neck of visible eczema although my collarbone area is still a little inflamed and my chin still itches slightly. At the end of this coming week I go back to Guy's Hospital for patch tests to see what may have triggered it, in case anything in particular can be isolated and avoided.

Here's hoping.

Sue x

Coming up: the TGirl's Guide to Tax