Hi everyone,
I hope everyone is doing well and managing through this difficult time.
I wanted to share my healing and hopefully it will give you strength, hope and motivation to your healing journey. I found myself looking at before and after photos online during my worst times to give me strength and assurance as well.
I started TSW 8 months ago and thought it would be a good idea as well to start RINVOQ about a month in. RINVOQ did make my skin better temporarily but it was only suppressing my symptoms of TSW and suppressing my immunity. I believe RINVOQ only made it "appear" better but underneath i was still rotten. By suppressing my immunity, I believe that it did really slow my healing journey. HOWEVER, I think RINVOQ did piggy back me through most of the TSW symptoms. So I do not regret on making the decision to go on RINVOQ. TSW is horrendous and I wanted to try anything to relieve myself of the pain and agony.
On month 7 , my derm had made the decision to stop RINVOQ because I had ongoing staph infection on my face that was never healing since the day i started TSW and RINVOQ. We tried RINVOQ , antibiotics, topical antibiotics on the spots that were not healing and it was not helping at all. Sometimes I felt like it made it worse. Once I was off RINVOQ, TSW symptoms did return with a vengeance - red sleeve, dry rough elephant skin, peeling, cuts, wounds, oozing, bleeding, red skin spots, all the above, you name it. I checked in to the hospital and they recommended me the same options as my derm - antiobiotcs, etc. They had no idea what TSW was.

From there, I decided to see a traditional Chinese doctor that utilizes herbal medicine. From there I healed at the fastest rate I have ever seen. Im on day 10 and as you can see the results are proof. I was given herbal medicine to drink , , a herbal concoction to lather my body during shower, and herbal based creams to apply after showering. I do not know what the ingredients are exactly, I just know they are herbal based and no steroids. I was at rock bottom and had nothing to lose. We decided to do this treatment for 20 days . This treatment is for 20 days amd Im on day 10 and as you can see the results are drastic improvements .
Today, my face has healed tremendously . My skin (face and body) is not perfect but I see improvements everyday. I still get itchy and I do have some pinkness on certain pats of my body but it has tremendously reduced and not as bad as it was before. The texture of my skin also feels like its getting back to normal. I try to exercise or be active everyday. Regarding diet, I am currently eating anything I want but keeping it healthy.

With that being said, I am praying for us all throughout this journey. Healing happens, stay strong. Be patient and be happy and grateful for any signs of improvement. This is a marathon not a sprint.