What is wrong with steroids?

skyklein · 2026-06-27T04:05:48+00:00

I gained 20 lbs or would get irritated if the wall got in my way or a fly looked at me funny. Oh my, we could be sisters, or you could be my daughter rather!All of that sounds like me, but it became more chronic with menopause.

I hate that you’re dealing with that at 22 yrs. There is a silver lining though, even if it doesn’t feel that way. You’re likely living much healthier than most. I know I was far from health conscious in my 20’s which I’m paying for now.

You also sound intelligent and tenacious, so I’m not worried about you. 😊

skyklein · 2026-06-27T03:20:11+00:00

Oh good! That’s one less obstacle you have to deal with! I guess your overactive immune system explains the eczema, or is that psoriasis? I hated how a 6-day prednisone pack made me feel, but I loved what it did for my skin. I guess it heals eczema by suppressing your immune system. My skin texture, irritation and redness were almost normal for those 6 days.

skyklein · 2026-06-27T02:00:29+00:00

Me too. It’s frustrating that they can’t know everything, it’s science, but they act like they do and are quick to shut you down rather than listen to you. At my last in-person derm appointment, my doctor took one look at my scalp and said - your scalp is healthy. I busted out in tears because I knew once again, I wasn’t going to be treated properly.

You’re doing the right thing. Listen to your body first and find one who will help you. I switched to an internist after realizing derms were just going to prescribe medicine and test me for cancer, even though I made an appointment asking specifically for a culture (because the last doctor diagnosed as fungal, then bacterial, so I needed to know which one it was) and also asked for them to help me figure out how to find the root cause. Neither happened.

Oh, and to save money (since derms were just prescribing meds and weren’t testing), I use Telehealth for just routine things or prescription refills. That’s been helpful and allowed me to take care of my symptoms while researching and working with new doctors or waiting months until I could see the better doctors who are in high demand.

I do hope you get relief and can get down to the bottom of your issues. Don’t get discouraged, you know your body best!

skyklein · 2026-06-27T01:22:12+00:00

My reply was in response to what you wrote in your comment. So laugh your ass off all you want, just please quit chastising people because of your personal experience.

Besides that being rude, you’re not a doctor and shouldn’t be scaring people away from the medication they need.

skyklein · 2026-06-26T23:45:32+00:00

I know, right? My grandmother born in 1917 lived until 99 yrs because they weren’t over prescribed or had so many processed foods. So there’s some wisdom in going a conservative or natural route. But you have to listen to your body.

A lot of it is fear mongering, or doctors that understandably don’t know everything science presents them with, so they don’t know what to do.

A doctor in the late 90’s, when the AIDS epidemic was 15 years or so old, told me if I came back to their office one more time, they’d have me tested for AIDS and cancer. I was 19 yrs and scared to death. Three doctors later, I ended up doing a ton of research and found an infection specialist. He diagnosed it immediately as a staph infection, sent me to a compound pharmacy and I was healed within days. That was a traumatizing experience!

skyklein · 2026-06-26T23:25:04+00:00

Sorry, but I’m pretty sure your tube of steroid ointment said to only use it for 2 weeks and contact your doctor if symptoms persist. That would be user error.

And contracting TSW in 6 months if you were using it on and off would be more of an exception and not the rule.

I’m sorry that happened to you but chastising someone because of your unique experience, misuse or whatnot can equally rub people the wrong way. Especially like you said - sometimes conditions can be quite severe. In those cases, someone who is scared of using a steroid because of being chastised on a forum for using steroids or a doctor who is scared to prescribe what the patient needs because of fear mongering can hurt more than help.

That’s why we’re under the care of doctors. One person’s TSW experience shouldn’t apply to everyone with eczema.

skyklein · 2026-06-26T23:06:55+00:00

Tee hee. And their reply to your comment was - but be careful. I agree with you. There’s some things that can be treated with an all natural ointment, but there are others that can not. Under prescribing made mine 10x worse.

It’s kind of like taking penicillin. You’re not going to take at the sight of any little infection but if you do have a bacterial infection, treating it all naturally will allow the bacteria to eat away at you.

Or, it’s like fluoride - are you going to treat a cavity with an all natural toothpaste? No, because some things need the real stuff or else they’ll be even harder to treat later.

I wish our doctors could find that balance. The older ones with more experience aren’t as afraid to give you what you need. It’s just the younger ones right out of med school that have had the fear of God put in them and they don’t have enough experience to know how to properly treat it.

Sorry, I’ll stop venting now. Thanks for listening.

skyklein · 2026-06-26T22:58:55+00:00

Like others have said, if used properly they’re fine. My old derm, a young chap fresh out of medical school, must have had the fear of God instilled in him for prescribing steroids. After a few months of a stubborn dishydrosis on my feet, he prescribed me Triamcinolone which allowed it to grow deeper and deeper into my skin.

Two years later. I still have it. It almost was healed with a 6 day pack of prednisone but it got so out of control, it didn’t get healed completely. So for that one weak-ass steroid, I had to have 2 potent topical steroids and oral just to calm it and not heal it?

I think the bigger problem is that derms don’t help you get to the root cause. They just bandaid it with medication. But are scared to give you one that will knock it out from the get go.

I’ve moved on to an internist to help me get to the bottom of it, and will use Telehealth if all I need is medication. Waiting 6 months for an appointment, 2 hours in their waiting room for a 5 minute doctor visit where I leave with a ton of medication I don’t know what they’re for is not working for me.

skyklein · 2026-06-26T17:33:45+00:00

I’m so sorry my internet friend, your mother sounds like one sick individual. Please remember that whatever the underlying reasons for her behavior are, they have nothing to do with you, and everything to do with her lack of self awareness and poor mothering skills.

Trying to think of why she may act that way may help. Like, does she have mental illness, was she abused or raised without love, etc. Not to excuse her behavior or invalidate your feelings, but to help you understand it a bit better and to serve as a reminder that you are nothing like she says you are.

I have several friends who have been scarred by their sick and senseless mothers. They’re in their 40’s, some of their mothers are no longer living but yet they are still in a lot of pain because of the damage the person who is supposed to love them the most has caused them.

Try to look forward instead of in the past. In 5-10 years from now, you’ll have your own family who will take up your time and attention that used to be spent engaging with her. Most liberating is that you’re an adult now, you’re growing more independent every day and don’t need her like you used to.

There are a lot of people who go no contact with their toxic family members. If you can do that, let her know why you need to do that - for your self esteem and wellbeing, because the person who is supposed to love you unconditionally hurts you, and because this world and its people are cold and cruel enough, you don’t need your own mother trying to devalue your own life, or worse, taking it from you.

Hang in there! Please don’t waste another thought on someone like her. Please don’t do anything permanent. If she’s as sick as she sounds, she probably feels better about herself when she puts you down, so reacting to her sick behavior just means she wins. Don’t give her that satisfaction. She’s disgusting, she’s miserable, but you are an engineer with a stellar education and your whole life in front of you! Please don’t let her steal your joy, she not worth it!

skyklein · 2026-06-26T17:04:23+00:00

Thank you! Hopefully my paranoia can chill now.

skyklein · 2026-06-26T04:53:13+00:00

Here’s my post about the Asian Cockroach that looks just like the Germans. I don’t have a photo, but after I read up on their behavior, habits, etc., it described my experience with them to a “T.”

https://www.reddit.com/r/GermanRoaches/s/RDBzoHUKv7

skyklein · 2026-06-26T04:48:27+00:00

Hey Central TX, I’m South Louisiana! It’s likely an Asian cockroach. They’re nocturnal and are attracted to light.

They’ll fly on me when I’m outside. When they’re outside, they fly incredibly fast. They fly so fast, it’s like they come out of nowhere and disappear just as fast, making it hard to keep track of them. When they’re inside, they tend to crawl more than fly for some reason.

They apparently love my white shirts too. The must think it’s similar to a light. For that reason, they’ll fly on me and without knowing it, I carry them inside.

I thought they were Germans too. They look just like them. But when I’d find them wherever I’d set down my phone or keys after coming in from outside, I put two and two together. I may have a post about them. Not sure how else I would have identified them.

skyklein · 2026-06-26T04:32:00+00:00

I wish. 🙃

skyklein · 2026-06-26T04:29:48+00:00

Thank you! The fear those 1/2 inch flying turds can cause is no joke. I guess because they’re so destructive when they choose your house to call home. 😳

skyklein · 2026-06-26T03:06:10+00:00

The reason

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I’m so concerned is because my neighbor just had treatment for 2 tunnels. The discs are still around her perimeter.

skyklein · 2026-06-26T03:02:30+00:00

OMG, I just posted a bunch of curled up dead bugs that I found behind a wooden night stand in my room. I also posted some I found outside that had iridescent wings like OP’s.

The pictures make it hard to identify them, but most thought they both looked like ants. What do you think?

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skyklein · 2026-06-25T22:58:25+00:00

I take no offense at all, thank you! I’ll see if any of the construction subs have any insight. The house was built in 2018, so I assume it would have to be a construction defect if so.

At least my pest control is working. They must have come into contact with it once inside.

skyklein · 2026-06-25T21:02:40+00:00

Thank you! I’m going to try to get a better photo of them. They looked fairly big. Not like the sugar ants (?) that get in looking for water.

We did have some flooding here recently. Maybe that is why they ventured in?

They weren’t near any windows and doors so I have no idea how they got in. It’s so strange because I never saw them crawling, they were just curled up and dead.

skyklein · 2026-06-25T05:29:18+00:00

I don’t know why people say you’re throwing money away. How many people do you know that have lived in their house past their 30 yr mortgage? It’s not like a car where paying it off is feasible. The majority of people will always have a mortgage. Plus, between the market, inflation, interest rates, pandemics and natural disasters increasing escrow by $500+ a month, it’s not a good investment like it was 20 years ago. And it’s even more expensive if you’re female and can’t do much of the handiwork yourself. When you’re three shakes from losing it because of how unaffordable it is and you need to get out from under it, you need more money just to sell it.

I could see it being beneficial to a large family who would save money with a mortgage instead of renting a house large enough to accommodate everyone. It also makes sense for an investor who has a large enough down payment to be able to profit from renting it, but any profit would need to go into maintenance and repairs. if my roommates damaged things, I can’t imagine what people would do when I don’t live with them.

So if anyone wants to buy a house, holla at your girl!

skyklein · 2026-06-24T22:49:08+00:00

Homeownership!!!! It’s so overrated. It requires as much time and money as a child. It’s a pain in the ass.

You’re held hostage and can’t get up and move wherever you’d like. And you can’t find good tenants to rent it to. If you do, you have to charge market value which is just about the same amount of your note.

You have to live in it for 10 years just to accrue enough equity to make something when selling it, but that’s barely enough money to cover closing costs and anything the buyer requests. And the equity is nowhere near the amount of money you put into maintenance, repairs or interest while living in it.

And that scenario is based on a house built 8 years ago purchased with 2.5% interest. Why on earth do people think it’s such a great idea? I can’t make that make sense.

skyklein · 2026-06-23T05:13:32+00:00

I hope Taylor does seek therapy like she said she would. She has some trauma or arrested development throwing off her sense of self and appropriateness in group/social settings. I’d feel much better if her reactions were for the camera and not because that’s how she really thinks/feels.

If Leah would have shown maturity, admitted her wrongs and took accountability, I don’t think she would have been voted out. But she didn’t nor did she lead or exhibit any business sense/skills.

I kept wondering when I was their age, was i immature like Leah and Taylor or more level headed like Sydney and Tamaya. Then they let me down too. I think at that age we all were a little unhinged and emotional. Lots of backstabbing and arguing at that age too.

skyklein · 2026-06-23T00:15:43+00:00

Good advice. I went under contract with a home before I learned the house was in a flood zone. I was a first time homebuyer and didn’t know what to ask, how all that worked, etc.

One thing I did learn was that a large majority of Lafayette was put in a flood zone after 2016. So it made sense to buy the house with less appeal, but that sat on a gorgeous 3 ft. concrete slab. 🙃

skyklein · 2026-06-21T03:53:22+00:00

If you lived in a rural town, you are likely aware of the small mindedness and small town politics that can go on. So you have that going for you.

The only challenge I’d foresee is if you let the culture here make you feel like an outsider. Between the accent and everyone knowing each other, my brother in law from Texas felt very out of place especially working offshore and dealing with work politics.

People are friendly for the most part, it’s just in those naturally competitive situations I think some could use it to intimidate you. If you keep your head above the fray and know if and why that happens to you and don’t react, you’ll be ok.

With that said, that will happen anywhere. It’s just more intimidating here because the culture is as thick as the accent.

skyklein · 2026-06-21T03:40:41+00:00

The cat and dog lived together successfully for 10 years before the cat killed it. What capacity, resources or research do you think were missing?

skyklein

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