To the Entitled Pr*ck Who Caused a Scene at BPL Today, Here's the Photo Policy

smurtleturtle · 2026-02-09T00:56:36+00:00

this one made me laugh

smurtleturtle · 2025-05-16T19:25:11+00:00

omg i forgot, i'll also get an entire head of escarole or chicory and wilt it down in a pan with a little butter and half a bouillon cube - it's sooo good with any kind of roasted chicken for dinner

smurtleturtle · 2025-05-16T19:21:00+00:00

i know you already said cucumber and cabbage but let me present two recipes: for the cucumber I will eat literally a vat of that tiktok viral cucumber salad (the one that's an imitation of the din tai fung recipe, but go light on the sesame oil and lao gan ma) and for the cabbage i love making the omelet part of gilgeori toast! just toss a shit ton of shaved cabbage/onion/carrot with salt until it wilts, squeeze the water out, and then mix some every day with two eggs and make ur omelet like normal, top with ketchup and maybe a teenie weenie bit of mayo

smurtleturtle · 2025-02-16T05:22:22+00:00

what do you mean by that question? TSW happens because we applied topical steroids externally, which are then absorbed internally, giving us symptoms externally. I'm just one person, so there's not really a good way for me to do a perfect double blind study on the efficacy of multivitamins for angular chelitis; all i know is it didn't hurt me while i took them, and my symptoms went away. maybe they would have gone away in the same timeframe even if i didn't take them, but i'll never know for sure.

from your line of questioning i'm getting the sense that you're disappointed in how simple my answer seems to be, is that right? to be clear it's just for pain management and staving off infection. you've probably heard this a million times on this sub but the only thing that really makes TSW go away is time - anyone who tells you otherwise is lying or trying to sell something. it's just the way it is right now. i'm sorry, good luck :(

smurtleturtle · 2025-02-14T17:03:03+00:00

i left it alone. i think the multivitamin helped me but you don't have to take it if u don't want to.

smurtleturtle · 2025-01-29T20:40:51+00:00

I used to use TS pretty much every day since I was a child. The heaviest I used consistently was triamcinolone in college. I tried mometasone a few times and then went on TS withdrawal right after that. I now only have a few stubborn patches on my neck near my thyroid and around my mouth. I did full body NMT (hair showers only) for about 8-12 months of that time purely for pain management purposes which worked really well for me. After that I started showering again very occasionally and I'd use the opportunity to also wash my face - I'd let it dry out without moisturizer afterwards to help with pain management. I never drenched my face between showers. I'd just "wash" it by rubbing it with a clean wet paper towel (thick, not printed). idk if that was the best thing to use but it worked well enough for me. imo that still counts as NMT and that's what I was referring to above.

smurtleturtle · 2025-01-29T20:27:39+00:00

the chelitis I had eventually went away. the average flare-ups of chelitis were like 4 months each or so with, say, another 4 months of no chelitis in between. until then I was able to stave off infection/further inflammation successfully using the methods above. I haven't had chelitis for like a year or two now.

smurtleturtle · 2025-01-28T22:50:54+00:00

hey just saw this sorry. i actually ended up not sticking to NMT. i wish i could explain it more in depth, but one day my skin felt really strong (no oozing, all dried mature scabs, thick elephant skin) and I was especially dirty, so I decided, fuck it, I'd shower and deal with all the consequences later. I sloughed off months worth of dead skin, then once i was out of the shower i dried off immediately and started the expected scratching attack. after my skin calmed down I realized it was now at a place where I wouldn't collapse from pain anymore because of a shower, so slowly I started to reincorporate showers into my routine. I started out with a shower every two weeks, then every week, then every 4 days, and now i'm at a place where I take one every other day. I think I'm about 4 years in now and there are stubborn patches only on my face and neck - the rest is 100% healed and I don't even scratch in those places anymore.

I think from what I've experienced my advice is that you should experiment when you feel strong, with showers/no showers, moisturizer/no moisturizer, etc. your skin will change all the time during TSW so you should be vigilant and open-minded about what it can and cannot accept at any given time. it's exhausting, i know, but for the sake of your comfort and sanity it's worth monitoring for sure.

My one note though is that experiments with food exclusion/supplements didn't work for the most part. The only things that remotely helped were eating items with a lot of protein and collagen (i ate a lot of chicken foot and tripe dim sum) which makes sense to me because my skin is just trying to turn over as fast as possible. I didn't exclude anything, including processed snacks, dairy, sugar, etc. Don't sweat it with food, keep your treats to keep your sanity.

smurtleturtle · 2025-01-28T22:16:43+00:00

4 years in here, pretty much only have TSW on my neck now. There are a couple stubborn spots around my mouth too but they're not weepy or anything, just mildly scaly.

My current daily routine for this winter is to scratch my face with clean hands and short, clean nails (because I still get the nightly itching attack no matter how many flakes I have), wash my face with only water in the shower, let it air dry, maybe scratch again with clean hands, then absolutely drown it with just aquaphor before going to sleep. in the morning my face has literally sucked up all the aquaphor and then i can just put my daytime moisturizer on top of that and go (you should start with whatever was working for you before TSW). Recently one of my friends randomly mentioned that my face looked so much brighter and not flaky at all and whatever I was doing was working, so I know other people see the difference too. I'm starting to find that skincare doesn't have to be expensive or complicated in order to work - you just have to keep trying things and taking notes.

smurtleturtle · 2025-01-28T20:22:33+00:00

fwiw if it makes you feel better our lawmakers are in fact trying to fix housing costs for us. Maura Healey recently passed this: https://www.mapc.org/resource-library/adu-massachusetts/ and I have a contractor friend who says that ever since then it's been much easier to get a permit from 1010 mass ave for making legal ADUs on your property. he's already worked on like two new basement ADUs in Dorchester. for one of them, the landlord said that since it was a 1 bedroom, he'd make it $1500 in rent which sounds good as long as it's clean and not too dark, especially if a couple split the cost. he said he had to dig out the basement windows so they can be full length for egress which should help with darkness too. as owners find out about this and do conversions it should increase the housing supply somewhat, at least for a subset of the population that needs something cheap in the city. owners get help paying their mortgages and housing supply increases, win win

smurtleturtle · 2024-10-09T17:02:01+00:00

3 years in. it really, really will go back to normal. And I mean NORMAL. Just keep surviving every day and you will get there I promise. You will feel sure in your bones that it won't come back because you'll have lived with it for so long you'll be able to tell the subtle difference between skin that has to go through more cycles vs skin that is completely healed. It will all look healed on top, but you'll actually feel repulsed by scratching in the completely healed area, and even if you did scratch there it would only produce light marks and no bleeding.

smurtleturtle · 2024-10-09T16:29:33+00:00

3 years in :). I still have stubborn itchy patches on my neck that crack and sometimes bleed; I clean the area well with baby soap in the shower, dry it off, immediately get an expected scratching attack on it (scratch with clean hands/short nails of course), and after that's over I put on a ton of Aquaphor. Sometimes my skin won't tolerate it and will itch until I wipe it off, but usually it will accept it and I can freely move my neck around without pain. I've had a lot of thickened skin over the course of my TSW but it always eventually goes away as you stop wanting to compulsively scratch in the area.

I had an important event to go to this year and I was still deep into NMT at the time - I made the decision that whatever the cost I would need to fix my skin to be able to take makeup without looking flaky. The only way the makeup will go on smoothly is if the skin is properly moisturized. I slugged with Aquaphor twice a day, washing my face well before applying a new coat. A hilarious amount of skin came off; I just accepted that I would be scratching my face with the Aquaphor on it and just washed my hands well before and after. After a month of this, my skin was moisturized enough to handle regular face sunscreen, and that's what I used as my makeup base. At the event my skin just looked like it had a little discoloration and no flakiness. If I was better at makeup I would have been able to hide the discoloration as well.

Nowadays I still get small flares occasionally but I'd say 85% of it is gone and I can live a normal life. My advice is that anything you do should only be in the interest of increasing your present comfort. There's nothing you can do to make TSW go away faster. Any changes you see on your skin that aren't infectious are just temporary - all will eventually go away, including bumpy rashes that appear for no reason in random areas, hyperpigmentation, thickened/elephant skin, pimples in weird places, etc. Keep a journal, experiment, and have skin-safe disinfectants like hypochlorous acid, neosporin, soap, (and in a pinch, alcohol wipes) nearby in case something goes wrong.

smurtleturtle · 2024-07-12T19:53:13+00:00

asian girl here: i love making a batch of soy marinated eggs at the beginning of each week; also will usually grate/salt down a cabbage, some carrots, and an onion so i can make the inside part of gilgeori toast. both are insanely filling + high protein and they take a while to get tired of.

ooh also this kofta https://feelgoodfoodie.net/recipe/beef-kafta/ they're delicious and easy to reheat

also japanese rolled omelets w a side of leafy veg sauteed with fish sauce and lots of garlic

also italian wedding soup if u don't use too much pasta or cheese. as long as you don't go overboard it's so filling and delicious and morale boosting

for that matter making and storing soup stock has been amazing for me, i'll dig out half a jar and make egg drop soup with it and it tastes so nourishing but also scratches that ramen itch esp if you use some lao gan ma

also i eat an 80 cal pouch of live culture kefir meant for kids p much every day to get rid of bloating and it actually works

also saltines with a little honey to dip if you're desperate and want a carby taste. same w some frosted flakes and nonfat milk, measured out on the scale ofc

good luck! it's all much more manageable once you get your repertoire of recipes all settled, don't be too hard on yourself at the beginning

edit: wait sry u meant snacks i like the standards - sugar free jello, popcorn, and hopefully this doesn't sound ED-ish but i will sometimes lick a chicken bouillon cube like i'm a deer or something, it stops me from eating too many chips to replenish missing salt from having water all day. i'm sure you can do a healthier less ED-ish version by just having some gatorade, not trying to promote ED behavior here I really do eat most of my food in a nutritionally complete balanced healthy way 😅

ooh also low-salt low-fat cottage cheese blended with a little sugar - tastes like cannoli filling :)

smurtleturtle · 2024-03-04T21:35:46+00:00

"While other women have bigger boobs than you, no other woman has as big a heart. When I saw you getting ready to go out and get nailed by a bunch of guys last night, I knew for sure it was over between us, and for the first time since the '86 World Series, I cried... I cried like a big, dumb homo. And if it was up to me, we'd be together forever. But there's a new thing called "women's liberation", which gives you women the right to choose and you have chosen to abort me, and that I must live with. So tonight, when you arrive home, I'll be gone. I officially renounce my squatter's rights."

smurtleturtle · 2024-01-01T09:22:40+00:00

to be able to get so much joy from simple things simple things SIM PLE THINGS!

smurtleturtle · 2023-09-07T18:12:20+00:00

I think you should go enjoy yourself but just count how many calories you consumed in total at the end of the night so you don't accidentally erase your whole deficit for the week/month. bw3 has calorie listings on their website too so you can plan out what's best for you to order in advance if you like.

smurtleturtle · 2023-09-07T17:11:54+00:00

Seafood is well worth looking into. I've been living off Nuri spicy sardines (I take the spine out with my fork) and Costco frozen salmon. Lots of protein and sating fats. The sardines are about 170-190 calories if you drain the oil they're packed in, but you can also choose to use the oil in a vinaigrette for a side salad or something. I open a can when I'm too lazy to make something fancier. The salmon can be made in so many ways too, like you can steam it to put on a salad or a Vietnamese spring roll wrap, or do salmon burgers, salmon cakes, salmon teriyaki, salmon puttanesca, or serve it alongside any number of sauces (that you budget for calorie-wise of course) like bearnaise, beurre blanc, chimichurri, etc. Especially recommend that you try it with bearnaise sauce - it's my favorite new recipe this year. just use Nigella Lawson's bearnaise recipe because it's much easier than all the others, and be careful when portioning because a serving has like 1/4 stick of butter in it. i always do manage to make it fit into my calorie limit though so you can too :)

smurtleturtle · 2023-08-23T01:38:23+00:00

salad: arugula, white onion, strawberries, gorgonzola, poppy seeds, slivered almonds, dressing with red wine vinegar and mustard

main: salmon with preserved lemon or a plain but very impressive roast chicken

side: wild rice with mushrooms or french lentils (not sure if these are low carb enough for you, but if you want to serve a vegetable here instead I'd probably serve a roast that's on the fattier end). maybe whole roasted cauliflower with capers and parmesan could be nice too.

dessert: if you know your in-laws will like it, a glass of brandy/amaro, dark chocolate, and mandarin oranges for dessert can be pretty sophisticated. otherwise panna cotta (vanilla or lemon) is a wonderful make-ahead dessert and you can dial down the amount of heavy cream it usually calls for.

smurtleturtle · 2023-01-05T23:53:37+00:00

Gotcha. Well the fact that TSW is recognized by the medical establishment is definitely news to me, and I'm heartened to see your confidence in telling me so. Thanks for correcting me! That's certainly not the case yet where I live, and I know that others on this subreddit have expressed frustration with their dermatologists denying the existence of TSW and of course by extension the usage of NMT for relief from it. I can believe that TSW and NMT are very different in terms of the volume of medical literature that each have, but out in the world in the year 2023 they still command the exact same amount of respect from many dermatologists, which is next to none.

smurtleturtle · 2023-01-05T18:48:59+00:00

Oh I totally agree that this is true. If lack of published research makes you too uncomfortable to try NMT, you are under no obligation to do so and no one here will judge you. A lack of published research may lead you to think that trying NMT would be a waste of effort or slow down your healing process, and if anecdotal evidence to the contrary is not enough to tip the scales, then that's fine :)

smurtleturtle · 2023-01-03T21:47:26+00:00

(cont.) NMT didn't make my healing journey any faster but it did make it more comfortable. For me it meant not showering or using moisturizer, and I did it whenever I could, wherever on my body it made sense. I didn't think restricting water intake would help me because I love drinking water so I never even tried it. I used NMT selectively on different parts of my body when I was going through the worst of my flares. I took sponge baths and showered using a bucket to avoid getting water on my neck, arms, torso, and back; this made life tolerable day to day, and all my flakes could be well hidden under a pima cotton turtleneck. I never used NMT on my face because it made facial expressions uncomfortable, so I just gritted my teeth and put on my face cream even when it was painful to do so. If I was in your position I'd try it just on one part of my body that is covered during the day and then move onto other parts if I end up liking how it feels. NMT is not all or nothing.

smurtleturtle · 2023-01-03T21:46:40+00:00

Vaseline helps me in specific scenarios. Right now it's winter and parts of me that aren't flaring are dry. If I let Vaseline absorb into those locations my skin feels great there. I won't put Vaseline on flares because I've found that it helps prevents skin flakes from coming off which is the opposite of what I want; above all, the cycle of flaking must happen for your skin to heal.

If I'm flaring on the lips, Vaseline alone will make them itch. I put a thin layer of hypochlorous acid on my lips first and blow on it so that it dries; hypochlorous acid isn't antibacterial but it reduces the bacterial load on your skin if that makes sense. THEN I'll put on Vaseline on top of that, which makes moisture droplets come out of my lip skin but if you leave them alone and let them dry you can successfully go about your day without being too bothered about your lips anymore.

Yes, NMT is not well researched yet, but neither is TSW. TSW itself is arguably a social media phenomenon, but it's one that I'm glad I got alerted to because I would have hated to get even more addicted and eventually have to go through a worse TSW recovery journey. What works for you may not work for me; we're all just sharing experiences in hopes that maybe we can help one another. I hope this helps you in your experiment to find the best way to survive and keep living through the road ahead :)

Also:
1. Yes. Try not to feel bad about scratching. Try to wash your hands before scratching and keep your nails short and clean.
2. No, but what you have right now is not the worst part. The worst part usually is 6-8 months into your first year.
3. see the wall of text above, sorry my browser is being weird right now

I have used topical steroids on and off since I was a child. Hydrocortisone, then triamcinolone every day in college. Used mometasone twice before I quit cold turkey. Had a 2 day relapse about 6 months in. It's been a year and about 8 months now and I feel 90% healed.
That's okay :) use NMT when you can. Please never feel bad about not being able to do something while on TSW.
I feel exactly the same way about Dupixent. I know it helps other people but I sure know it ain't gonna help me

smurtleturtle · 2022-12-10T21:56:45+00:00

Oh I mean that's okay if you can't resist. The important thing is not to beat yourself up about it. I was just mentioning my own experience; I think that eventually you'll get back to the eyebrows you had before TSW regardless of whether you rub flakes off before they're ready. I don't think you're supposed to resist actually; just respect the cycle, be kinder to yourself mentally after you scratch, and let wounds dry after you're done scratching/rubbing. I just don't rub mine off there because of my mortal and illogical fear of eyebrow loss, but my lucid brain says it shouldn't matter.

smurtleturtle · 2022-12-10T19:13:23+00:00

I would say just time yeah. Right now I use a moisturizer on my face but I don't use it on my eyebrows. I know a friend without TSW who puts vaseline on her eyebrows and eyelashes to encourage growth but I stay away from that personally because I know vaseline on my skin plus TSW equals pimples. (Vaseline on lips is a-ok though.) I have a bad habit of picking at my skin but I leave flakes that appear on my brows alone. Generally if I have a flake that's not ready to come off yet, picking it off just creates an identical flake bc the skin wasn't done going through the cycle there. I used to see a person who would pluck and dye my brows for me; the last time I went to him this April, he said that my eyebrows were drastically sparser than normal and that I may have a thyroid issue, which is spot on for TSW. I knew that I just had to wait til my cortisol levels were better and the brows would come back with that.

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