the last 3 days: my red face progress pix

that's a movie title right? well i thought it fitting bc the last 3 days my face has really started to turn red and swollen and im worried for the worst.

i stopped wearing foundation to work this week because i figured they should see why I've been struggling to sleep and looking uncomfortable. and boy did it show. i woke up Tuesday with a very swollen face. i could feel my eyelids everytime i blinked which was definitely something new. i had seen it described on the ITSAN forums of other TSW sufferers but hoped my face wouldn't take the brunt of the RSS despite my heavy topical steroid usage on my upper lip, cheeks and chin. 

well, au contraire my body said and finally started to swell my face. today, my upper lip was so raw that the oozing continued all day and by the end of my work day the yellow crystals of ooze had formed. 

my 3 day progression. first day, swollen and red especially around the eyes resulting in those dimples in the cheeks, second day super dry especially lips, 3rd day raw oozing upper lip and lips with red plastic skin on cheeks. note the difference in color of the lips. my lips only get that red when I'm ridiculously dehydrated!

it feels worse in the darker light of the office and i could tell my condition was now evident as one coworker commented i looked like i was allergic to something and another asked me how my skin was doing. well, not great, i would reply uncomfortably. 

i feel like I'm in a constant hunch now because i am afraid if i stand up straight my skin will crack into a million pieces. haven't done yoga in over a week now but i feel like i should because the tension in my body is definitely mounting. 

in all hopefulness, i will wake up tomorrow less red and swollen but one can't ever predict the withdrawing skin's behavior. i can only hope for a decent night sleep and look forward to a weekend of rest and relaxation. 

with that i bid all the TSWers out there sweet dreams, at least some dreams for the time we remain asleep!