Why I started this blog

Hello and welcome to my blog. I started this blog because of my facial eczema. Many years ago, I was using steroid creams to curb my eczema. It was by no means bad and as I got older, the eczema subsided till the point that it was only occurring occasionally.

I wasn't bothered by my eczema since the steroid cream was doing its job and I could live a normal life. At the same time, my career took off and though I love my job, there were more and more things to do and I was under loads of stress.

In early 2010, I went back to my previous company with a great pay hike and heavy responsibilities. I felt that since I was asked to come back, I NEED to prove that I am worthy, thereby beginning a cycle of poor diet, poor sleeping habits and no exercise at all.

Things came to a head when my facial eczema suddenly became worse and even though the steroid cream helped, the flareup of rashes happened more and more often, as though as a retaliation against the cream.

The dermatologist told me that I have developed an allergic reaction to my cream (horrors of horrors!) and have to switch to a non steroid one. This began a miserable time for me as the new cream didn't help at all and actually made it worse. The rashes spread and I became moody, upset and developed a fear of mirrors. The rash was unbearably itchy and there were times that I have to scratch or at least run a hanky across my face.

It all came to a head when I woke up one night, and scratched really hard. In the morning I was unrecognizable as my face has swelled up and there were red scaly patches everywhere.

I didn't dare to come in to office but chose to work from home for the next few days.

When I finally went in to work, everyone was so shocked at my appearance. My eyes were so swollen to the point that I couldn't even wear contact lenses. Someone even asked me (fearfully!) whether it was catching. The straw that broke this camel's back was when my buddy shouted at me in shock at my face. I broke down in tears in the toilet then went home.

Against the doctor's advice, I reapply the steroid cream and the rashes got better... and then it got worse. I woke up 2 nights later to a swelling face to the point that my lips were stretched tightly across my chin. I have to rush to A&E then.

The doctors gave me prednisolone to bring down the inflammation and oral steroids to suppress the eczema. When I thought it was the end of my nightmare when my face starts healing, another sudden episode of swelling took place 3 nights later and I have to go to A&E again.

In total, I was on sick leave for 5 days, a miserable and depressed girl. And this is where things took a turn for the better.

Because of the itch, I couldn't sleep very well at night. One night, I got up and posted on Facebook... a plea you could say. I posted briefly about my rashes and how upset I am.

And angels answered! These are 2 very good friends of mine, who saw my message and called me up the next day. J & G spoke to me lovingly and told me to see their naturopath. Fearful that another course of medicines only complicate things, I only reverse my decision not to go when I heard about J's amazing story of how she was cured of depression, which she had suffered for 4 months.

It was my first time to the naturopath and he was very encouraging. He said that even though he couldn't treat me as much as he wants, he will first focus on my nutrition. Eczema, he explained, is a sign that the body cannot purge the toxins and have to expel it through the largest organ in the body - the skin. In this case, my face.

I was skeptical but I agree to try. After all, what do I have to lose? It was either using the steroid cream with increasing aggressive side effects or try something that will really help my body to hear.

I've always thought that eczema was just a rash but never knew that it was a symptom of digestive problems. The naturopath then told me to go on my blood type diet - in this case, the O Blood Type Diet. And come back to him a week after I have come off the steroids.

It was initially challenging to follow it and I broke after 4 days. I began to resume my poor eating habits and since my face was clearing up (from the residue of the steroids), why should I let a stupid diet deter me from what I like to eat?

3 weeks later, my rashes came back and I was desperate. I went back to him and the proper cleansing began. I was tested for allergies and was put on the Candida diet for 3 weeks where I cannot have any diary, sugar, fruits, wheat or soy. I could eat natural food and season with salt when I cook. In just that 4 days into the diet, I've lost 2.5 kg. The diet will help cleanse me of the allergens that were in my body.

Since the rashes were here to stay, I had motivation to stick to the diet this time. Even though Christmas was coming up, I was faithful to the diet. In the beginning, I had cravings for my usual snacks - chips, chocolate but they faded away after a couple of days.

On 27 Dec 2010, I went back to him for a follow up and was declared allergy free. However my rashes were coming back and on that day, there were large patches of rashes on both cheeks. Sigh. I was losing hope at that point.

Some tests revealed that my adrenal score was very low and the naturopath said that for some reason, I still couldn't absorb my nutrients very well. He doubled my multi vitamins and gave me a new adrenal supplement. He also gave me extra virgin coconut oil to apply for my dry dry skin. I have to go back to the O Blood Type Diet and follow what the sheet says including "O Blood Types enjoy vigorous exercise".

He told me that my rashes will start clearing up at this point. "The healing will be a spiral - it will get better then get worse but will eventually clear up." I took heart at his words.

And true enough, my eczema started clearing up! I was so relieved. While there is still a little eczema left, I have faith that it will clear up soon.

I have also been losing weight thanks to the diet and the exercise. When I started seeing him, I was at my heaviest ever, at 98.5 kg. Now I am 92.8 kg - a 6 kg loss in 6 weeks! I am heartened.

My darling hubby, seeing how miserable I was before, supported me by following the same two diets as me. We both lose weight, work out together and felt a lot better for it. Instead of being sluggish and lethargic, we have boundless energy now. With each kg lost, we became more motivated to work out more often.

I learnt to cook with the beneficial food in new ways and fell in love with cooking as a result. Without the O BTD (Blood Type Diet), I would have never discovered the delights of adzuki beans and quinoa. I really love cooking now and look forward to planning and cooking for my breakfast and lunch.

If you have come here by sheer coincidence, I hope you will cheer for me as I work on losing the other 29 kg. I want to weigh at 65 kg or lesser by the end of 2011.

If you came here because you have heard of my blog, welcome! Please leave a comment so I wouldn't feel silly talking to myself. Or pretend that I have an imaginary audience out there. I hope you will be inspired, encouraged, heartened and sometimes amused by my journey of wellness.