Too tired to count

Things have been hugely busy here and I'm feeling too tired to be on top of things. At this stage, I am trying to focus on not scratching and let go of the counting. If I can get through the next few days without regressing I will be happy.

Day Six

Things are progressing well and I reach my all time lowest of 17 scratches in the day! Yay!

Day Five - Behavioural Prescription

Dr B. suggests that I draw up a behavioural prescription which will guide me through the tougher times and help me to be conscious of my behaviour -

1. Itchy skin on waking (I don't necessarily scratch but it becomes quite trying) - Get up and get straight into bath.
Also, I find I am itchy and would normally scratch a bit when I try to get back to sleep after my daughter first wakes in the morning (she wakes at 6am for a bottle and we all go back to sleep for an hour) - I may need to stop climbing back into bed after giving her a bottle in the mornings and start the day earlier.
3. Scratching while concentrating on computer screen at night - limit my working at night so that I do bare minimum and am focused on scratching pattern during that time.
4. Rubbing my face as I walk into the toilet/leave the toilet - remind myself that this is what I do. And place a note on the door!

On the whole, I feel that things are progressing well, and I am reducing my scratching and feeling positive.

My total is coming down (slowly but still) - 22.

Day Four

Back on with the counting today - a grand total of 25 scratches. This is half of what I had been when I started the programme so and improvement. But still a way to go ...

The majority of scratches I have recorded are not scratches or rubs of the old pattern - those are attempts at the new behaviour. (I would say 25 - 30% are old behaviours.) What I have done successfully so far is when I move to the area (sometimes this is still automatic), I allow myself to push the itchy area.

Day Three

Today I left my hand little clicker at home so I didn't count properly. I continued to click in my mind but at the end of the day I do not have an accurate tally. I would say that I scratchhed no more than the previous day and I hope a little less. I will have to count carefully tomorrow.

Day Two

I spent the day working on Habit Reversal for Chronic Eczema and my total for scratching (see the definition of what I mean below - in my case I do a lot of rubbing) is 25.

I am also busy working on my Behavioural Prescriptions - these are things that I am going to do while I am on the programme to avoid the typical times when I find myself scratching the most. Every night I sit at my laptop catching up on e-mails and blogging and I started noticing that I rub my face and hands a lot during this time. So, my behavioural prescription is not to work at night for the next 2 or 3 weeks while I am establishing the programme. Dr Bridgett assures me that I can come back to working at night after we have entrenched the programme.

The Grand Total

At the end of day one on the habit reversal programme to end my life with chronic atopic eczema, I have reduced the number of times I scratch my skin (Remember: scratch = scratch, pick, rub or touch the skin), from 52 times a day to 26 times a day!

Day One

During my second consultation with Dr Bridgett, we discussed the details of the Habit Reversal Programme.

We discussed the different levels of treating eczema:

LEVEL 1 - DRY SKIN - USE MOISTURISERS AND EMOLLIENTS
LEVEL 2 - ITCHY ECZEMA - USE TOPICAL STEROIDS
LEVEL 3 - SCRATCHING - HABIT REVERSAL

While moisturisers and emollients are vital in the treatment of eczema, they do not address the destructive behaviours that cause the chronic eczema and in my case, lichenification. So, it's important while I'm on the programme that I keep up all three properly. I'll include details of the programme later on. At this stage, I am focusing on a proper routine with the creams and steroids - making sure that I do not disturb the skin while applying them. The mantra is to apply them 'quickly, gently, frequently' and not to wake up the skin.

I am also very foscused on not scratching. But this is not simply an exercise in willpower. Rather, I am looking to replace my old, destructive patterns, with new ones. So from now on when I feel an itch instead of moving in with claws ready, I will gently clench my fists and count to 30 while thinking of something pleasant. If it is still itchy after that, I will move into the area and gently pinch the skin or put some pressure onto the skin with my nail.

I'm excited to start, although the idea is also a little daunting ...

1, 2, 3, 4 ... eleventy-seven

A few days into the programme and I have duly started counting my scratches. For these purposes, scratch is defined as any scratching, picking, rubbing or touching of the skin. Suddenly I am very aware that while I have reversed all the really damaging behaviour in my first attempt on the programme, in fact I still rub and touch my face a number of times during the day and night, and scratch my head - approximately 52 times on average every day. This is leading to the lichenification on my hands and forehead.

At the end of every day, I make a note of my totals. I will count every day for the next 4 - 6 weeks - just as well Dr Bridgett has given me a counter.

The Book - The Eczema Solution by Sue Armstrong Jones

Sue Armstrong Jones has written a helpful and simple account of the Habit Reversal Programme that you can follow on your own. You can buy the book from Amazon by clicking on the link below:

Back at Square One

I've just finished reading the FT Weekend Magazine - the feature article is titled the Retreat of Reason and considers how British universities increasingly offer scientific courses in alternative and complementary therapies which, according to irate scientists, is a bunch of gobbledygook and has very little scientific basis. Reading through the list of therapies, I could tick most of the boxes. As someone who has suffered with chronic atopic eczema my whole life, I've tried just about everything at some point. At times, I've been willing to suspend disbelief in the hope that something - anything - would provide me with a cure for eczema.

It was somewhat fortuitous to find the article today, as I met with Dr Cristopher Brigett this morning. Dr Bridgett is a psychiatrist who has worked alongside some very well-known and highly regarded dermatologists to develop a program of Habit Reversal for eczema sufferers.

I'll deal with Habit Reversal in more detail throughout this blog. At this stage, let me tell you that I started the Habit Reversal programme in October 2008 and have been proceeding very well with huge improvements in my eczema (again, this is a first post so more on that later). During a recent visit to Dr Staughton, I was advised to make an appointment to consult with Dr Bridgett because my skin has not healed as well as it should have and, in short, it seems that I still have certain habits to reverse.

Which led me to Dr Bridgett who wants to run the 6 week program with me from scratch (oh, pardon the pun). This left me feeling frustrated. Somewhat like being back at square one.

The more I thought about it during the day, the more I realised that I have already come so far with Habit Reversal already and that if I have to spend another 6 weeks working on it, then that hardly seems like the biggest sacrifice. And, it gives me an opportunity to record in more detail the experience of Habit Reversal.

So, 6 weeks to being eczema-free. Sounds good to me!

Please join me on the journey. I'd love to hear your thoughts and your experiences.

(A note on the pictures. The eczema on my hands has always been the worst and has made me most self-conscious. This picture was taken two weeks into the Habit Reversal programme. By this stage, my eczema was already so much improved. My hands felt much more comfortable and I did not have a single crack from eczema. This was pretty-much unheard of for me. I will try to findpictures of my hands before I started Habit Reversal although I usually hid them behind my back etc. Six months in, I am happy to say that I survived the harsh Winter with 2 tiny, insignificant cracks on my hands. My hands are much less swollen and red but I still have lichenification and am keen to spend the next 6 weeks getting even better ... The second picture is of my hands as of this morning. ).