Hey you, yes, you.
If you feel it's time to stop reading about atopic and start doing something about it...
If you're sick (in more than one sense) of feeling alone with your disease and you want to meet others with the same problem...
If you're a parent of a child that suffers from atopic dermatitis and you think there should be more being done...
... now's your big chance.
We are now in the preliminary stages of forming a group for atopic dermatitis. With the help of "Etza" (=literally "Advice"), the Israeli organization for Self and Mutual Help, two other atopic patients and I are forming the initial core of this group. We will be meeting, hopefully before Passover, to set our initial goals and priorities for this group.
You are very welcome to join us, whether you are an atopic patient yourself, or the parent of one. If you want to join us and influence the direction of this group, now's the time. (You can always join later, but now is better! :-)
Send me a mail: shiri.dori AT gmail.com
We would love to have you with us.
Showing posts with label introduction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label introduction. Show all posts
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Monday, September 3, 2007
Things that were, and things yet to come
Phew. I haven't been very active lately, but there were some good reasons for that. So, I am going to tell you a little bit about what has been going on. I'm also going to mention a lot of things that will receive my fullest attention in separate posts. I want to do this right, so I will devote a post to any topic that seems relevant and not go into too many details here. So to avoid repeating myself a lot, I'll write "TBE" - to be explained - wherever I want to write more later. [Edit (6.4.08): these TBE's are now links to the relevant posts, wherever I actually wrote them.]
Around the last time I posted, my situation was already pretty severe, and it was getting worse by the day. I somehow managed to function although I was barely sleeping at nights, scratching constantly and so on.
My situation can be likened to the proverbial boiling frog. For nearly two years my situation was going from bad to worse, with only temporary remissions brought upon by use of cortisones in different formats. I will write a separate post about all the warning signs I missed, should have seen, or didn't know existed... TBE#1. But for now suffice it to say that by the beginning of August, I was near the boiling point.
In hindsight, my situation was actually dangerous (TBE [6.4.08 - due to infections and sleepless nights]). To make a long story short, I came to an appointment with an allergist. As I was waiting for him to show up, the nurses told me in no uncertain terms that they think I should go to the emergency room - a statement which managed to dull the surprise when the allergist took one look at me and said I needed hospitalization. Most importantly he said this should be seeing a dermatologist - that he as an allergist couldn't do enough for me (TBE).
So the very next morning I showed up in the Rambam hospital in Haifa, which evidently hosts one of Israel's best skin departments (if not the best one). I came to the upstairs clinic first, and met with the department head. He was also very clear on the fact that I needed to be hospitalized, and so I was admitted to the hospital.
I spent the following ten days there, and received all-around treatment that has turned my skin upside down, inside-out and altogether amazingly healthy. To me the best part of this was that I received no systemic cortisones but rather a combination of other treatments (TBE), the most important of which being an immuno-suppressive (TBE). Within two days of being there my skin was nearly entirely cleared up. I was still itching, though, and not sleeping at nights; this improved later on (TBE). Finally I was discharged home, and I will continue some of the treatments at home while others are over (TBE...).
With so many things yet to be explained, I want to wrap up this post now with a note of cautious optimism. Right now, my skin is in a wonderful condition, and I intend to do everything in my power to help it stay this way. To this end, and also to help other people be healthier, I plan to post a series of short posts on specific topics that I encountered immediately before and during the hospitalization. I hope that I can follow through with these ambitions.
Around the last time I posted, my situation was already pretty severe, and it was getting worse by the day. I somehow managed to function although I was barely sleeping at nights, scratching constantly and so on.
My situation can be likened to the proverbial boiling frog. For nearly two years my situation was going from bad to worse, with only temporary remissions brought upon by use of cortisones in different formats. I will write a separate post about all the warning signs I missed, should have seen, or didn't know existed... TBE#1. But for now suffice it to say that by the beginning of August, I was near the boiling point.
In hindsight, my situation was actually dangerous (TBE [6.4.08 - due to infections and sleepless nights]). To make a long story short, I came to an appointment with an allergist. As I was waiting for him to show up, the nurses told me in no uncertain terms that they think I should go to the emergency room - a statement which managed to dull the surprise when the allergist took one look at me and said I needed hospitalization. Most importantly he said this should be seeing a dermatologist - that he as an allergist couldn't do enough for me (TBE).
So the very next morning I showed up in the Rambam hospital in Haifa, which evidently hosts one of Israel's best skin departments (if not the best one). I came to the upstairs clinic first, and met with the department head. He was also very clear on the fact that I needed to be hospitalized, and so I was admitted to the hospital.
I spent the following ten days there, and received all-around treatment that has turned my skin upside down, inside-out and altogether amazingly healthy. To me the best part of this was that I received no systemic cortisones but rather a combination of other treatments (TBE), the most important of which being an immuno-suppressive (TBE). Within two days of being there my skin was nearly entirely cleared up. I was still itching, though, and not sleeping at nights; this improved later on (TBE). Finally I was discharged home, and I will continue some of the treatments at home while others are over (TBE...).
With so many things yet to be explained, I want to wrap up this post now with a note of cautious optimism. Right now, my skin is in a wonderful condition, and I intend to do everything in my power to help it stay this way. To this end, and also to help other people be healthier, I plan to post a series of short posts on specific topics that I encountered immediately before and during the hospitalization. I hope that I can follow through with these ambitions.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Introduction to "A Topic: Dermatitis"
Hi, my name is Shiri and this blog is about atopic dermatitis.
A few clarifications and disclaimers before I start. First and foremost, I am not, I repeat, not, medical personnel of any kind. I am a young woman who was diagnosed with atopic dermatitis at eight months I've lived with it nearly all my life, on and off. Any and all recommendations in this blog are my own personal opinion. They may be based in whole or in part on many doctor's recommendations, or other people's recommendations, but eventually synthesized in my own mind and doled out however I see fit.
In fact, I recommend to take everything anyone tells you about atopic, including myself, with a massive grain of salt. Atopic is one of the least understood conditions - certainly for a condition/disease so widespread, one could expect more research and comprehension of the problem but this is not the case. What's more, atopic often varies widely among individuals or even among the same person in different periods. It is extremely important that each and every atopic patient tailor the treatment(s) to his or her own special needs. Trial and error with careful tracking of results is the best way to go. Always be careful when starting a new treatment of any kind. Be aware of the consequences and any new reactions that may stem from it.
One more thing, I live in Israel, not that it's of great relevance but has some bearing on weather-oriented recommendations, so keep that in mind.
It is my intention here in this blog to raise awareness to atopic and provide people diagnosed with atopic (or their parents) with some basic tools to handle it. Atopic Dermatitis is a difficult disease to handle, one that is not well understood neither by doctors nor by society. While asthma is nowadays considered common and no one would be surprised if a kid pulls out an inhaler in the middle of nowhere, the alternative of that same child scratching is often misconstrued, ridiculed or just evokes confusion. Meanwhile the doctors (especially pediatricians who are not dermatologists) react in various ways, often contradicting ones. Recommendations are unclear, and day-to-day recommendations are confused with actual treatment. Prognosis is always foggy and usually completely unreliable.
I want to clear away some of that fog. But again, I implore you not to trust me. Try things for yourself. I'm here to offer you the options and to share my experiences with them. I also wish you the best of luck and invite you to share your experiences with me. I'd love to hear from you.
Thanks,
-Shiri
A few clarifications and disclaimers before I start. First and foremost, I am not, I repeat, not, medical personnel of any kind. I am a young woman who was diagnosed with atopic dermatitis at eight months I've lived with it nearly all my life, on and off. Any and all recommendations in this blog are my own personal opinion. They may be based in whole or in part on many doctor's recommendations, or other people's recommendations, but eventually synthesized in my own mind and doled out however I see fit.
In fact, I recommend to take everything anyone tells you about atopic, including myself, with a massive grain of salt. Atopic is one of the least understood conditions - certainly for a condition/disease so widespread, one could expect more research and comprehension of the problem but this is not the case. What's more, atopic often varies widely among individuals or even among the same person in different periods. It is extremely important that each and every atopic patient tailor the treatment(s) to his or her own special needs. Trial and error with careful tracking of results is the best way to go. Always be careful when starting a new treatment of any kind. Be aware of the consequences and any new reactions that may stem from it.
One more thing, I live in Israel, not that it's of great relevance but has some bearing on weather-oriented recommendations, so keep that in mind.
It is my intention here in this blog to raise awareness to atopic and provide people diagnosed with atopic (or their parents) with some basic tools to handle it. Atopic Dermatitis is a difficult disease to handle, one that is not well understood neither by doctors nor by society. While asthma is nowadays considered common and no one would be surprised if a kid pulls out an inhaler in the middle of nowhere, the alternative of that same child scratching is often misconstrued, ridiculed or just evokes confusion. Meanwhile the doctors (especially pediatricians who are not dermatologists) react in various ways, often contradicting ones. Recommendations are unclear, and day-to-day recommendations are confused with actual treatment. Prognosis is always foggy and usually completely unreliable.
I want to clear away some of that fog. But again, I implore you not to trust me. Try things for yourself. I'm here to offer you the options and to share my experiences with them. I also wish you the best of luck and invite you to share your experiences with me. I'd love to hear from you.
Thanks,
-Shiri
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