TSW Support
While Scratch That cannot responsibly offer medical advice since we are not medical experts, we can offer information and support to aid you in your recovery.
This information is based on the testimonies of thousands of TSW sufferers.
If you decide that steroids are no longer working for you and want to cease this medication, it is important to maintain a relationship with your doctor and check in with them regularly as you will need their support.
What to expect
So you think you may be suffering from Topical Steroid Addiction. Or maybe you’re already going through withdrawal. Perhaps you are caring for a loved one who is currently suffering.
Everyone’s journey is different, but there are common symptoms most sufferers experience.
Treatment
As topical steroid withdrawal is effectively your body recovering from a dependency on steroids, the only ‘cure’ is to come off steroids and go through the withdrawal process. This unfortunately cannot be avoided once the skin becomes dependent, however there are some things that can be done to help cope with symptoms.
Useful website: TSW Assist
TSW is a wonderful new website full of Crowd Sourced Solutions for Topical Steroid Withdrawal. It includes community backed routines, therapies and treatments to help the topical steroid withdrawal healing process.
Mental Health
TSW can have a profound effect on your mental health and overall quality of life. The extent to which it can incapacitate you physically leaves many sufferers feeling extremely distressed and isolated.
It is common to feel terrified and doubtful due to the unknown nature of this condition. The very fact it is caused by medication means that many lose faith in modern medicine and doctors altogether.
Talking to your doctor
Most doctors have never heard of TSA or TSW so this is your chance to educate them on it! If a doctor is dismissive of the condition, and this is very common, there are other ways you can help them to understand.
They may not be fully in support of TSW, but if they are a good doctor they should be supportive of your decision to stop a medication which you believe is no longer working for you.
Self care
It can be really hard to take care of yourself like you normally would when going through TSW. Maybe you can’t jump in a nice hot bath or put on a face mask like you used to, but there are other things you can do.
Here are some tips from the community.
Community
Topical Steroid Withdrawal sufferers get very little support from medical professionals, so instead we turn to each other.
In times of crisis, finding people who are having a similar experience to you can be so helpful. When those who have healed are asked what helped them, most reply ‘the community’!
We are blessed to have the internet at our fingertips, and there are so many people out there who want to help.
Facebook
If you’re looking to meet lots of fellow sufferers and want to ask some questions, the facebook groups are the place to go. Please bear in mind some of them are very large (12,000 people plus!) and you might feel a bit overwhelmed.
Main Groups
Parents & Carers
Global Groups
Instagram
For a friendly and supportive community, head over to Instagram, where there are thousands of people sharing their stories and support.
TSW Journey Accounts
Printables
We have created some printable resources to help those of you who are going through TSW.
There is also support for patients who are concerned about their steroid use.
