Sorry I've been so quiet lately. The last 3 months or my life have been total hell as I've been going through topical steroid withdrawal. At first, I didn't know what I was getting into and thought it would only be bad for a few weeks maybe. After a month, I was in denial about how bad it was getting and how much the withdrawal process was fucking up my body and mind on top of my skin, and I started to do more research where I learned the TSW typically lasts much longer----at least 6 months and often for years. Still, my dependence was on the "weak", over-the-counter hydrocortisone, so I figured it would be milder and more brief. Instead things just kept getting worse, and about a week ago, I decided to try abort the withdraw and start reapplying hydrocortisone.
I'm in a much better place now but have a long way to go. My skin is still pretty trashed, my body feels totally out of whack, and psychologically, I'm still in shock from the trauma, disruption, and uncertainty of what's to come. Tragically information on TSW is thin and poor quality, and information on tapering instead of going cold turkey is almost non-existent. I know some people have done it, but the prevailing opinion in the social media groups and among the doctors who treated this before it was widely acknowledged is that tapering doesn't work. Official medical sources suggest tapering should be done, but don't give any useful advice on how. I'm anticipating needing to wait 4-8 weeks at a minimum between incremental reductions, because that's how long it really takes for the withdraw to fully manifest. Best case scenario is that I can complete the process in a year. Worst case scenario is that I'm addicted forever.
Anyway, I'm hoping I'll soon be feeling well enough to dabble some psychedelics again. Unfortunately, they massively amplify the miserable symptoms, so I need to be feeling almost all well before I can go there again. However, I'm cautiously optimistic that once I'm feeling better that the psychedelics might help. Certainly they ought to help me process the trauma I've just gone through.