A Pause to Think About What's Going On

It's been a bit over a month since I posted an update, recent events prompt me to write another. PRP is an odd disease in the fact that at least in my particular case, it has been cyclical. I am the type of person who is acutely in tune with their body, I have been this way my entire life or at least as long as I can remember all the way back to my early childhood. This can be a good thing but as I have learned over time, that for me it has generally been a curse. It has created untold health anxieties and other emotional discontent, however I prevail. That being said, I have been keenly aware of each cycle of my PRP for the past 2 years. During the acute phase the cycles were anywhere from 3 weeks to 6 weeks apart and generally lasted from 7 to 10 days. During the weeks when things were bad, I referred to these as the "down" cycles, when things were better, I referred to these as the "up" cycles. Even though I have had significant healing, I have continued to have cycles, currently the cycles are between 8 and 10 weeks apart. One may ask when you are acute how would you know if you were in a down cycle? More flaking, shedding, skin being very sensitive and feeling burned, more red, more tired, more chills etc. When you begin to heal, you do not really flake or shed skin anymore and the skin returns back to a mostly normal color. So this past week I have gone through a flare or a "down" cycle. It started early on in the week with me being tired, really, really tired. Then I would get these random spots itching, then I would have what I refer to as heat pulses which are fluctuations in body temperature. Finally I realized, ok I am having a flare. But this one had more symptoms than what I have been experiencing, my scalp was really itchy and even flaky, the areas on my face just above by beard felt sensitive and burned. I was experiencing more symptoms than I have had in months. Once you have ever had PRP, you do not forget it, and what you have been through. I would be lying to say that I have not been scared this week, scared to go back to that dark awful place that PRP takes you to. After you come through the acute phase, you get really used to life being back to mostly normal, and you never want to return to where PRP took you, where you had no control over anything your body was doing. Truth is, do we ever really have that kind of control? We try to put ourselves in the best condition to stay healthy that we can, and that is really all we can control. PRP just shows up one day unexpectedly, none of us ever said, hey if I keep doing this I am going to get PRP. That is what is most scary. For now I feel that I am on the other side of the flare, I am not as tired, my skin is feeling better etc, so I will continue to hope that I am still on the 3 - 5 year track with PRP healing, I am at year 2 now. I will hope and I will pray that it is still going away.
I will continue to run, I will continue to eat well (cleaner than I have been, I am suspicious that this last flare has been worse due to my diet) and live life to the fullest extent possible. I have some wonderful things going on this summer and I intend to enjoy and appreciate them and to be grateful for each and every day of better health. Be well, and Be Healthy.

-Sean

P.S. I found some more pictures from June and July 2015 when I was just beginning to become familiar with PRP. Posting them below. Thanks for reading.

Wow It Has Been Over A Year

    It has been well over a year since I have updated this blog. I'd like to report that I feel that I am in remission, remission with remnants is what I like to call it. I will never have an 'official' medical opinion I suppose since I have been under no medical supervision for PRP since September of 2015. I feel that I am in remission as most of the evidence of PRP has abated. My skin for the most part looks normal, I have 2 small spots on each cheek bone that becomes more red from time to time, I have a scar on one cheek so it is hard to say if that is a PRP spot or a scar. All I know is that it flakes about once a week. I have a small spot on my chest and 2 small rows on the very tops of my shoulders, my scalp still gets a few scales and itches most every day. And my nose peels about once a week. I don't get many episodes of extreme tiredness and fatigue that I used to, and I feel normal. I began to sweat again in Feb / Mar of 2016 and when I did, I took up running again for the first time in about 20 years and I feel that this has contributed significantly to my improvement. Consistent exercise and movement are essential to our overall well being. We are not designed to sit at a desk for 10 hours a day and do work, and I feel this is contributing a great deal to the epidemic of poor health that exists in western society. I have learned so much about myself over the time since I was diagnosed with PRP. Namely the behaviors which possibly contributed to the onset of PRP, but who really knows. Our bodies and systems strive to be in homeostasis at all times and unfortunately modern life more often than not gets in the way of this. Prior to my onset, I had 2 to 3 years of dealing with severe anxiety and sometimes having panic attacks. A year prior to the onset of PRP I did a significant amount of work to overcome this and find ways to deal with life and all that it throws at us in a productive way. At the time of onset, I was studying and taking 2 difficult professional exams for certification I wanted to obtain as well as interviewing for a new job, spending 3 hours a day commuting in crazy Houston traffic and all of the other things that existing in this crazy modern world throws at us. My diet was not great, I was not exercising enough, and my sleep was not adequate. Something had to give. I was likely dealing with some severe systemic inflammation.This all finally manifested through PRP. Today I am much happier and much healthier at 50 than I think I was at 40. I will continue to do what I have been doing to get my body in an optimal state to heal. I hope that at some point in the near future the research that is ongoing will pinpoint what causes this treacherous condition and help those who suffer daily in so much pain and anguish. Until then, PRP warriors, hold your heads high and know that you are special, unique and one of a kind.