Symptoms & What To Expect

**The following are symptoms I've experienced and how I've dealt with it**

Initial flare up
The first 3-5 months were the worst in my opinion. Survive this time period and you've passed the most difficult part of TSW☺. Just hold out. Future flare ups gradually get better. The important thing is to follow the NMT protocol.

Oozing
Yellow-ish fluid oozed from my skin at the start of TSW. I would need to swap out my bedsheets quite often to keep out the metallic smell. You would ooze more the more you drank, so restricting water intake helped remedy this.  

Crusts on the face
At the beginning the ooze on your face begins to dry and crust. Leave it to fall off on its own - mine often took about 2 weeks to fall off. Peeling off the crusts yourself might make your skin raw and you'll need to start all over again.

Sleepless nights
Felt that my sleep was the worst in the first 3-5 months. I couldn't get to sleep when I wanted to, but it's probably the body trying to get used to what's happening. It's been a year into TSW and sleep is still not great with itch episodes happening throughout the day and at night, but I'd say it's improved. 

Swollen lymph nodes
I noticed the area behind my ears were swollen earlier on, but don't freak out if you experience the same. Just continue TSW&NMT and it'll go away.

Itching episodes
Expect to go into an itching frenzy 2-3 times a day. Each episode lasting about 5-10 mins(?), followed by a rest phase of 20-30mins to pick myself back up. You may need a mood boost, so find a hobby to do in the meantime.

Cycles of raw & crusting skin
There was a spot on one of my fingers that kept going through cycles of crusting and getting raw for over a couple of months. I asked the FB group about it and one of them suggested to keep it dry. After keeping it dry for 2 months, the spot is now gone. I can keep it under water like the rest of my body.

Intense Adrenaline Rush
In the first couple months of TSW I noticed that my experience with adrenaline rush were more intense. Even getting startled by something small, I would feel it all over my body, like an electric shock. Haven't seen anyone else post about this experience, so maybe it's not that common?   

Blurry vision
After a year into TSW, the vision in my right eye started to get cloudy/blurry. Blurry vision is a common symptom which goes away on its own, but if you end up getting steroid-induced cataracts like I did (or even if not) make sure your private health insurance covers cataract surgery, otherwise you'll be paying $4k out of pocket. I've only recently updated my private heath cover to include cataract surgery and steroid-induced cataracts develop rapidly apparently, so I'm banking that I can get it surgically removed after a year from now (12 month waiting period for upgrading health covers). 

Bacterial infections
What I've learned about managing infections is to stop NMT and go on antibiotics. Drinking plenty of fluids can help fight off the infection. Apparently going on antibiotics can cause a flareup, so I had some reservations about it but ill management of infections can be fatal, so just take the antibiotics. My GP also prescribed me a steroid ointment, but luckily a member in the FB group reminded me to not apply it (imagine starting TSW all over again yea nah I'm good). 

Elephant skin
With the constant scratching during TSW, your skin is eventually going to sag. Expect the parts where you applied steroid to be the most affected. It gets better over time post-withdrawal I'm hoping,