Topical Steroid Withdrawal (TSW)
We receive inquiries from practitioners almost every day. It's beneficial to share cases, opinions, and evidence of how BN could potentially help with other practitioners.
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Practitioner:
I wonder if your product can help one of my clients.
My client is experiencing extreme topical steroid withdrawal symptoms and her skin feels on fire with nerve pain.
I have been using herbs to cleanse the blood and medicinal mushrooms to try to calm an overactive immune system.
I feel like I am missing something with her. I've spoken with a few colleagues and got this information...
- Steroids work by constricting blood vessels - this takes away the redness and the itch. When steroids are stopped, the blood vessels dilate which produces redness, itchiness and ooze. They cause adrenergically mediated vasoconstriction and non competitive antagonism of vasodilation due to prostaglandin E and bradykinin.
- When you stop using topical steroids the nitric oxide levels bounce massively high as the body has been fighting to raise them while using topical steroids and now the brakes are off - this leads to super vasodilation hence the redness and oozing due to high levels of perfusion - over time the levels will start to regulate themselves.
- When you stop steroids (cortisol levels hit the floor) the body has to learn how to make its own cortisol again. Cortisol and nitric oxide balance each other out - at the moment cortisol is too low and nitric oxide too high. How do we raise cortisol levels? Pantothenic acid, vit c, zinc, biotin, flavonoids, ginseng, siberian ginseng, ashwagandha?
- The corticosteroids impact 3 major systems of the body integumentary, immune, endocrine - the integumentary system (skin) is most affected by the capillaries needing steroids to vasoconstrict then being wide open (vasodilation - flushing - burning without the steroids. The immune system is affected by being suppressed by steroids for years, pushing back against being suppressed then blowing the lid off once steroids are withdrawn. The immune system goes crazy, IgE hyper elevates until it can reach homeostasis again. The endocrine system which is the system of hormone producing glands - suppress one, suppress them all! They work in a cascade reaction where one hormone stimulates a gland that produces another hormone, that stimulates the next gland to produce another and so on. So you don't just suppress adrenals you also suppress the glands that the adrenal hormones activate Hypothalamus, pituitary, thyroid, adrenals etc. It is more than skin deep what this drug does to the body.
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She has been using steroid cream for eczema on and off since she was young. Up until the past couple of years she mainly had the eczema under control and would only use it when there was a flare up. Then, a couple of years ago, it started to get worse and spread to other parts of her body, because of this she was using the cream much more frequently. When she decided to stop the steroid cream 5-6 months ago her entire body flared up.
She has nerve pain and affected parts swell up. Her skin is burning. She is freezing and burning. Not one patch of her looks normal - she is dry, red and inflamed everywhere and I have honestly tried everything. I feel she needs more immune regulation and help in reducing the cortisol rebound often associated with topical steroid withdrawal.
She is under a homeopath too and has tried more than one homeopath over the many years of having eczema and tried causticum more recently but no benefits.
I'd appreciate any thoughts you have as to whether your product could be beneficial in this case. Sorry for the long email.
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Saeko:
For your client's case, I consulted with Dr. Masayuki Sano, a gastroenterologist, surgeon, and oncologist in Japan, who also serves as a medical consultant for BN in Japan. While I usually work closely with Dr. Maria San Diego (Dr. Kaye), I reached out to Dr. Sano specifically for this case. He was the one who highlighted to me the pivotal role of gut health in managing conditions like atopic eczema/dermatitis, advocating for the use of BN in such treatments. Since then, I've been recommending BN for both adult and child eczema patients and have observed significant improvements. I find eczema to be more challenging than psoriasis, as it generally requires a longer period of BN treatment to see improvements. Psoriasis, on the other hand, tends to show rapid positive changes.
Regarding your client's TSW, here's why BN should be beneficial:
Dr. Sano believes her gut health is likely in very poor condition. He stresses the importance of improving and rebalancing the gut microbiome and enhancing metabolism. BN supports these areas, which is why he strongly recommends trying it. This might seem like a straightforward answer, but it's a clear directive from Dr. Sano.
Your and your colleagues' understanding of biochemistry and the intricate details of the conditions is impressive. Of course, that's expected of professional practitioners. However, addressing the root cause of eczema involves rebalancing the gut microbiome, as eczema is an autoimmune condition originating from gut health issues/ immune problem. Rebalancing her gut should reduce inflammation and the overactive immune response, thereby alleviating TSW and eczema symptoms.
As for medicinal mushrooms, I must admit my knowledge is very limited. Regardless of their benefits, if her gut health is compromised, absorption of these beneficial supplements is hindered.
The discussion around high levels of nitric oxide, a free radical, was particularly interesting. BN acts as a scavenger for unwanted free radicals, a property frequently mentioned in so many research papers about it. BN's ability to eliminate unwanted free radicals supports its potential to alleviate conditions associated with them, offering another reason for its suitability in treating her TSW.
I recommend she tries taking 2 sachets of BN at bedtime and also considers using BN topically as a spray, which she can make herself. Instructions for the spray: https://fermentedgreenpapayaenzyme.com/pages/how-to-take . Depending on her response to BN, she might need to adjust the dosage. Generally, 2-3 sachets at bedtime should suffice for an adult weighing less than 90 kg. The aim is to gradually reduce the frequency of steroid use, ultimately leading to a steroid-free and eczema-free life through gut and immune normalisation. Dr. Sano suggests trying BN for at least 3 months for eczema, though TSW might require more time. Let's start with 3 months and adjust as necessary.
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