So I am coming up to 6 weeks on the AR now.
On the whole things really have been much better. I have had 3 flare ups so far and am coming to the end of the third. The flare ups were in the same place as usual, but definitely controlled by the creams - the blisters never really erupted on the surface of the skin, and things never progressed to the horrible cracking/splitting phase, they tended to stick around for a week and then shrink back. The itch has been minimal - very slight itching which is immediately controlled by applying the cream.
I am currently on 4 apps a day - 3 apps of the fucibet and then 1 app of the ointment. I do have concerns about the amount of time I am applying strong creams for, and will speak with him about this when I next check in with him. But there are no signs of damage to my skin at the moment.
I also had my patch tests done this week - no new allergies were identified, but bizarrely I had a very severe reaction to nickel, even though the dermatologist wiped the nickel off the pre-prepared disc, because we agreed there was no point testing something we already knew I was allergic too. Clearly there must have been a tiny trace of nickel left, and that was enough to cause a reaction. I try to limit my contact with nickel already, but because of this result I am thinking I need to try the low nickel diet again, and this time do it strictly.
So that is the plan - carry on with the AR and move to a low nickel diet.
