'TCM for TSW' is a fundraiser for Kristin Fletcher to pay for Traditional Chinese Medicine for her Topical Steroid Withdrawal. She has been working with Dr. Olivia Friedman who works with TSW patients around the world. Kristin has been using TCM Herbs for almost 12 weeks now and has seen great improvement including her normal skin color returning and 80% decrease in her thermo-dysregulation symptoms. It is important for Kristin to continue her treatment to combat her remaining TSW symptoms. Please consider donating to cover the costs of:
- Follow up appointments with Dr. Olivia every 3 weeks - $125 each
- Herbal formula taken twice a day - $615 per month breaks down to $20.50 per day
October is Eczema Awareness Month and Kristin's birthday month, so there's no better time to begin this journey of support! The financial burden of eczema is well known and studied and one that Kristin has lived with and TSW is exponentially more expensive to battle through to help find some peace in the discomfort. God has a plan and He is healing Kristin, praise the Lord for the Hope we have in Christ as our savior and healer!
Kristin's story:
After topical steroids became an ineffective treatment option, I stopped using topical steroids on March 15, 2025. What followed is a horrific response called Topical Steroid Withdrawal.
Like many others before me, I began experiencing red, hot, angry skin. My body experienced thermodysregulation so intensely that I needed to sleep with ice packs to try and reduce the heat to sleep. I lost my hair around my hairline and other areas including my arms and half my eyebrows. I have experienced insomnia and continue to struggle with sleep. I have experienced weeping from my skin both in the form of something similar to sweat and wet areas/droplets. These have a specific TSW smell that go along with them (ask any TSW sufferer and they will know the TSW smell) and the only way I can explain it is that it is like plasma. It’s very unpleasant. I showered or bathed at minimum twice a day. In the morning when I woke up and before bed. I've experienced the intense shedding of skin like snow. I’ve chose to moisturize during my journey because that felt best for me and my skin, however other folks find healing quicker with no moisture treatment. It’s true in the weeping areas your first need is to dry it out so it can heal. Dr. Olivia taught me that, has prescribed herbal topicals, and even herbal ear drops. It is truly a treatment that targets symptoms with natural herbs - maybe this is the way God has always intended on us to heal.
There's likely more symptoms and experiences I could share, but I will spare you the difficult details. I continue to have flares with weepy skin most often around times of stress and traveling or when around fragrances. My problem areas are my hands, forearms, around my lips, chin, and neck. It can be difficult to get up in the mornings and do normal tasks like cook and clean for myself. I am so grateful for Nathan and how he has stepped up to support our family in this time.
Thank you for your support - no matter the form or amount. And thank you for your healing prayers!
More on TSW & Kristin's Advocacy:
This condition has faced significant hurdles from the western medical community, but thankfully there are doctors, companies, and patient advocates (like Kristin) that are working tirelessly to prove TSW is real. Greater awareness and advocacy is leading to real change where TSW is a recognized condition (diagnostic code coming out in Spring of 2027!) and more research is being done to support those suffering.
Kristin was apart of a case study with Codex Labs where she moved to remote Bristol, Texas for two months to try out their products alongside a Hyperbaric Oxygen Chamber. The experience was filmed and is being released in 4 episodes on Codex Labs Youtube.
Kristin had the opportunity to share her story to her representatives on capitol hill during the Coalition of Skin Diseases - Hill Day to advocate for Robust Funding for medical research and ask for their support on legislation, the HELP Copay Act and the Safe Step Act.
Learn more about TSW, the latest research, and the best non-profit around: International Topical Steroid Awareness Network at ITSAN.org
