As a lifelong sufferer of eczema, it had been a controllable condition, through the use of mild steroid creams and moisturisers, for many years that was limited mainly to my hands. Alas all this changed in 2005. Since then my eczema gradually started to flare up on other parts of my body with increasing regularity. However it was still relatively controllable, albeit very uncomfortable and most certainly unwelcome.

Unfortunately in the autumn of 2007, the eczema spread and remained in increasingly larger areas of my body. It is around this time that I was referred by my GP to a dermatologist at my local hospital, Dr. Bataille. However my condition continued to worsen and by early 2008 I was starting to get very painful itch and scratch cycles that gradually increased in their frequency and duration. At the beginning of March 2008, I was prescribed a course of Raptiva® – but funding and admin problems led to a long delay before I received the prescription.

Whilst waiting for the prescription the itching soon became very painful and the duration ultimately reached a point where it didn’t stop at all. It now feels like I am being stabbed with needles all over my body every minute of every day. At times the constant pain is bearable and I have learned to live with it, but at other times (especially at night) the pain is so intense that it is unbearable and is sufficient to keep me awake all night long – I have not slept properly from approximately April 2008 onwards. Due to the pain, and increasing tiredness I decided to give up work for six months in the hope that I can get treatment either in the UK or overseas.

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