If your liver is all shot, abundant cooked meat / cooked fish may not be appropriate now.

Have you read my eczema cure protocol at http://www.eczemacure.info

And note that it says raw paleo diet?

Have you done any detox protocols?

No I haven't done any detox protocols.  I can't really find my way around your site to where it suggests a specific diet.

Cure protocol is here http://www.eczemacure.info/blog/2008/09/02/september-2008-eczema-and-psoriasis-cure-protocol/

Eczema is a very complex condition and it generally takes a long time to heal. My DD developed eczema when she was four, at times so bad she was doing hospital clinics and wet-wrap bandages from head to toe. After a few months on high-fat paleo she improved to the point where she felt she might be able to wean off steroids for the first time. (She's 18 now.) She did a lot of research and decided her skin was steroid-addicted and she would have to get off the steroids if she ever wanted to be cured. She is following the protocol advised by Dr Motostugu Fukaya.

His argument is that before the invention of steroids, adult eczema was very very rare. Children got eczema but they grew out of it. He believes most (nearly all) adult eczema is actually a condition caused by steroid dependency.

He wrote a book about it (in Japanese) that has loads of pictures of the typical healing process, which can take up to two years.  http://www.ishiyaku.co.jp/search/details.aspx?bookcode=201400  (DD reads Japanese.) Here's a chapter in English translation with photos:  http://www18.ocn.ne.jp/~steroids/eng.html I don't think there is an English version of the book.

Six months on again, she is still flaring intermittently quite badly, but there are now patches of skin that have healed completely. (Areas of lichenification now lovely soft skin that stays normal during flare-ups.) She is feeling very positive as she now feels it can be beaten and she won't have to live the rest of her life with eczema. She is expecting the next year to be a bit tough still. (In fact she has decided not to go to uni next year but to study for a stenography diploma from home instead to allow for intermittent eczema misery. Uni can wait.) She's hoping that by the end of next year the flares will be much milder and further apart, and after another year she might be completely healed. ie normal skin all over and no more flares, ever.

She's been seeing a Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner too, to try to speed up the healing process.

I have no idea if any of that is helpful to you as it would depend on the nature of your eczema and your age and so on. However I think it's very unlikely anybody would be cured of severe eczema in two weeks on anything but strong drugs that just suppress the eczema so it comes back to bite you as soon as you stop. Try to be patient. If you can stick with paleo you should hopefully see a noticeable improvement within three months.

There could also be elements of allergy (eg contact allergies) complicating the picture. Things that might help include dermasilk underwear  http://www.dermasilk.com.au/, changing your washing detergent and so on. We found the best washing detergent Sno-seal Sport Wash:  http://www.atsko.com/index.php?option=com_tienda&view=products&task=view&id=44&filter_category=43&Itemid=119

Regarding the constipation, a bit of fruit might help. Try grapes, kiwifruit, mangos or fresh figs, one of them will probably do the trick.

Good luck!

Gaah, DD says I linked the wrong book. (I don't read Japanese, lol.) She says it's this one:  http://www.amazon.co.jp/%E3%82%B9%E3%83%86%E3%83%AD%E3%82%A4%E3%83%89%E4%BE%9D%E5%AD%98%E3%80%882010%E3%80%89%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%AC%E7%9A%AE%E8%86%9A%E7%A7%91%E5%AD%A6%E4%BC%9A%E3%81%AF%E3%82%A2%E3%83%88%E3%83%94%E3%83%BC%E6%80%A7%E7%9A%AE%E8%86%9A%E7%82%8E%E8%A8%BA%E7%99%82%E3%82%AC%E3%82%A4%E3%83%89%E3%83%A9%E3%82%A4%E3%83%B3%E3%82%92%E4%BF%AE%E6%AD%A3%E3%81%9B%E3%82%88-%E6%B7%B1%E8%B0%B7-%E5%85%83%E7%B6%99/dp/4901402471/ref=sr_1_18?ie=UTF8&qid=1323342606&sr=8-18

She says a number of people following Fukaya's protocol have good blogs in Japanese. Your gf could search for blogs with ステロイド依存 in the title.

I hope you get some relief soon - eczema is such misery!

It took me 6 months on paleo before I saw an improvement in my eczema, although it was worth the wait.  Now I only get a flare if I'm exposed to my triggers - dust, dairy, sweat.

Things that really do help me (apart from paleo diet obviously!)
1) eating lots of fat
2) bath not shower, not too hot, with oil
3) water filter
4) humidifier at night
5) eucerin
6) no carpets, limited soft furnishings, obsessive dusting

Hi Matt,

I am worried that you aren't getting a good night sleep. My partner has a skin irritation too, and he finds his body twitches throughout the night which distracts him from sleep. But I also think that the thoughts he has about the bodily irritation (e.g. "I'm never going to get to sleep!" or "Now I'm going to be tired all day tomorrow!") also prevents him from sleeping well.

I'm on placement as a provisional psychologist, and some of my clients also have issues with sleep, and I recommend mindfulness meditation either to help get them to sleep, or to get them back asleep after waking. Have a look at this link if you are interested (its not my link, just one a found that is a good summery):

http://christymatta.wordpress.com/2009/11/16/mindfulness-to-help-you-sleep/

You can also google "mindfulness for sleep"

The basic idea is to focus on your breath as a form of relaxation, and to also acknowledge your thoughts as they come, but not to buy into them. E.g. acknowledge the thought "I'm going to have a rotten nights sleep" - but then label it as simply a thought, not a fact or a truth, and return to focussing on the breath.

A lot of people also find it helpful to imagine their thought being pulled out of their head, and putting the thought into a moving river, where it slowly drifts off down the river, then gently bringing their attention back to the breath. This mindfulness exercises takes practice but it can be very helpful and is gaining quite a lot of attention in the psychological research literature the moment.

If you continue to struggling with getting to sleep or staying asleep, I'd suggest seeing a sleep specialist or a health psychologist to work on strategies that suit you. A health psychologist can also help you to keep on track with the diet you've chosen and create other strategies to minimise the exacerbation of the skin irritation.

I hope some of this was helpful, but only use this advice if it feels right to you.

AllyBelly

Thanks AllyBelly, yes I haven't been getting deep sleep at night for a while now.  I seem to wake up regularly.
Sometimes I can fall back asleep but other times not.  I have tried reading about similar techniques but thanks for pointing out those.