A bikini model who competed in beauty pageants has revealed the devastating effects a commonly-prescribed cream has had on her life – leaving her “looking like Freddy Krueger” and in agonising pain.
Laura Rose had suffered with eczema since the age of eight with doctors prescribing topical steroid creams to treat her itchy skin.
The 42-year-old was used to posing up a storm in front of the camera as part of her glamorous job, but the dry, flaky patches spread across her body and worsened over time.
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Doctors insisted it was simply eczema – and continued to prescribe the creams, increasing their strength – but the model began to suspect something worse was at play.
Eventually, the steroids stopped having any effect at all four years ago – and Laura has since been left to ride out withdrawal symptoms that have had a devastating impact on her health.
The severe response to quitting steroid creams after a long period of use – called topical steroid withdrawal (TSW) – has led to hospitalisations due to extreme pain and a massive decrease in Laura’s quality of life.
It’s even part of the reason she hasn’t been able to start a family of her own.
“To watch the face and body I worked so hard to build be affected by what I believe was a preventable condition has been devastating,” Laura, from Nottingham, told Need To Know.
“I know some people may view it as shallow, but my appearance has always been important to me.
“Before this illness, I was heavily involved in beauty pageants, bikini competitions, modelling and influencer work.
“I was constantly travelling, networking and attending events around the world.
“I had an amazing life that I had worked incredibly hard to build, and overnight it felt like everything I had worked for had been taken away.
“Much of my career and identity revolved around my appearance – watching that be stripped away has been one of the most painful aspects of this journey.
“I have lost dream job opportunities and thousands of pounds in income, and so much of the social life I once enjoyed.
“I’m now 42 years old and have never married or had children – something I always hoped would be part of my future.
“Living with a condition like this makes dating and maintaining relationships incredibly difficult, and that loss has weighed heavily on me.
“I can’t truly put into words how it feels to have had my life paused for the last four to six years because of this condition.
“I hardly have a social life anymore, and I feel like a shadow of the person I used to be.”
The effects of TSW have caused severe dryness, redness, painful cracked skin, and swelling – with Laura jokingly referring to herself as “like a puffer fish” or “Freddie Krueger”.
She said: “I don’t recognise myself anymore.
“Some days I see a burnt tomato staring back at me.
“Other days I feel like I look reptilian, and at my worst I joke that I resemble Freddie Krueger – except this isn’t a horror film, this is my real life.
“I’ve gained over two stone, which obviously is very dramatic when you’re a size 6-8.
“I can’t go to the gym or work out because as soon as I start getting hot my skin sweats and feels like it’s acid running down it.”
During a severe flare, Laura can become bedbound for weeks at a time.
She said: “It isn’t just about how my skin looks; my body struggles to regulate its temperature, so I constantly feel as though I have the flu.
“My skin burns, oozes and cracks, and every movement feels like someone is giving me thousands of paper cuts across my arms, neck and legs.
“I get intense burning and stinging pain, as though my skin is on fire.
“It feels like living with a ticking time bomb because I never know when the next flare will happen.
“I have identified a few triggers, but despite years of investigations and countless medical tests – including travelling to America for specialist testing – we still haven’t found the cause.”
Laura has had to move closer to her parents so they can help care for her, as the debilitating side effects she experiences – “relentless and extreme” itching, swelling, and frequent infections – has left her unable to be fully independent, as she once was.
Her steroid use dates back to childhood, which she believes has exacerbated her symptoms – with her body becoming reliant on the steroids over the years.
Laura said: “Not only was I prescribed steroid creams throughout my childhood and adulthood, but I was also instructed to use steroid inhalers daily for asthma and received annual steroid injections for hay fever.
“At the time, I had no understanding of how much steroid exposure I was accumulating.
“It wasn’t until I began researching TSW myself that I realised just how many forms of steroids I had been given throughout my life.”
It wasn’t until the last four years that the devastating effects of TSW truly took hold, and joining a support group online made her see that it wasn’t just eczema she was dealing with.
She now believes stronger warnings are needed on the steroid creams, and says she feels “let down” by the NHS because of her repeat prescriptions being issued without reviewing the long-term potential risks.
She added: “I genuinely feel as though I’ve been poisoned by something that was meant to help me, and I believe much of this could have been prevented.”
Laura has even been hospitalised on three occasions – twice for swelling of the face, neck and throat which left her struggling to breathe and swallow, and once for a painful skin infection.
Doctors have given Laura immunosuppressants to try and get her symptoms under control.
She said: “At one point, I was taking three different immunosuppressant medications simultaneously, which was frightening and left me feeling incredibly vulnerable.
“The only treatment that has significantly helped has been an immunosuppressant medication.
“Unfortunately, it can only be taken for around a year before changing to another medication because of the potential damage it can cause to the liver and kidneys.
“That’s one of the cruellest parts of this illness – if I want to have any quality of life, I have to accept medications that carry serious risks and side effects.”
She even believes she has spent over £500,000 investing in procedures and treatments – such as multiple breast augmentations, rhinoplasty procedures, BBLs, fillers, Botox and skin treatments – over the years, including in recent ones to try and restore her looks.
But for now, her priority remains her health.
She said: “The mental and physical toll has been exhausting beyond words.
“For the last two and a half years, I have desperately tried to access mental health support, but I have continually been passed between services with nobody seeming to know where I fit – that experience alone has been deeply upsetting and isolating.”
Laura has recently started another medication – an antibiotic, used to treat severe skin infections, called Amoxicillin – prescribed by her dermatologist.
She said: “It feels like there is always another hurdle to overcome and another prescription to add to the growing list.
“But, despite everything, I try very hard not to see myself as a victim.
“I have always considered myself a fighter and a survivor.
“I have spent my life approaching challenges with positivity, resilience, and determination – but I would be lying if I said this journey hasn’t tested me in ways I never imagined possible.
“More than anything, I want to share my story to help others.
“If speaking out can prevent even one person from going through what I have endured, then it will be worth it.
“I would love to see greater awareness around the risks of long-term steroid use and changes to how freely these medications are prescribed.
“It took decades for the effects of steroid exposure to catch up with me, and it breaks my heart knowing that so many people still have no idea of the potential consequences.
“The one thing you can never get back is time, and that is priceless.
“Not knowing when, or even if, this will end makes it even more heartbreaking.”
Laura is currently working on getting “back out into the world” and come to terms with the possibility she may have to live with TSW for more years to come.
She said: “As for my previous career, I sadly believe that chapter of my life has now closed, which has been incredibly difficult to accept.
“However, I still believe I can build a fulfilling future doing something I genuinely enjoy.
“I now work as a Move Manager, helping people organise and coordinate their house moves.
“It’s a little like being a wedding planner, except instead of planning weddings, I help people through one of the biggest transitions in their lives – and I’m really enjoying this new chapter.
“I’m determined to find purpose again, continue raising awareness of TSW, and hopefully one day find love and have the opportunity to build the life I’ve always dreamed of.”
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