My Nonprofit Reviews

I want to share my experience on the Itsan forum, a forum where most new suffering topical steroid addiction people find their way to, and end up relying on the veterans of the site for their information and support for topical steroid withdrawal. Itsan isn't just your average forum. It is a support forum for tsa/tsw sufferers, of whom most are extremely ill and are searching for answers. I joined this group in July 2013 and was banned from the group in October 2013. Itsan operates a private forum and if you don't abide by the rules they will ban you very quickly. The staff and veterans of this support group insulted, ridiculed, and marginalized me to the point where I believe most other members didn't even want to be seen communicating with me. I gave valuable information to this group and was called a "conspiracy theorist" for my views. I think the owner, staff, board members and vets there feel "threatened" by anyone with a little knowledge on healing. I know of several people who have been banned for their views on things like diets, moisturizer withdrawal, and the like. If your views aren't aligned with theirs watch out!

Itsan seems to be much more of a "hand holding" support forum than it is an informational support forum. I strongly believe people new to tsw are looking for information much more so than they are looking for kind words of encouragement. I also believe that access to all information is key in what these people need. Therein lies the problem. What I found so difficult to deal with being a member of the itsan forum was it's freedom of speech rules. When any forum, private or public, or any community for that matter, only allows certain viewpoints deemed appropriate by it's owners, or whoever is in control of said community, it creates a situation where only one side of the story is presented, instead of all sides. They limit information under the guise of not wanting to confuse people or set expectations in the minds of new tsw sufferers. Admirable, but they apparently don't realize they are already setting expectations by what they themselves say. But, they think they have all the answers and unfortunately they don't as has been proven over and over by many people such as myself.

In the itsan forum for example, members are basically told one side of the story by forum staff and "vets", mainly that tsw can not be sped up, so don't bother trying to speed it up via diet, meditation, moisturizer withdrawal, or anything else. The staff and "vets" there tell everyone the only way currently known to get through tsw is the passage of "time". Members are forbidden to disagree, or present their own opinions on this. They can not contradict what staff or the "vets" say or their posts are deleted. And if one continues they will be banned very quickly. Itsan staff and it's vets can make their claims with no real data to back them up, but newer members can't, unless they are the same views.

Itsan has a large influence over many newly suffering people due to it's increased exposure and support from people such as myself. I feel obligated to speak out since I supported this organization that I feel has unknowingly misled many suffering people. Since I did give financial support to this organization with the idea in mind they were a true support forum, I feel a certain responsibility to the people itsan has an influence over after discovering what the truth really is on speedier healing and the damaging effects moisturizing has on people going through tsw. In my opinion, Itsan has a moral obligation to do what is right by these people. Don't get me wrong, I believe Itsan vets, staff and owners are all well meaning people.

It seems to me that it is a dangerous thing for a support forum for extremely sick people to operate under the guidelines of a few people knowing what's best for all others, because if the few are wrong, many suffering people can be misled down the wrong path. And, that has the potential to cause much unnecessary pain and suffering. It would be like vets of the civil war saying the only way to take care of that leg is to saw it off with a hand saw when there is better information now on how to amputate legs than there was back then.

Early on I believed what the vets were saying about how we shouldn't bother trying to speed up the tsw process with diet, and how it's a waste of your time and money. Forget ideas about moisturizer withdrawal. Moisturize if it makes you comfortable. The only healer is the "passage of time" etc. etc. But, in short time I knew this was all wrong and attempted to try and effect policy change. However, Itsan's rules state you aren't allowed to contact forum staff in any effort to change policy. I tried anyway as I couldn't just stand by and watch this happen when I knew better ways to manage tsw symptoms than what they were advocating.

The belief system is the most powerful thing we have in healing. If we are led to believe that tsw can not be sped up, then that reality will surely manifest itself physically as sure as the sun will rise. If you disagree with my line of logic just look at the placebo effect.

It seems very apparent to me that tsw can indeed be sped up by a number of ways, as can most any healing crisis can. It would be much more supportive for itsan to allow this and other important information to be made available to the people and let them decide for themselves. At least don't constantly tell people that nothing can speed it up. That lends to hopelessness and despair in most people. It also influences people to feel like they have no power over their condition.

I truly expected itsan to make some much needed changes to it's forum guidelines in respect to this matter, and especially on moisturizing in light of the information available from myself, and then weeks later from very credible Japanese doctors. And, since it is much more supportive to tell people that yes, it's possible one can speed up tsw, but we just don't know how yet, than it is to tell them not to even bother trying. But, they weren't open to hearing others ideas even when I proved I was right about what I had said they still refused to be open to it. I felt I wasted my money and I was treated very poorly while there.

After they banned me I took my message on the road and after several months I managed to convince many people to stop moisturizing and they all found out I was indeed right about what I had said about it. While I was doing this, Itsan vets, board members and staff still did many things to try and discredit me even outside of their forum. All that did was create confusion for the people who were convinced to give it a try and delayed things. However, I am happy to say that now hundreds have done moisturizer withdrawal and all are very happy and have said so on my blog and on their own blogs. They are no longer in the hellish throes of tsw using moisturizers, but instead they are finishing their tsw in relative comfort and very glad they stopped moisturizing. In my opinion the Itsan organization is about as dysfunctional as it gets. But hey, that's just my opinion as is everything else I've said above. Dan

RESPONSE TO ITSAN COMMENT BELOW MY REVIEW: I wasn't aware of this site until today. Otherwise I would have posted this same exact review many months ago. All I did was copy from a post I did on my blog months ago and deleted a lot of text so the review wouldn't be too long. I stand by my review 100%. I only told a brief summary of my experience with Itsan in all honesty. Yes I was banned as I said in my review, after telling them how I felt about what they were doing to suffering people who knew no better in a very long private email. I hold no grudge though. This review is not an effort to garner donations to open a forum to compete with Itsan, or to "take them out" lol. And yes I would love to see someone open a different forum for tsa/tsw sufferers where information and ideas flow freely. I sincerely hope someone does for the sake of all the new tsa/tsw sufferers that have yet to come. I do not give medical advice, and I have never charged anyone a penny for advice. Itsan's comments below reveal exactly who they really are for those astute enough to read between the lines.

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