Psoriasis

Jrop wrote: »

I discussed UV light treatment with my Dermatologist. Time for another appointment

I wonder if anybody has had a dermatologist who recommended a home use lamp, I don't recall ever seeing it. They seem to just consider full body hospital treatment, as this involves nurses and travelling to hospital it is made out to be a big deal, like a last resort and so only for really chronic cases. It is also exposing a lot more skin to UVB radiation so seen as "risky".

UVB does not work on all people, I also found it strange I have not heard of dermatologists administering UVB with small devices like this themselves, before sending a patient to hospital only for them to then find it does not work. Or loaning patients a light to use at home.

Of course it must be used with great care but I have heard more severe sunburn stories from people going to hospital than at home.

Id love to try it but I live 50 miles from the nearest hospital. A cousin of mine got it done in London and it was a brilliant success

Ronney wrote: »

I would guess it is down to time involved. You need to visit a hospital 3 times a week for 6 weeks (rough example). Full body machines hit every where in one go compared to adjusting a small machine for each section

I am not suggesting they treat every spot with the small light. They just do a few treatments on a single spot to see if there is any effect at all. I read some do not respond to it, I am not sure if they go through the full 6 weeks before they confirm it is doing nothing.

I saw some doctors saying an advantage of the home treatment is that there is less stress involved, with all the travelling & appointments and dealing with docs & nurses.

I was recently considering getting a bigger light, but the creams are working so well I have put it on hold. It would cost about 280-290 for a light fitting and 2 philips 36W bulbs (the bulbs are 100 each, fitting about 80-90) you could just buy the fitting and 1 bulb should work in it, if you did not have all the money or only want the 1. The fitting also could take a 3rd bulb if you wanted to add it later.

Budawanny wrote: »

they do a spot test to see if there are adverse reactions only.
Not the other way around.

is this in the dermatologists office? or in the hospital. I know they are meant to go very easy the first time.

For people who use Dithro cream, do ye find that yer skin is "stained" red after using it? Kind of looks like a rash but it isn't. It's somewhat effective but wherever I use the cream, it leaves a red stain/smear so now I only use it on my scalp. Is there a way to avoid the smearing/staining?

rubadub wrote: »

yes, or brown, esp. if used with urea creams, which it is meant to work better with. In comparative studies with dovonex it stated this as a plus of dovonex, i.e. no staining.

Staining seems to happen a lot worse on unaffected skin, so be careful where you apply it. I had these nasty looking dark lines around the edges of patches, but it was all actually quite smooth and not sore, just looked really weird.

The only way I would have less is having a lower concentration of it. So if you are using say 1 or 2% once every few days, and washing it off after, then you might get similar results using weaker stuff more regularly.

I never bought weaker stuff, just mixed my 1% with various creams, like vaseline.

I used dovonex on my scalp. I have a "blade 3" shaved head so can apply easily. I mix the dovonex 50/50 with castor oil and apply to damp hair. There was a dovonex for the scalp that came in a more liquid form and you got a dropper to apply it.

Thanks for that, is there anything you did to remove the staining (or am I allowed as k that)? I'm using 0.1% dithro cream but it still stains quite badly. Not as bad as when I used 1% but still enough to put me off using it. I may just use Dovonex, Dithro cream doesn't even work out that much cheaper when you take into account the cost of delivery and Parcel Motel

Hi all

I thought I would share my story since it may help some of you with your psoriasis.

I developed it after a bout of strep throat back in 2011 at age 25. Ever since then it's been a head wrecking and emotional time for me because it got so bad at times, I got really depressed. And my employment at the time were not understanding whatsoever. I'll keep this short and sweet because I'm sure most of you are in the same boat.

I have been prescribed every cream imaginable - they did nothing for me. I have had 2 rounds of light treatment since 2012. The first round, it went away for about 15 months but then my Mam died suddenly, and it came back with a bang worse than ever. So I underwent another round of light treatment which didn't help at all. I went private (without health insurance) because the waiting times for Public were so long (10 months I was told over the phone by Derm Dept in St. James'). I spent about €1500 altogether on the treatment and consultations and it was all a waste of time. 2 weeks after finishing the treatment, it came back. So I decided I was done with light treatment.

It eventually got so bad, my mental health was in ribbons so I was referred to Dr. Tobin in Tallaght Hospital who has been the nicest Consultant I've dealt with so far. I told her I didn't want any more Light treatment because it was too much, and also I had started a new job - I wasn't going to request 3 mornings off a week for 3 months. So they advised that they would try me on the lowest dose of Methotrexate which I was nervous about. In the meantime while all of this was going on, a friend recommended a Pro-Biotic to me, she told me it got rid of her psoriasis which I didn't believe because nothing cures it in my opinion. But she was right! I started taking a Pro-Biotic I bought in a health shop, and after 2 months my elbows were completely clear. All other smaller patches all over cleared up the quickest. My legs (really huge and aggressive patches) took the longest to clear. So by the time I went back to Tallaght Hospital for my Methotrexate prescription, the staff were all mesmerized by the difference in my skin. I brought along the PBs to show them which ones I took. I was put on 6 weeks of Methotrexate and it's been a month since I finished, and I have no psoriasis at all. Ps. I had absolutely no side effects whatsoever while taking it. I wasn't allowed to drink which was a bit difficult but I just dealt with it!


Now I'm completely clear for the first time in years. Showing no signs of it at all. I've been taking the PB's since Jan this year and have no intention to stop.

Just wanted to let everyone know, in case you might want to try it. Obviously it's not going to work for everyone, and your diet plays a big part, if you eat crap - you will feel crap is my motto. I also gave up beer and wine which was a massive help to my skin. If you have nothing to lose and are sick of your situation, give it a go. I would like to post the name of the PB's I was taking and hope that's ok by the Mods? If not PM me and I will give you the info.


ETA: Another thing I forgot to mention - I do not use any sort of soap/perfume/moisturizer on my skin whatsoever, I use an emollient and I still do even though I have clear skin again. The amount of chemicals in all the fancy soaps etc. you see in Boots are not helping your skin. So get rid! And use only emollient for washing and moisturizing! Also if you plan to take the PBs you HAVE to take them everyday, it has to be consistent or it's not going to work.

Another Edit: Thanks Mods for the PM.
The Pro-Biotics I took are called Viridian and I got them in Health Matters shop on Grafton St. (but I'm pretty sure any good health shop will stock them) I started off on 3.5 billion count of good bacteria (if you look on the side of the bottle you can see the good bacteria count) and I took them for 2 months. It was around €20 for a month supply. After 2 months I went onto Viridian Pro Care with a count of 12.5 billion good bacteria and the results came even quicker with them. They are a little bit more expensive at €25 for a month supply. I cant recommend them enough!

So best of luck to anyone who opts to try this route. I personally think there should be a lot more awareness about the good benefits of PB's - so that's what the point of this post was wish you all the best!

Some old posts about probiotics. I even tried fermenting some before but made a mess of it.

z0oT wrote: »

If you respond well to Probiotics, it might be worth a shot to try eating some Fermented Vegetables or another cultured food, given they'll give you a far stronger dose of beneficial bacteria than any probiotic supplement ever would at a far lower cost.

I now have the best and brightest looking skin I've ever had on my face and elsewhere (P affected areas not withstanding), and I put it down to regular consumption of Fermented Vegetables.

TBH, I think the Probiotics are a bit of a waste of money for what they provide. I mean, I can make up a jar of Sauerkraut for a cost of maybe a few euro, between the sea salt and the cabbage. It'll provide more bacteria both in species and numbers than maybe 10+ jars of an expensive probiotic supplement. Contrast that to the last supplement I bought - it was €45 for 80 capsules with 60 billion bacteria in each.

...and talking of the most hated spot. I'm noticing a big improvement in the plaques on my forehead now. They're about 10% of the size they used to be now.

z0oT wrote: »

Another update from me:

Lots of Fermented Vegetables definitely seem to be helping me. My newly developed Psoratic Arthitis (have it since February) is in remission, as in it's about 90-95% better now.

There's no noticable change to any of the plaque P I have as of yet, but on the other hand the acne on my chest is almost gone now, and the stuff on my back is much better than it used to be. The skin that I have that isn't effected does look a lot clearer and brighter too, and I also seem to be sleeping much more soundly too.

I noticed a bigger improvement when I started adding antifungal foods in addition to fermented foods to my diet too - Coconut Oil, Raw or Fermented Garlic/Onion, Root Ginger Tea etc. so I think the reason I've P amoung other things is a bacterial overgrowth, probably Candida, with a heavy round of antibiotics for H.Pylori 7-8 years ago (I had suspected stomach ulcers at the time), probably being the reason.

Trouble is, if it's a bacterial overgrowth, it'll take time to clear it out.

What do you guys recommend for facial psoriasis then? It's not too bad but it's the middle of summer now and I thought it would be gone. Dovobet (which I've never tried) for P-psoriasis on the hands yes? Thanks!!

Sun not having any eefect on me this year for some reason, its strange how things work

Ronney wrote: »

What approach do people find effective for Sun Block with Psorasis?

Got a bit burnt on the back of my arm last week (randomly outside for work) and it helped clear a small patch.

Wouldn't be one for sitting out with no Sun block on a sun holiday. Would generally use P2O (All day waterproof Oil type).

I always wear Factor 30 on holidays and my psoriasis still clears up!

Alriiiight, I've just been prescribed Silkis and....the pharmacy hadn't it in stock!! I'll keep y'all posted.

The user z0oT had a link to a site about making sauerkraut (which is like probiotics).

On that site they talk of kraut juice which seems easier to make. Seems you just get some cabbage, stick it in a blender, add some salt to the mix, stick it in a large jar or bottle top up with water and leave it for 9-12days.

Fermenting jars risk exploding if they are not opened every so often. I would sooner use plastic containers with snap on lids, or fizzy drinks bottles.

http://www.nourishingplot.com/2014/06/02/kraut-juice/


this one is saying only 3 days, they are using less salt so maybe thats the reason.
https://realfoodforager.com/recipe-fermented-cabbage-juice/

I made some probiotic cabbage stuff yesterday- this post only has info on this so skip over if not interested. I have not found anyone making it the way I did though! I have brewed beer etc before and cannot see anything wrong with my method.

The traditional way is to chop up cabbage, add salt which draws water out of the cabbage which should be enough to submerge it in liquid, then put it in a jar with a weight on top to ensure the cabbage is all sumberged as it would float on top otherwise, you do not want any oxygen getting in.

They say the finer it is chopped the faster the ferment, but warn against it being too fine. I think the too fine warning is simply as it would be mush and not the sauerkraut food you are expecting. (this does not bother me, I plan on chugging it down, washed down with water)

If there is not enough water drawn out of the cabbage you can add your own water, or salty water. Older cabbage will be dried out, mine was. Green seems to be the preferred one, mine was red cabbage.

It seems the recommended salt amount is 1g salt to every 45g cabbage. This should be the same for watered down cabbage too, i.e. it should be a mixture of about 2% salt no matter if no water is added or lots is.

If it is below this salt amount other unwanted bacteria can grow too, too much salt and it will stop if fermenting altogther. 1 guy was using 66% the recommended salt and said it grew faster but he was cleaning mould off the top each day.

I liquidised 1kg of cabbage in small batches in a blender, it was too dry to blend right so I added water to make a cabbage smoothie type mix. I added as much water as I saw fit so it would blend properly. At the end I had 1.5kg of a mix of cabbage & water, i.e. turned out I had added 500g of water (~500ml). This water had been boiled and cooled to drive chlorine off.

I now added 33g of salt (1500g/45g=33). This seemed like a huge amount. I stirred this in gradually, stirring all the time. I then funnelled it into plastic fizzy drink bottles with wide necks. I filled them up to about 1/2" from the top and sealed them and shook them like you would a ketchup bottle, the way you shake and jolt it so the ketchup comes out the top, but in my case I was trying to force it down the bottom. This got rid of any air pockets in the smoothie mixture, which were visible before shaking. I then opened the lid and slowly squeezed the bottle so the mixture rose up to the very top of the bottle, I then put the cap back on tightly. This way I have got rid of as much air as possible and have (I think) effectively done the same thing as weighing it down in jars.

I cannot think of any reason this would not work, and expect people are not doing it as they are making traditional stuff and it would be difficult to get roughly chopped cabbage in and out of the containers with narrow necks. Also is the fact that many sites making it are "hippy" type sites and saying plastic will leach terrible chemicals -many are also saying you have to use special salt. Other sites are using plastic and regular salt. In the US salt has iodine added as standard with may kill bacteria, but idoine is not standard here.

Jrop wrote: »

My psorasis is always here. it never goes away no mater what lotion I use. The sun makes very little difference but salt water helps ease the psorasis in my groin and bum. I've contacted Dr Tobin's office and waiting on my appointment.

I'm at my wits end but at least I know I have options.

I will try probiotics too

Ask your doctor for diprosalic scalp application it's for scalp psoriasis but I've been using it on my body and my p is gone in less that 2 weeks with no side affects