Psoriatic Arthritis;

junkyard

Hi, I suffer from Psoriatic Arthritis and am being treated by my doctor for it, but i'm wondering what's ahead for me with this condition? What are the long term effects? If anyone else suffers from this I would like to know how they cope with it, thanks.

snorlax

try http://mayoclinic.com/print/psoriatic-arthritis/DS00476/DSECTION=all&METHOD=print&

scroll down

junkyard

Thanks snorlax but what I really want to know is how bad it gets over the years and would I be better off in a warmer climate, thanks.

missingtime

I'm not sure what type of psoriasis that i have but I went to a dermatologist and he me gave a mixture of Cold Tar cream and Betnovate. Also use Dovonex and Dovobet. Works very well. Its cleared up alot from what it was. I tried alot of things but this gave me the best results.
Also went abroad this year to Lanzarote and the sun definately helped. The whole giving up dairy was a nightmare and the dermatologist said that was a load of bullplop - but he might be biased The tanning booth was ok but I've read that they use different rays than what is needed to clear it up.

Psoriasis is such a bitch man but i'm getting better at dealing with it. You will too.

junkyard

The thing is I have very little skin problems its my joints are always painful and I feel like I've been beaten up during my nights sleep, first thing in the morning is the worst. I'd agree with you regarding a warmer climate there missingtime, I went to Malaga for a week earlier this year and felt much better but the cold and especially the wind here is an absolute nightmare as I have to work out in the cold all day. I'm seriously thinking of heading to the sun to live in a couple of years... if I can still get around.:rolleyes:

black & white

I've had Psoriasis, along with Ankylosing Spondilitis and Psoriatic Arthritis ( excuse spelling, drinking Erdinger at moment) since 1987. Tried loads of creams etc and nothing made much of a difference. I always knew a few things that made the skin worse, hot spicy food ( Vindaloos) and too much booze over the weekend. I explored that further and came across a book by a guy called Jan de Vries. Can't remember exact name but has Arthritis and Psoriasis in the title, bought it in Easons Limerick for about a tenner.

It was all about the effect of diet and lifestyle on the Psoriasis. I followed it for a year and it made a big difference. I also drank a couple of bottles of Willow Water a week. All in all the P reduced greatly, enough to start wearing shorts and T shirts in the better weather.

My Spondilitis was getting worse so I went to a new Rheumy who introduced me to Enbrel. It's a new drug developed for Rheumatoid Arthritis but also given to people who have A.S. for a number of years. It greatly eases the Psoriatic Arthritis and the A.S. and has the brilliant side effect of virtually clearing up all signs of Psoriasis.

I went on Enbrel on 25th January 2005 and since that I wear short sleeves all the time except for work. I could wear short sleeves to work if I wanted but don't like short sleeves with a tie. I even wear short sleeves in the depth of winter. People think I'm mad but it's still a novelty to wear short sleeves without being self concious about it.

My Rheumy told me that Enbrel was being considered for people who had bad P. Not sure if this has happened yet but if it is, get in quick. The cost of Enbrel is in the region of Euro1,200 a month though the Drug refund scheme you only pay Euro 85. With the way the government is cutting back on Health they won't authorise everyone. Your best chance is if your older, have tried several meds that have either not worked or used to work but no longer.

Best of luck and if anyone want more info, feel free to PM me. Only check messages once or twice a week but I promise I will get back to everyone.

If anyone is in the Mid West area, there's a info evening on P in the Southcourt Hotel, Limerick next Thursday at 7.30. Won't be there myself cuz I've tickets for Hazel O'Connor but might be well worth attending. It's sponsored by one of the drug companies and so there might be some new products available.

_Whimsical_

I know someone who suffered very severely with Psoriatic Arthritis in the past . He was confined to bed for over 2 years and was at one stage in the process of buying an electric wheelchair . He tried a treatment called Pacaine that you can get from some GPs in Ireland . It changed his life . While he's still not 100% better he is infinitely impoved from where he was and is up and about and driving and living his life again. He himself credits it with saving his life . I dont know if it would work so well for everyone but I dont think it has any side effects and I know its not expensive .It might be worth a try... just a thought .

Just googled it and the Doctor who invented it was on the Pat Kenny radio show earlier this year talking about the clinical trials done into it . The contact details are listed on the shows website as follows

Further details from: Dr. Maurice Collins, 'Crescent View', Spa Hotel Grounds, Lucan, Co. Dublin. Tel: 01 621 98 62 E-Mail:
pacaine@iol.ie

DrIndy

When discussing therapies (which I encourage so long as there is no advocacy or detractment from treatment by a registered medical doctor) - it is also important to ground the debate on research and proven information - such as the interesting debate on breathing techniques in the treatment for asthma (which had clinical trial data)

I have searched for more information on pacaine, but am unable to - can you quote and reference material for perusal?

_Whimsical_

No. I've searched too and found nothing on it . Sorry . I probably should've thought longer before I posted that . It's just that I do know it has made a huge difference to the one person I mentioned . I've asked him for the information he has on it and I'll post that in a few days when I get it from him.