Psoriasis

Call Me Jimmy

I think stress is a factor but just a small one, as stress has negative chemical impacts on the body, so if you're predisposed to inflammation I think it does get effected (minimally) by stress.

What I would say is that when the stress has a cyclical relationship with flare-ups, i.e. you flare up and get stressed because it's always a horrible feeling, for me, that induces panic 'treating' which often used to do more harm then good. Ye know when you're like 'what'll I try?' maybe i'll throw on a load of this cream, wash my face with that stuff, and generally just piss it off.

Mountainsandh

I know what you're saying, but it's not my experience.

Well, it was at first, for a while. But now more than 20 years on, to be honest, I don't give much of a toss about the pso most of the time, other than the sheer discomfort and sometimes pain of it.

This thing is there no matter what I do, and although I am very lucky I don't have it on my face (touching wood), it is very visible since the tops of my hands (not palm side) is sometimes completely covered. At the moment after the steroids last summer, only one hand is about 80% covered, the other maybe 50%.
I have it on legs, feet, drops on back and here and there anywhere, and my arms are pretty bad, especially the area closer to the hands, the wrists, so again very visible (don't care too much about elbows and up until the summer). Oh, and the ears, very visible on the ears.

So really, when I have a flare up, other than being in pain since the skin is so vulnerable, I don't stress about it, but the cycle of flare ups continues.

I have a job that's a bit "public", but when the need arises I just explain to my audience what psoriasis is, and that they're not burns, since that's what people usually think it is, when I am moisturising and very inflamed.

I do get stressed out at my job, but again, no link that I can draw there from years back (more than 12 years in that job).

I have had stressful, upsetting events in my life, and again, have not been able to draw a link.

I can definitely draw a link with alcohol, that's the only sure thing with my pso. Can't draw link to diet either, other than I have much better skin (not clearing) when I eat an avocado a day, I sometimes do for a while then stop.

It's just my experience.
But yeah, I do think stress has a general chemical effect on the body, so then I suppose by ricochet, it might have some impact.

I do think various oils taken internally can have a beneficial effect on skin, and reduce inflammation a bit, that's why I'm interested in that black seed oil.

There seems to be a good few conspiracy theorists on Inspire, I don't really go for that myself, but I do find it strange that there is so very little progress in research.

Call Me Jimmy

As a veteran you've probably tried all sorts but for the pain alone, have you tried apple cider vinegar? I 100% would ask you to try it, I am completely pain free.

Point taken on stress, when I have not been stressed it has been bad too.

Gael23

I do believe that there is a link with stress as whenever I have exams at college or something on my mind I always get a flare up. I'm not suggesting it is the only trigger but I think it is one of many.
As for the heparin that mountainsandh mentions, I wouldn't take that without a doctors advice.

LegacyUser

Hi,

Could i recommend Udos 8 probiotics to the girl (or anyone) who takes a lot of antibiotics. It replaces the good bacteria necessary for a healthy bowel and immune system and stops leaky gut as well. I've been taking them for years as needed and they do help with the Psoiasis.

I have it on my face and used Laroche Posay cream cleanser if that's any help to anyone

and finally, a word of warning on Heparin - i have to take it every few years for clots and you are injected in the stomach - i do this myself now as i'm not squeamish and i'm well used to it and it has some serious side-effects. And i was not aware that it has gone non-prescription?!!

Great thread - i spent ages reading it all the other night.

PS I also this year started taking vit d3 tablets as i read that in out hemisphere, the angle of the sun means we get not vit d from october to april every year and i react to the lamps. There has been a noticeable improvement.

HTH someone

wonga77

The lamp im using is not working as well as I had planned. I have no doubt it works but im finding it very hard to find the time to do each area evenly during the day. I think i need a bigger lamp which covers more of an area and is less time consuming seen as i have spots dotted all over the place.
Just a quick question for those of you affected, Have ye had it since a young age or is it a more recent thing?
Ive had patches on my elbows for as long as i can remember, going back to 11-12 years old anyway, (thats my first memory of it being questioned by others)
In recent years it has got much worse, I worked in England for a spell 5 years ago and it deffo got alot worse during that time, I think it was the water which used to really dry my skin out

LottieP25

wonga77 wrote: »

The lamp im using is not working as well as I had planned. I have no doubt it works but im finding it very hard to find the time to do each area evenly during the day. I think i need a bigger lamp which covers more of an area and is less time consuming seen as i have spots dotted all over the place.
Just a quick question for those of you affected, Have ye had it since a young age or is it a more recent thing?
Ive had patches on my elbows for as long as i can remember, going back to 11-12 years old anyway, (thats my first memory of it being questioned by others)
In recent years it has got much worse, I worked in England for a spell 5 years ago and it deffo got alot worse during that time, I think it was the water which used to really dry my skin out

Did get it until about ten years ago. It's isolated to my arm pits 100% coverage there. And down the sides a bit. Hoping it doesn't spread but atm it's looking like it is a bit

sligoface

wonga77 wrote: »

The lamp im using is not working as well as I had planned. I have no doubt it works but im finding it very hard to find the time to do each area evenly during the day. I think i need a bigger lamp which covers more of an area and is less time consuming seen as i have spots dotted all over the place.
Just a quick question for those of you affected, Have ye had it since a young age or is it a more recent thing?
Ive had patches on my elbows for as long as i can remember, going back to 11-12 years old anyway, (thats my first memory of it being questioned by others)
In recent years it has got much worse, I worked in England for a spell 5 years ago and it deffo got alot worse during that time, I think it was the water which used to really dry my skin out

For the elbows where patches can get really thick I find baths in dead sea salts will soften it up, gently exoliate as much of the plaque as ypou can without pain with your fingertips (not nails) or a loofah pad and then moisturize, let dry, use the lamp, moisturize again and lock in the moisture with vaseline or there is an ointment you can get at holland and barrett that is sort of the consistency of vaseline, a little less thick, but is made with dead sea minerals. Iis a bit dear but is really good for dry flaky skin conditions, it's in a blue and white bottle called dead sea spa or something similar. Cleared big thick patches for me.

Anomic

Anyone on Enbrel & Salazopyrin combo for Psoriatic Arthritis ? Just looking for some info, starting in the next few weeks. ta.

rubadub

wonga77 wrote: »

The lamp im using is not working as well as I had planned. I have no doubt it works but im finding it very hard to find the time to do each area evenly during the day. I think i need a bigger lamp which covers more of an area and is less time consuming seen as i have spots dotted all over the place.

I would use the lamp 3 times a week max, usually only once. I set my timers and just watch TV using it. The hospitals only usually do 3 times a week max too, if you consider the time taken to commute to & from a hospital it does not seem that bad.

The reasons against the bigger lamp is that you may be unnecessarily exposing yourself to the UVB, which some worry about cancer risk. After reading many studies myself I am personally not worried about it, there are benefits to the extra vitamin D that would be produced from additional exposure, so its not all bad. The bigger lamps cost more of course. I did consider getting 1 or 2 more small bulbs to treat more places at one.

With a larger lamp if you were concerned about over exposure you could possibly use sunblock or a physical barrier to stop the rays. e.g. if you had 2 patches fairly close on your leg you could have a bit of card board with holes cutout where the spots are, now hold this in place, maybe with a sweatband.

I have wondered if the actual spots can cope with more UVB treatment than the surrounding area. i.e. I might have a spot which has 4mins max, after which the surrounding area becomes sunburnt, but if I had used sunscreen on those surrounding areas could I possibly have safely gone to say 5mins on the actual spot that needs treatment.

I am currently using lidl "sos hand concentrate" moisturizer and find it nice to apply, and not too noticeably shiny/liquidy when applied to skin. It appears to be a cheap version of that neutrogena hand cream. It is high in glycerine.

Just looking for a picture now & I see similar comments to mine

The Lidl book (stop pretending you don’t love reading this on a Sunday) says Cien SOS hand cream concentrate is every bit as good as Neutrogena, but at less than half the price.

So off I traipsed to the German everything-market where I shelled out £1.25 for 75ml of this. It’s a really thick balm that absorbs really quickly.

It doesn’t leave my hands feeling greasy or slimy and although I haven’t done the print test yet, I don’t think it’s something that’s going to leave my hands covered in newspaper print.

Once again, it will live beside my bed. I put it on last night going to bed and it felt like a barrier protecting my hands, but also making any sad rough bits disappear.

I’m converted!

brevity

Just on the lidl cream, Aldi have a bunch of stuff coming up that might be helpful, I'll definitely be adding them to my substantial collection of moisturisers.

https://www.aldi.ie/en/specialbuys/sunday-16th-march/products-detail-page/ps/p/seaweed-body-lotion/
https://www.aldi.ie/en/specialbuys/sunday-16th-march/products-detail-page/ps/p/seaweed-face-cream/
https://www.aldi.ie/en/specialbuys/sunday-16th-march/products-detail-page/ps/p/shea-butter-hand-cream/

I've used products like these before and find them quite good.

Gael23

I would be nervous using anyrhing from Lidl on my skin even though its probably fine

stefanovich

I spent a couple of weeks this winter in the French alps. I noticed my skin improved considerably. Also happened the last time I was there. Trying to figure out what change caused the improvement.
The cold? The altitude? (I was staying 2km above sea level). The water, I was showering in and drinking spring water. Exercise? Lots of skiing and sweating. The food? Lots of cheese and dairy. Also I was taking a spoon of pollen every morning.

wonga77

stefanovich wrote: »

I spent a couple of weeks this winter in the French alps. I noticed my skin improved considerably. Also happened the last time I was there. Trying to figure out what change caused the improvement.
The cold? The altitude? (I was staying 2km above sea level). The water, I was showering in and drinking spring water. Exercise? Lots of skiing and sweating. The food? Lots of cheese and dairy. Also I was taking a spoon of pollen every morning.

I had to use the cryotheraphy center in wexford a few years back for a sports related injury. That involved walking around a chamber at temperatures of -100 or something silly like that. My pso was exposed and it disappeared for a while after, nothing long lasting mind but it did have a positive effect on it.

LottieP25

Just a quick update if anyone is interested.

On the steroid tablets over a week, with little or no improvement from them. Constantly feeling sick!

However, I was advised to try out the following cream

http://www.boots.ie/en/Boots-Baby-Zinc-Castor-Oil-Cream-1-x-250ml_924158/

I put it on little over 24 hours ago for the 1st time and I can now move my arms with little or no pain, and the colour of the psoriasis is gone the closest it been to my natural skin colour in years. Very happy I must say. Now I know its not a long term fix but for right now its pretty great!

Gael23

This morning I found out that my GP who has been fantastic to me, has left the practice. I'm so stressed at the minute I can feel the plaques starting to come out on my skin.
I know that I'm on a plan now so I just have to follow it but as we all know sometimes things change and you need to do different things. As in quite recently I got itching that I couldn't control and all it took was a quick phone call to him and he told me to use a different cream, and again any doctor can do that. But he was probably the best doctor I've been to,ever, not just since I've had psoriasis and above all he was such a nice person. I got a bad flare up a while back because I was dealing with some personal things and he was someone I could talk to about that so really I'm not sure what I'm going to do without that.
Sorry for this being more of a vent but today hasn't been a good day.

rubadub

LottieP25 wrote: »

http://www.boots.ie/en/Boots-Baby-Zinc-Castor-Oil-Cream-1-x-250ml_924158/

The castor oil is what makes it so thick.

I was saying this about it before

rubadub wrote: »

I am using these armband type things on my arm & leg, like sweat bands, you can apply cream and then a plastic film on top and the armband on top of it to hold it on all day and they don't budge.

In the morning the oil is still there on the skin, with other oils its usually all gone/absorbed.

Also my removal methods for the white zinc oxide creams.

rubadub wrote: »

I would have a small bag on my head and sleep with it on. I have a sheet of rubber than a wipe/scrape if off with, like a windscreen wiper. I have used a credit card loyalty card thing too, which is flexible. Then you still have some remaining. To get this off you can wipe on cooking vegetable oil or baby oil, this blends into the sudocreme, water does not readily mix. Then you can scrape off the newly applied layer, and if needed you could do the process again, mix in new oil on the now diluted sudocrem. Then I would have shower and most comes out, I have a shaved head though and going grey so if some is left its not noticeable, which is handy, the whiteness sort of acts like makeup covering the redness so even though its actually white it looks normal colour on top of the red.

Mountainsandh

ryanf1 wrote: »

This morning I found out that my GP who has been fantastic to me, has left the practice. I'm so stressed at the minute I can feel the plaques starting to come out on my skin.
I know that I'm on a plan now so I just have to follow it but as we all know sometimes things change and you need to do different things. As in quite recently I got itching that I couldn't control and all it took was a quick phone call to him and he told me to use a different cream, and again any doctor can do that. But he was probably the best doctor I've been to,ever, not just since I've had psoriasis and above all he was such a nice person. I got a bad flare up a while back because I was dealing with some personal things and he was someone I could talk to about that so really I'm not sure what I'm going to do without that.
Sorry for this being more of a vent but today hasn't been a good day.

I have a great GP too, so I understand how you feel, but mine is so busy, it was becoming impossible to see him, so I have gradually moved to another in the same practice. Presumably your new GP, if in the same practice, will have all your notes on computer, so as regards treatment I'm sure you'll be fine. Hope you'll get on with him/her, it is important. I don't see my GP that often, but when I do, I like to have someone I feel comfortable with.
Hang in there, it will be fine, you never know, that new person might have new, successful ideas.

Stefanovitch, if you exposed yourself, would it simply have been the UVs being stronger in thinner air ?

Wonga77, I've had mine since I'm 17 I think, it was only little dry patches on the elbows at the start. I'm 40 now.



I like the zinc/castor oil cream too, once in a while, it helps when there are crevasses or raw spots like at the moment. I use epaderm at the moment, 500mg pump bottle, chemist suggested it as they just had it in for the son's eczema, usual glycerin paraffin ingredients, emollient and skin cleansing, great stuff, and not bad value, I think it was maybe 15 euros for the 500g bottle, that's still going strong ages after, and I plaster it all over son's body every evening.

I'd use anything, I've no problem using lidl stuff, when the basic ingredients are so simple, like paraffin etc... why not ? The only chance you'd be taking is if there was a lot of alcohol or something in it, which you'd quickly find out. (I know straight away if there's too much alcohol in an ointment on my hands).

brevity

Mountainsandh wrote: »

I'd use anything, I've no problem using lidl stuff, when the basic ingredients are so simple, like paraffin etc... why not ? The only chance you'd be taking is if there was a lot of alcohol or something in it, which you'd quickly find out. (I know straight away if there's too much alcohol in an ointment on my hands).

I'm the same. The flat is full of tubs and tubes of ointments and creams. Some really help like the Nappy Cream that turns up every so often in Aldi. Some do nothing at all.

Gael23

Mountainsandh wrote: »

I have a great GP too, so I understand how you feel, but mine is so busy, it was becoming impossible to see him, so I have gradually moved to another in the same practice. Presumably your new GP, if in the same practice, will have all your notes on computer, so as regards treatment I'm sure you'll be fine. Hope you'll get on with him/her, it is important. I don't see my GP that often, but when I do, I like to have someone I feel comfortable with.

I know your right but I just got such a shock and I still haven't fully calmed down. I wouldn't know only I've been sick with a kidney infection the past few days so went in there today. Most of my visits relate to my psoriasis were planned at 3 monthly intervals so I would always book in advance to be sure I would get him. There is another doctor there but I'm just worried that he will mess around with my medications that work so well for me.
The doctor I was going to had great ideas, that's why I'm so wound up over it. Up to a year a go I was just using a firefighting approach applying Dovobet when I had a flare up but this man showed me a way of keeping it under control so it never gets to a bad flare up by using Dovonex and also put me in this amazing cream for my face.
I had been seeing him every 3 months so fairly often but he asked me to do that. I know I'm wound up today and in a few days time I'll have calmed down!

Mountainsandh

This French hand cream is gorgeous if you ever go to France. It's on the greasy side, but that doesn't last too long, and the feeling is luxurious. It's got allantoine (for the nails) in it.
http://www.testsdeproduits.fr/application/product/view/creme-pour-les-mains-a-lallantoine-mixa

LottieP25

Would ya not try and find out where he is gone to? If it was me and I found someone that worked for me I would follow them

Gael23

LottieP25 wrote: »

Would ya not try and find out where he is gone to? If it was me and I found someone that worked for me I would follow them

I will try but I've got this bad feeling that it's not somewhere nearby. If it is then I would absolutely look into moving with him.
EDIT: Someone said to me today that he's relocating back to Limerick where he came from.
I've got knots in my stomach. I guess it just shows nobody has any loyalty to you these days

ShortskirtCiara

Hey Guys!

Has anyone been using any shampoos lately that prove to work? I've been using Moogoo Milk Shampoo for the past 2 years but moved to Toronto & they don't seem to sell it here yet. I want something similar that will work just as well as my psoriasis is really starting to flare up on my scalp these days. I don't want to use the tar shampoos as they have a really strong, potent smell. Any suggestions?

Gael23

ShortskirtCiara wrote: »

Hey Guys!

Has anyone been using any shampoos lately that prove to work? I've been using Moogoo Milk Shampoo for the past 2 years but moved to Toronto & they don't seem to sell it here yet. I want something similar that will work just as well as my psoriasis is really starting to flare up on my scalp these days. I don't want to use the tar shampoos as they have a really strong, potent smell. Any suggestions?

First thing I will say about specialised washes and shampoos is that some of them are ridiculously expensive and they don't always work.
I use a prescription Shampoo called Stieprox on my scalp. I probably don't absolutely need to but been using it for years now, I have a medical card so not sure how much it costs otherwise.

Call Me Jimmy

Just got the baby zinc and castor oil today and it is very good. It seems like sudocreme at first but sudocreme doesn't absorb for me, this stuff almost completely absorbs and doesn't leave skin feeling too wet or oily.

Very good imo.

rubadub

Sudocreme is like paint! you can mix it with vaseline or oils to dilute it down. I use cooking vegetable oil to get it off my skin or hair, you just apply oil and massage it and it dilutes, you might have to repeat it a few times to be rid of it.

Tesco do a zinc nappy cream which is more dilute than sudocreme, and a fair bit cheaper.

Most of the tar shampoos are not really for cleaning hair, they are just treatments that are lathered into the hair, you can probably not get them now anyway due to the worldwide shortage of coal tar product.

DonFred

Hi, where did you buy the baby zine and castor oil? thanks

Call Me Jimmy

Got it in boots in swords meself. The one I got is a boots product so have a look, ye can order online too I think but I had problems with the address options.

Gael23

Are you still using the hyaluronic acid Jimmy?