Protopic doesn't work

Hanahuna

Hi,

I am wondering if any one has any advice. I have extremely bad skin condition, I have used all creams including protopic and nothing is working, when I use protopic it works for a day or two and comes back again. It is spreading all over my face,arms and hands. I had this all my life but recently it gotten really bad. I have tried changing my shampoos and shower gels advised by the dermatologist and this didnt work. I had stopped eating bananas, potatoes, wheat and dairy based things. I dunno whether its eczema or Psoriasis. Does anyone have this problem or know of anyone with this problem.

madma

you've been to a dermatologist and you dont know what it is?

first thing you need to do is find out exactly what it is. there is no magic cream out there, you find out the skin condition and then research the available treatments and try them until you find what works best. different things work for different people.

Hanahuna

I have been to a dermatologist which was 150 euro first visit, he said I had dermatitis on my hands, ezcema on arms and not sure what he said about my face as GP told me one and dermatologist told me another he told me to buy special shampoos and shower gels, a cream like lard etc he advised protopic is the strongest cream you can get for skin conditions on prescription which is 80 euro this was after paying about 100 euro on other creams before this.. Been honest a second visit to a dermatologist is 80 euro I just cant afford this. Its just if anyone had something that helped I would try it. I have googled alot and oatmeal,aleovera etc etc came up which I have tried and it didnt work.

Hanley

Speaking completely randomly on this, I think it's situation's like this where a 30 day gluten free Paleo experiment is worth a try.

It's ENTIRELY possible that you'll get NO benefit from it. But it's 30 days of clean eating, at zero additional cost. There's literally no downside. And if you're really serious about finding a solution and aren't afraid of a bit of work for 30 days it's definitely worth a go.

madma

keep researching as they were unable to tell you what it is..
ive heard of protopic but thought that was just to treat psoriasis,
im suprised the dermo couldnt tell you what it is.
ask your family, alot of these things can be passed on whether it was a parent, grandparent, uncle etc. maybe someone has or had it

UL_heart_throb

These kind of threads fly in the face of national and boards.ie policy about giving medical advice. The only way I can actually understand how these threads are allowed is because one presumes the poster is looking for health and fitness advice that might aid their condition.

E.g. I am obese, my GP told me to lose weight, anyone any health and fitness advice to achieve this.
Or I broke my leg and my physio recommended only light upper body exercises for the next 6 months, anyone any advice on this.

But with regard to the original posters question, she has visited her GP and her dermatologist with a complex skin disease. She doesn't even know the diagnoses given to her, yet people on this forum have the audacity to recommend different alternative treatments. It just doesn't make any logical sense.

Hanahuna, you need to go back to your GP and be told exactly what diagnosis has been made and how certain their diagnosis is correct. You need to get your GP to explain the conclusion the dermatologist came to and get their opinion on whether it is prudent to get another visit. You need to be tested for allergies, although a pre-emptive ban on gluten and lactose seems like a good start.

You need to make sure that you are following the course of treatment precisely. Are you using the creams as directed with regard to duration and application? If you don't know you need to go back to your GP and get it explained to you again. Finally, and I'm sure you've heard this before, but stress and anxiety often exacerbate dermatitis, you will probably benefit from either removing sources of stress and anxiety from your life or become more adept at dealing with it.