Psoriasis

Bookworm85 · 25-01-2012 8:00pm

dahat wrote: »

I am using Enbrel,really did find it a massive help.In fact i credit it with turning my suffering around totally.
I have Arthritis and it has helped so much that i can now do some road running within reason,5k-10k.......

Thanks dahat,

Cant wait to get away from MTX now, but am a bit apprehensive about self injecting. I'm not afraid of needles or anything but its still a little daunting

How long were you on it before you started seeing results? I have a lot on my arms and torso, and its my wrist and fingers are giving me greif joints wise. Also have psoriasis in two of my toenails

dahat · 25-01-2012 11:43pm

Bookworm85 wrote: »

Thanks dahat,

Cant wait to get away from MTX now, but am a bit apprehensive about self injecting. I'm not afraid of needles or anything but its still a little daunting

How long were you on it before you started seeing results? I have a lot on my arms and torso, and its my wrist and fingers are giving me greif joints wise. Also have psoriasis in two of my toenails

You should see results in 2/3 months if it is going to work,mine was more for the arthrtis side of it as i didn't have much of the skin psorsais on my limbs or torso just my scalp which was horrendous really,i hid under a BB cap for years until using a topical cream cleared it up for me,never came back on my scalp.

Self injecting is daunting but once you hit the muscle on the quad you wont feel it at all,after 4/5 goes you will do it no bother.
I too suffered alot from toenail problems,only now after 3 years on Enbrel and a total change of diet have they started to show improvement.The 2 big toes are the only effected ones now,hopefully the others stay cleared up.Wether this is due to enbrel and mtx i am not sure,diet is hardly the reason either so maybe just a result of a few changes coming together.

ShortskirtCiara · 13-02-2012 1:10am

New to this thread, so hello everyone!

Ive had psosiris for the last 5years. Ever since I started college and drinking alcohol I guess. It began on my scalp in little patches, then came to its worst 3 years ago where I had small patches on my legs, elbows, in and around my ears, on my forehead, belly and lower back. It wasnt too noticeable though, like I said small patches bit like big spots. I was referred to a dermatologist by my GP as the creams and shampoos (nizoral, elave) werent working. They gave me emulsioms and creams to wash myzself and moisturise with thay following Summer I did a J1 in New York and ALL of my psorisis cleared up. Today, its back but only on my scalp and around my ears, its really had on my scalp though. I just bought moogoos milk shampoo. Has anyone tried this and found that it helped?

DonFred · 13-02-2012 10:50pm

I have tried the Moogoo shampoo its alright expensive but wont clear it up! Can help manage it keep it at bay but its not a miracle shampoo. Sure its worth a try. Let us know how it goes for you.

huskerdu · 22-02-2012 11:44am

Bookworm85 wrote: »

Thanks dahat,

Cant wait to get away from MTX now, but am a bit apprehensive about self injecting. I'm not afraid of needles or anything but its still a little daunting

How long were you on it before you started seeing results? I have a lot on my arms and torso, and its my wrist and fingers are giving me greif joints wise. Also have psoriasis in two of my toenails

I'm on Simponi , which is another biologic medication for Psoriatic arthritis and I was dreading self-injection.
Simponi also comes in a pen system, which is very easy to use and doesn't feel like injecting at all. I have got used to it quite easily.

Whatever you are prescribed, ask about the different systems to see if there is one that suits you better.

I say an improvement in 2/3 months also. Actually my horrible toenails started to improve much quicker than that.

jonon9 · 23-02-2012 2:03am

Hi all thought I give my input as it might come of some use to people.
Iv had the 'p' for 25 yrs I'm now 27 and I tried all sort of things through the years even seaweed baths but to no avail got sick and tired of having snow on my shoulders all year round so I decided to take simple steps. First I got an allergy test done to suss out what could be causing a flare up then I test each one and try eliminate it altogether so far so good.
As for creams and stuff I take an ointment called Dovobet and its by far the best I used, also I use vasoline cream just the regular stuff works wonders. My routine is one week with Dovobet and 2 week with vasoline cream. I go from big red patches to barely visible pink patches oh and also plenty of water.

huskerdu · 23-02-2012 10:16am

jonon9 wrote: »

Hi all thought I give my input as it might come of some use to people.
Iv had the 'p' for 25 yrs I'm now 27 and I tried all sort of things through the years even seaweed baths but to no avail got sick and tired of having snow on my shoulders all year round so I decided to take simple steps. First I got an allergy test done to suss out what could be causing a flare up then I test each one and try eliminate it altogether so far so good.
As for creams and stuff I take an ointment called Dovobet and its by far the best I used, also I use vasoline cream just the regular stuff works wonders. My routine is one week with Dovobet and 2 week with vasoline cream. I go from big red patches to barely visible pink patches oh and also plenty of water.

Its great that Dovobet works for you, but it is a steroid cream. You do need to be careful about using it long term. In fact, my consultant dermotologist does not prescribe it at all, because it is not a long term solution and will weaken your skin after too much use.

If you have not already, you should ask your GP for a referral to the consultant dermotologist in your local public hospital. The waiting list for an initial referral was 9 months in my case but you once you are seen, you can get regular appointments.

Gael23 · 23-02-2012 12:53pm

huskerdu wrote: »

Its great that Dovobet works for you, but it is a steroid cream. You do need to be careful about using it long term. In fact, my consultant dermotologist does not prescribe it at all, because it is not a long term solution and will weaken your skin after too much use.

If you have not already, you should ask your GP for a referral to the consultant dermotologist in your local public hospital. The waiting list for an initial referral was 9 months in my case but you once you are seen, you can get regular appointments.

For me Dovobet is the only thing that works so its hard not to use it. I went to a dermatoligist privately, which I would advise doing if you can, and he gave me a cream called protopic to try but im not finding it any better.
At the moment im trying 2 weeks dovobet and 2 weeks dovonex which I think is dovobet without the steroid.

jonon9 · 23-02-2012 1:49pm

Just to clear things up I only use dovobet in a flare up other then that its regular creams but in flare up time I tend to use it on a week one week off

huskerdu · 23-02-2012 1:50pm

ryanf1 wrote: »

At the moment im trying 2 weeks dovobet and 2 weeks dovonex which I think is dovobet without the steroid.

Dovobet is a mixture of two previously available creams

Dovonex and Betnovate

Dovonex is a form of vitamin D and helps avoid more overproduction of skin cells which cause plaques

http://www.drugs.com/dovonex.html
Betnovate is a steroid cream

http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/skin-and-hair/medicines/betnovate-c-cream-and-ointment.html

fionny · 23-02-2012 1:52pm

I use Dovobet also as it seems to be the only thing that works well for me, but I am very sparing with it, I will use it for a while then stop for a couple of weeks etc...

My current plan is clear up as much of the P as i can with Dovobet then start using Coal Tar and Urea to try and maintain it.

Gophur · 23-02-2012 2:56pm

This is a nervous condition and is triggered by something that affects one's nervous condition, like stress, alcohol, foods. All the creams, shampoos and treatments will only terat the effect, not the cause.

I've had this condition for far too long and it's a curse/ (I'm well aware of others who have "real" problems.) To have one's scalp practically falling off on a daily basis, is not pleasant.

The latest trick for me is to try a UV wand. It'll be slow but may have some effect. I certainly have nothing to lose.

CastorTroy · 19-03-2012 12:33am

Thought I'd give my 2 cents as well seeing as I've just started applyng my treatment again this week. I'm using dovobet for both scalp and body(all over- arms, legs, torso). GP suggested going to psoriasis nurse who comes to Lifford once every 2 months.
She told me to put it on every day for 4 weeks, then every 2nd day for 2 weeks, every 3rd day for 2 weeks then stop. It cleared up big time and I was clear for months. She said if I saw the patches beginning to appear again, apply it for 3 days, but stupidly I didn't and gradually it just started to come back.
Now it's all over again. So starting again. But I'd advise people to go to her if they're around Lifford. She's free to see. Just need an appointment. She goes around the whole country as far as I know which is why she's only here once every 2 months.

fionny · 19-03-2012 2:26pm

Just thought id share my aunts story and success with something very very simple.

She was suffering with tonnes of patches of psoriasis all over when she started eating loads of roast garlic... maybe 1 to 2 buds in a week which is a lot I know but its tasty stuff and could easily be cooked in with your food.

It took a while but currently she has no psoriasis at all on her, I did a bit of googling and it seems it isnt just a coincidence...

I have started taking garlic supplements from holland & barrett as well as eating more natural garlic in my diet to see how I get on. I will revert with any success or dissapointment for you all.

Given its a relatively harmless and fairly tasty food i see no downsides to giving it a try for a month or two.

http://www.ehow.com/how_5675409_garlic-psoriasis.html

Call Me Jimmy · 20-03-2012 4:33pm

Let us know how ye get on will ye?

fionny · 20-03-2012 5:50pm

Sure will, it would be great if something as simple as garlic helped even a bit.

LegacyUser · 22-03-2012 4:23pm

That sounds great! I hadn't hear of it before but I would be very interested to hear how you get on with it.
One thing I've used myself in the past for eczema and my friend has used it on her son for psoriasis is Aalgo seaweed powder. We've both found it brilliant, and it's natural, which I love.
I got it sent out to me from econat**al.ie and they even sent me a sample first to try it out.
I hope this helps, but I look forward to hearing how you get on yourself with the garlic.

blueyblu · 05-04-2012 10:38am

Regular poster here, but I'm choosing to go anon, although one or two people here might recognise me from the photos and the story, and I'm not at all bothered if they do!

I've suffered from psoriasis on and off for the past six years (I'm 26 now.) It's guttate psoriasis that I get, mostly. I tend to be fairly clear for a year or two, and then BAM, a bad bout will hit me out of nowhere. And the "bad" times have gotten progressively worse.

The reason I'm posting is because, I know from experience, when you're going through a really bad time with it, it seems like it'll never end and you can't imagine that you'll ever be able to look down and see clear, normal skin again.

The attached "before" photo was what my skin was like, all over my body and face, from maybe March-August 2011. The photo was taken in August 2011, and is not for anyone squeamish.

The "after" photo was taken six months later. Any marks that are left are faint scars/bruises, which are continuing to fade (and in fact have fully disappeared on my body and face, there are just a few marks left on my arms and legs, which I hope will disappear fully too, eventually.)

I was getting UVB therapy three times a week, from July 2011 until September 2011. My skin got worse throughout, until it very suddenly started rapidly clearing in September.

I had been using Silcocks Base from July-September 2011 on the advice of my consultant. I hated the stuff, and told him it burned my skin, but he said that was normal seeing as my skin was so bad. Literally the very day I switched from Silcocks Base to Emulsifying Ointment, was the day I began to improve. A very small percentage of people are apparently allergic to the preservatives in Silcocks Base, but as far as I'm aware, no one reacts badly to Emulsifying Ointment. May be worth a try for some people. By the way, the Silcocks Base hadn't caused my skin to be so bad in the first place - I hadn't started using it until I started the UVB treatment - but it certainly didn't help matters!

The other thing that I found made a massive difference was: nightshades. I have done plenty of research into the dietary factors which may affect psoriasis, and I found that nightshades was the one common theme which kept coming up. I realised that, when my psoriasis was getting steadily worse in the early months of 2011 and throughout the summer, I had been eating really healthily. This, for me, involved loads of tomato-based sauces (I was a massive fan of passata, it's the best cooking ingredient in the world - if you can eat it!) I pretty much cut out tomatos in August 2011, and noticed a difference straight away. I still occasionally eat tomatos, peppers, and potatos - but in very small quantities. If I eat large quantities of any of these, I notice my skin breaking out almost immediately.

I also notice that gluten and alcohol can make it worse - however I find it very difficult not to eat bread.

If I found my psoriasis was getting worse again, though, those are the first things I'd cut out.

Also, I take supplements of Vitamin D and Milk Thistle. I've no idea whether or not these help, to be honest I was lazy for a few weeks and didn't take them at all, and noticed no big difference.

Anyways. This post isn't so much about giving advice about healing psoriasis - the above worked for me, and may certainly be worth a try, but everyone is different.

This post is more to give an example that, no matter how bad your skin is now, it can get better again. My consultant told me that I was one of the very worst cases he'd ever seen in all his career. I know, more than most, how awful it is, the agony of it, never mind the weeks when sleep is impossible. I know of all the awful disgusting side effects. I know how it feels to be stuck inside your own little world of constant pain that just never, ever eases. And it seems like it could never possibly come to an end.

Well, it came to an end for me.

Apart from some very slight scarring (which will heal), my skin is fine. There is absolutely no pain or itching these days. And I'm not even using anything for it at the moment, only normal Simple/Nivea shower gel and moisturiser, that's it! I'm totally normal again!

My logic is this: what psoriasis is, really, is your immune system overreacting, and producing new skin cells way too fast, way more rapidly than they're needed. This is obviously not a good thing. But, when your skin does start to heal, it heals far faster than other peoples' skin would recover from injury, because you still have that faster-than-usual immune system thing going on. This might not be scientifically proven.

But it makes sense in my head, anyways! So, no matter how bad it gets at times, just do bear in mind that it can and will get better again. You just need to keep trying, until you find what's right for you. Personally, I do think that diet is key in a lot of cases, and (in a worst case scenario) it's well worth cutting out every possible trigger, and gradually reintroducing them over several months. As I know very well myself, though, this is much easier said than done.

Anyways, here are the pics.

missingtime · 07-04-2012 6:46pm

Thanks blueyblu, and your skin looking amazing now! Well done.

I have it pretty bad on my legs.

I'm taking udos oil, and cutting out sugar, bread and pork. Might try to give the potatoes a miss. I do use a lot of tinned tomatoes but I dunno if they affect me that much.

Found some coal tar ointment and have been using that as well as aveeno moisturiser.

Heading to italy in august and plan on spending lots of time in the sea and sun to try and clear it.

Bookworm85 · 11-04-2012 12:07am

dahat wrote: »

You should see results in 2/3 months if it is going to work,mine was more for the arthrtis side of it as i didn't have much of the skin psorsais on my limbs or torso just my scalp which was horrendous really,i hid under a BB cap for years until using a topical cream cleared it up for me,never came back on my scalp.

Self injecting is daunting but once you hit the muscle on the quad you wont feel it at all,after 4/5 goes you will do it no bother.
I too suffered alot from toenail problems,only now after 3 years on Enbrel and a total change of diet have they started to show improvement.The 2 big toes are the only effected ones now,hopefully the others stay cleared up.Wether this is due to enbrel and mtx i am not sure,diet is hardly the reason either so maybe just a result of a few changes coming together.

Six weeks with Enbrel and my skin is almost clear! I cannot believe it!

Thanks for the advice on injecting, you are right - after the first couple of times doing it on my own I was flying. I do it now without even thinking. I use the MyClic pen rather than the proper syringes, so that makes it a little bit easier I suppose

My hands are much better, still get the odd day when my fingers swell/ache a bit but they are greatly improved and my toenails are starting to look better too.

I'm still on MTX as well, but thankfully I am starting to sleep better and the Derm hopes to start weaning me off in the next few weeks

Yahoooooo!

jpr1973 · 23-04-2012 10:32pm

she started eating loads of roast garlic

Garlic is a natural anti-fungal and your aunt more than likely has a candida overgrowth problem. Many people believe there is a direct link between candida albicans overgrowth (which causes leaky gut syndrome) and psoriasis

By the way I added a few supplements to my diet as well as extra virgin olive oil, garlic and onions(all antifungals) over the past few months and have seen huge improvement on my back and legs.. I was also training for a half marathon so that has defo helped get rid of the guttate psoriasis on my legs.

I would go into full details of the changes but considering i got all the info from a free ebook I may as well give kudos to the author. So I recommend downloading the free ebook from bestdietforpsoriasis.com. The one big change to my diet that cleared most of the guttate psoriasis on my back was due to adding two supplements that was recommended in the ebook to my diet which help clean my colon (meaning less toxins being pushed onto the liver to expel through my skin), and I also bought a brand new blender and added raw veg juicing to my life!!

I also recommend keeping a trigger diary for flare ups.. I have given up processed food the past while but on Friday last I couldn't resist some sausages, so succumbed and ended up eating a heap of sausage sandwiches.. the next day i had some psoriasis appear on my forehead.... bye bye sausages from my life :-(

david75 · 29-04-2012 4:29pm

in hell with this at the moment. it's cant leave the house bad. Scalp is like it has a thick layer of plastercast on it and Face is completely red flaking and i wanna just tear it up it's so itchy. it's so depressin..Back to the doc i go.
whinge over. sorry.

DonFred · 30-04-2012 4:46pm

Have anyone tried Sulphur tablets? I just started them. Basically you suck or chew 3 tablets daily but half hour before you drink or eat or half hour after you eaten. Even If I get a small relief ti be worth it.

michellie · 04-05-2012 7:49pm

david75 wrote: »

in hell with this at the moment. it's cant leave the house bad. Scalp is like it has a thick layer of plastercast on it and Face is completely red flaking and i wanna just tear it up it's so itchy. it's so depressin..Back to the doc i go.
whinge over. sorry.

My scalp is so bad lately, have to go back to doc next week its driving me nuts! Only other place I have it is tiny patches on my knees but Im just after starting the sunbed and its already fading with the help of that and dovobet.

Do fish oil tablets help ? Read it somewhere. Got them last week.

stan1979 · 09-05-2012 5:00pm

hi fellow suffers
,ive been using nystaform hc on my face for the last 18months. as far as im aware its only available on prescrioption and according to a chemist i went to has to be specially ordered in from england providing you have prescription. the dermatologist that had intially prescribed has left the country,
however a friend of mine was in portugal and i asked her to see if she could get it while away. the medi centre/chemist she called into said they only had a replica of it so she was somewhat wary of buying it for me.
anyway just thought id see if anyone here had used nystaforum or a similar product,
ps nystaform worked a treat for me

cheers folks
stan

fionny · 09-05-2012 5:04pm

Take care bringing stuff in without a script, the Irish Medicines Board will confiscate it.

madma · 09-05-2012 9:26pm

stan1979 wrote: »

hi fellow suffers
,ive been using nystaform hc on my face for the last 18months. as far as im aware its only available on prescrioption and according to a chemist i went to has to be specially ordered in from england providing you have prescription. the dermatologist that had intially prescribed has left the country,
however a friend of mine was in portugal and i asked her to see if she could get it while away. the medi centre/chemist she called into said they only had a replica of it so she was somewhat wary of buying it for me.
anyway just thought id see if anyone here had used nystaforum or a similar product,
ps nystaform worked a treat for me

cheers folks
stan

the only thing thats worked perfectly for me is eumovate cream. i only really suffer from p on the face so have went through years of trying loads different things that didnt work until around xmas i tried this stuff and it works great, its a mild steroid so not for prolonged use and on prescription

only worry now is that my p gets immune to it and i try not to use it often but find it hard going more than a week / week and half without using it.

really hope it continues to work it the only stuff that gives me full relief.

i find washing face with aquous cream really helpful but it doesnt clear the p

fro9etb8j5qsl2 · 19-05-2012 1:03pm

Just wondering what shower gels and body moisturisers y'all use? Any fragranced feminine soapy stuff seems to drive my psoriasis insane

I've tried a few of the oily soaps like elave but I seem to have a mental block that convinces me it's not really washing me since it doesn't lather up or smell pretty

I only use water and e45 on my face and that seems to work fine but the psoriasis on my abdomen and under my boobies is unrelenting

missingtime · 19-05-2012 6:40pm

I find sanex 0% to be quite good. My girlfriend also suffers from psoriasis(she's itchy, I'm scratchy :P )and she finds nivia to be the best for her.

One of the best moisturizers I find is St Ives with Shea butter except I think it has become discontinued. Can't find it anywhere...other than that there is aveno, which is quite good as well.

If you are really really itchy, try getting some coal tar. Ask in a chemist. I've a big tub of the stuff and its great.

looksee · 20-05-2012 12:17pm

My mum has had psoriasis for about 50 years (she's 90 now). In the early days she was prescribed coal tar ointment which was very messy and did not do much. Eventually she went to a herbalist (not Chinese) and he gave her stuff that did improve it.

Of recent years though she has been on medication for a heart condition and her psoriasis has almost vanished. (I believe psoriasis never goes away completely but can be reduced to a tiny, manageable spot.) The link with the heart medication was very noticeable and we have tried to say it to doctors etc but there was no interest.

Psoriasis

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