Wellness

[Mindy D]

Forget about the food intolerances. I have tried every food-based thing over many, many years. Natural sunlight can clear psoriasis, if you live in a very sunny location and can sit out for long periods of time. There is a risk of skin cancers, though. What doctors are pushing, due to their bombardment from pharmaceuticals, are biologicals. These medicines have some side effects that I feel are much worse than psoriasis, itself. Examples of biologicals are Humira, Embrel. What has also been used for many years is methotrexate, an anti-cancer medication, which also has some serious side effects. Corticosteroids are also used and they also have some horrible side effects. Vitamin D3 cream is effective for small lesions. Another area of treatments involve sunlight, sometimes a substance is taken before exposure to UVA light. This treatment is called PUVA, the sun sensitizers can be crude coal tar, or Psoralen-which causes liver problems. I implore you to do your homework, before trying any of these treatments. Side effects like lymphoma are not just a tiny annoyance, they kill you. These medicines are also not a cure, so the risk does not really outweigh the benefit in my mind. Psoriasis involves the growth rate of skin cells. People without psoriasis have skin cell turnover every 28 days, but with psoriasis the skin cell turnover rate is much quicker, every 8 days or so. The medicines used for psoriasis are the same ones used to combat cancers, because cancers involve the rapid turnover of unhealthy cells. The psoriatic cells are not unhealthy, just not growing in a smooth way that other skin cells do. I participated in clinical trials for some of the above-named treatments. I have also had prescriptions for some of the medicines. I learned a long time ago, to really read everything about every treatment, and for now, I have decided that I'd rather look awful, and not get ill with life-threatening treatments. Have your husband experiment with body lotions. Put them on right after showering. You won't believe how effective they are. If his skin becomes inflamed in dry air, during winter, have him take a bath in colloidal oatmeal, made by Aveeda. It soothes inflamed skin. If he just has a few small lesions, try the lotions and maybe Dovonex, Vitamin D3 cream. A low fat and low calorie diet, almost fasting, has caused me to clear, but I was not trying to limit my food intake, it just happened when I had another illness.

[sfnative]

On 9/20/2014 Mindy D said:

Forget about the food intolerances. I have tried every food-based thing over many, many years. Natural sunlight can clear psoriasis, if you live in a very sunny location and can sit out for long periods of time. There is a risk of skin cancers, though. What doctors are pushing, due to their bombardment from pharmaceuticals, are biologicals. These medicines have some side effects that I feel are much worse than psoriasis, itself. Examples of biologicals are Humira, Embrel. What has also been used for many years is methotrexate, an anti-cancer medication, which also has some serious side effects. Corticosteroids are also used and they also have some horrible side effects. Vitamin D3 cream is effective for small lesions. Another area of treatments involve sunlight, sometimes a substance is taken before exposure to UVA light. This treatment is called PUVA, the sun sensitizers can be crude coal tar, or Psoralen-which causes liver problems. I implore you to do your homework, before trying any of these treatments. Side effects like lymphoma are not just a tiny annoyance, they kill you. These medicines are also not a cure, so the risk does not really outweigh the benefit in my mind. Psoriasis involves the growth rate of skin cells. People without psoriasis have skin cell turnover every 28 days, but with psoriasis the skin cell turnover rate is much quicker, every 8 days or so. The medicines used for psoriasis are the same ones used to combat cancers, because cancers involve the rapid turnover of unhealthy cells. The psoriatic cells are not unhealthy, just not growing in a smooth way that other skin cells do. I participated in clinical trials for some of the above-named treatments. I have also had prescriptions for some of the medicines. I learned a long time ago, to really read everything about every treatment, and for now, I have decided that I'd rather look awful, and not get ill with life-threatening treatments. Have your husband experiment with body lotions. Put them on right after showering. You won't believe how effective they are. If his skin becomes inflamed in dry air, during winter, have him take a bath in colloidal oatmeal, made by Aveeda. It soothes inflamed skin. If he just has a few small lesions, try the lotions and maybe Dovonex, Vitamin D3 cream. A low fat and low calorie diet, almost fasting, has caused me to clear, but I was not trying to limit my food intake, it just happened when I had another illness.

Mindy,

Thanks so much for your comprehensive response. I agree with much that you've stated through my years in nursing and research. I especially appreciated the small bit on winter weather, as we moved to Portland, OR last year and now have really cold temps, snow, ice, etc., in the winter, which can wreak havoc on skin, even my normal dry skin. Please know that I find this info so very important for the upcoming season because this severe psoraisis really started 4 years ago when we lived in San Diego, where the weather is pretty darn good and he was convinced he had excema and would not seek professional evaluation. (I-d-i-o-t!) Now we're in a totally different climate with different stressors and I've just learned in your response that he needs to be vigilant and treat his hands and feet as you have suggested. I feel blessed by this winter information.

Thank you, again! ~R

[lolakimono]

Rebecca,

Do you have humidifiers for when the heat is on? They can make a big difference in skin conditions.

Also, for the showering piece, how about a water filter on his shower?

[cindiaz]

Hi, my husband has had psoriasis for 27 years now,very severe and its the reumathoid psoriasis he has tried everything but right now he uses what i think has been the best medicine for that because his psoriasis has cleared but if he stops with the medicine it comes back again, he uses Humira and a cream that is called Taclonex, oh btw i have a son and i ask the pediatrician right away when he was born about being hereditary and he said that no is not, that usually psoriasis is related to some be under stress, with my husband he got that after his mother died when he was a teen.

Years ago we tried to change his diet, i bought this book called: Dr John's healing psoriasis cookbook, we tried for one month and a half, his psoriasis cleared but it did say in the book that he should'nt drink alcohol and my husband's loves to drink beer so he didnt want to continue with that.

Hope this helps

[wvumountiefan]

On 9/21/2014 cindiaz said:

Hi, my husband has had psoriasis for 27 years now,very severe and its the reumathoid psoriasis he has tried everything but right now he uses what i think has been the best medicine for that because his psoriasis has cleared but if he stops with the medicine it comes back again, he uses Humira and a cream that is called Taclonex, oh btw i have a son and i ask the pediatrician right away when he was born about being hereditary and he said that no is not, that usually psoriasis is related to some be under stress, with my husband he got that after his mother died when he was a teen.

Years ago we tried to change his diet, i bought this book called: Dr John's healing psoriasis cookbook, we tried for one month and a half, his psoriasis cleared but it did say in the book that he should'nt drink alcohol and my husband's loves to drink beer so he didnt want to continue with that.

Hope this helps

Cindiaz, I am in no way here to try to discredit your pediatrician or what you believe, but I think if you do your research you will find that psoriasis is hereditary. It may skip a generation, but my dad and one of his sisters had it. My son is now 20 yrs old and he has it on his scalp which is where mine was for years until in my mid 20s it came all over my body. I'm not trying to upset you and your child could very well not ever get it. My dad had 6 kids and so far I'm the only one who has it. I've always hoped my son wouldn't get it but the tx for it has come a long way. HTH

[Gooday]

DH and 2 of his sisters have had it since they were young adults. There is no cure and what he and his sister do is keep the area well moisturized. DH gets flare ups like everyone else. The most prominent points on his body are his elbows, knuckles, knees and his scalp. He has tried every compound and cream that came down the pike. To make it worse, his immune system is already compromised as he is a kidney transplant recipient. When he first started on anti rejections meds, his psoriasis cleared up totally. However, that lasted 6 months and then voila!

There is no cure for this. The best you can do is TRY to keep it at bay. Good luck with that.

[sfnative]

On 9/21/2014 lolakimono said:

Rebecca,

Do you have humidifiers for when the heat is on? They can make a big difference in skin conditions.

Also, for the showering piece, how about a water filter on his shower?

Lola,

We don't have humidifiers. Good point. We moved to the Pacific Northwest last year and I wanted to purchase 2 humidifiers, but that got voted down. Since I retired last year, the dynamic in our relationship has changed and basically what I ask for or say doesn't amount to much. This is one huge reason why I started this thread. Even though I have years and years of clinical experience, he won't listen to me, but he will to others.

The filter in the shower is interesting. I would like that for ME.

Thanks so much for continuing to provide great advice.

Rebecca

[sfnative]

On 9/21/2014 cindiaz said:

Hi, my husband has had psoriasis for 27 years now,very severe and its the reumathoid psoriasis he has tried everything but right now he uses what i think has been the best medicine for that because his psoriasis has cleared but if he stops with the medicine it comes back again, he uses Humira and a cream that is called Taclonex, oh btw i have a son and i ask the pediatrician right away when he was born about being hereditary and he said that no is not, that usually psoriasis is related to some be under stress, with my husband he got that after his mother died when he was a teen.

Years ago we tried to change his diet, i bought this book called: Dr John's healing psoriasis cookbook, we tried for one month and a half, his psoriasis cleared but it did say in the book that he should'nt drink alcohol and my husband's loves to drink beer so he didnt want to continue with that.

Hope this helps

cindiaz,

I especially appreciated the information you provided on psoraisis being hereditary or not and that stress is felt to be a factor. Honestly, my husband IS under more stress because we childcare our granddaughter 4 days a week and he doesn't know how to defuse/relax. Additionally, he's an alcoholic (Oh, yes, this is how he relaxes - by drinking). He's better now, but he will never be able to give up booze until it becomes a life threatening issue. You know what I mean?

Thanks so much. It DID help!

Rebecca

[sfnative]

On 9/21/2014 Gooday said:

DH and 2 of his sisters have had it since they were young adults. There is no cure and what he and his sister do is keep the area well moisturized. DH gets flare ups like everyone else. The most prominent points on his body are his elbows, knuckles, knees and his scalp. He has tried every compound and cream that came down the pike. To make it worse, his immune system is already compromised as he is a kidney transplant recipient. When he first started on anti rejections meds, his psoriasis cleared up totally. However, that lasted 6 months and then voila!

There is no cure for this. The best you can do is TRY to keep it at bay. Good luck with that.

Gooday,

Thank you so much for sharing your story. Your husband has really had a rough time of it. Here's hoping that the coming year will be a good one for him. Thanks, again.

Rebecca

[TootyJane]

My Mom began to suffer with psoriasis early last year and she suffers terribly from arthritis. She saw her dermatologist and was given various Rx creams and sprays to use. She had a large area on her lower back, arms, elbows and knees. Psoriasis also likes scars and since she had knee replacement surgery that scar was one of the worst areas. Unfortunately none of these things worked. She was then started on Methotrexate. Methotrexate is a cancer fighting drug but cancer and psoriasis are of the same plaque-type autoimmune disorder. Humira is a biologic drug and it's estimated yearly cost is $30,000 (that's right!!) and Medicare does not pay for it. Just a note, it will depend on what drug plan you have with Medicare. It is possible that some people are covered for biologic drugs.. She was started on a small dosage which was increased gradually. It took about 9 weeks for her to notice that the flare-ups were smaller to non-existent. By week 14 she was psoriasis free and has been for two months now. I know that your husband is probably as miserable as my Mom was. I hope this info is helpful.