Snake Oil Salesman You Are On NOTICE

I know I don't post here very often. I don't always have all that much to share. I do however want to get a message across to the spammers out there who think that commenting on posts on this blog stating that they have a CURE for psoriasis & that is - your comments will NOT be published. Let me tell you right now that there is NO cure there is ONLY remission! If someone tells you that they have a cure then they are nothing more than the equivalent to a snake oil salesman.

Please be very careful as to what you buy from people offering a cure. They may seem genuine in their beliefs but deep down they only want your money. They don't care if their product helps you or not. What is that saying: Buyers BEWARE!

The best way to find something that helps you is often by trial and error. From word of mouth of friends or family; people you trust. From your Pharmacist, GP or your dermatologist. I would hate for you to be ripped off or be disappointed by something that may in the long run make your skin worse.

I Should Be Grateful

I feel awfully slack for not posting here more regularly but there truly isn't much to 'report' on as far as my psoriasis is concerned.

I am still having regular reviews with my dermatologist. About once a month. Dr R. keeps making the tar solution stronger. He seems to think that stronger means that it will get rid of it faster. I don't think its working, at least not how he wants it to be. I get new spots all the time. Although I shouldn't complain. I should be grateful that my skin looks like it does right now. Compared to 12 months ago I look great!

My GP is still impressed with how good my skin looks, at least my arms at any rate its about the only body part he sees on a regular basis when I get my blood pressure checked. It was good when he checked it last.

I just have to remind myself that I could be worse. Just learn to be grateful that you look as good as you do right now.

World Psoriasis Day October 29 2010

The aim of World Psoriasis Day is to

• increase awareness & understanding
  
• to let sufferers know they are NOT alone
• to dispel myths surrounding psoriasis
  
• to let people know psoriasis is NOT contagious
• to encourage health care professionals to learn more about psoriasis & to help them increase access to treatments for all sufferers (for those with psoriatic arthritis &/or psoriasis).
  

If you know somebody with psoriasis please remember they need your love and support. Psoriasis affects a person mentally almost MORE than it does physically!!

Friends & Your Psoriasis

Do you wish that your friends understood how you struggle with your psoriasis? Do they even notice any more that you're having a flare or that your skin looks different?

Have you ever asked yourself these sorts of questions or just wondered about the answers?

Not that I have many friends that I see on a regular basis. In fact I mainly see Mark & the boys and hardly anyone else. I did wonder what my friends thought of my flare ups or even if they ever wondered how my skin was, whether I was having a good day or not. Were they being quiet because they were embarrassed with what my reply might be? Honestly you could do your head in with all of these questions and what if scenarios!

As far as I can remember I don't think any of them said anything about my skin. Either that or my memory sucks. To be honest I think my memory sucks :P

I think the quote below sums up what true friends are. No matter what we say, what we do or how we feel affects a true friendship.

A friend is one who knows us, but loves us anyway. -- Fr. Jerome Cummings

Just remember that even if you're having a hard day with your psoriasis talking about it to a friend or loved one may make a big difference. Who knows what treasures (or tips) they my hold that can help you. Hey you can even come & vent here with me. I wont mind.

Do You Hide From Your Psoriasis?

There is a lot of pressure placed upon women to have the prefect body. The perfect skin. The perfect hair! The perfect EVERYTHING!

How on earth are we meant to live up to that kind of pressure? Well obviously we can't! No one is perfect. I certainly know I'm not. Maybe practically perfect like Mary Poppins but even that would be a stretch!

I know I used to place a lot of pressure upon myself when I was younger to look nice, be a little bit trendy but most of all look as pretty as I can. Are you the type of person that buys clothing to hide your skin? I no longer do that. I might buy clothing specifically to hide body parts I don't like but not to hide my psoriasis. These days I am much more about comfort. Who cares what I look like as long as I am clean & not overly slobby. I'm no girly girl that likes to dress up and wear make up. As long as I don't look like a bogan I'm happy.

I'd like to think that I have come to terms with the fact that I can bare my skin. That I am not afraid to show of my arms or legs (within reason I dress modestly without looking old fashioned). I would like to think that I don't care what people think about my psoriasis. I don't worry about it anywhere near as much as I used to. To be honest there are some days during summer where I see people staring at me and think take a picture it will last longer. I never say it out loud but I have thought it. Although I know my boys have said it, well Brodie has.

Are you comfortable in your own skin or do you hide behind your clothing?

Scalp Psoriasis

What do you do when you have psoriasis on your scalp? How do you stop the itching? What treatments are available? How do you get rid of it? Will I ever be able to wear dark colours again without the fear of being covered in flakes?

All of these questions run though your mind when you have psoriasis on your scalp. In fact just thinking about this makes my head itchy!

I used to even wish that I only had psoriasis on my scalp. At least that way no one could see it. It was horrible to have people staring at me while I was in the supermarket or just out at the shops. I would cover up as much of my skin as possible, hiding it in shame. I don't think that way any more. I could care less if people saw my red & angry skin. If the mood struck I would use it as a reason to educate people. If my boys were with me they would stick up for me telling people its rude to stare. Brodie gets really defensive if people stare at my skin. I tell him not to worry about it, although I can see that it still bothers him.

Anyway I was talking about scalp P. Apart from seeing your G.P. or dermatologist there are a few over the counter things you can use that may help you.

• You can soften the scales with warm water & warm oils (like olive oil).
• You can use a fine tooth comb to gently lift the flakes off. Try not to break the skin as it can lead to infections or it may even cause your hair to break off at the scalp.
• Use over the counter shampoos with tar or oatmeal bases. They can help reduce flaking & itching.
• Use an anti-dandruff shampoo. Sometimes that helps reduce the flakes.
  
• Limit the use of hair dryers, hair straighteners etc as they may dry the scalp out more.
• For quick relief press a damp cloth on your scalp where its itchy.
  

Please remember these are just tips. They may not work for you but it doesn't hurt to try. If you are unsure how this may affect your skin try them in an inconspicuous spot. That way no one will notice if you have any flare ups.

If you have any tips that you use that work for your scalp I would love to hear them.

Dermatologist Review

I had yet another review with my dermatologist today. I can't believe that its been a month already since my last visit. Doesn't time fly when you're having fun.

Well at least the derm knows that my skin hasn't been improving since my last visit. I think he was surprised though. He said that the stuff I was using was awfully strong. Yes it is strong but I don't always believe that strong is always good.

I suggested that perhaps we go back to the stuff that I was using when I first started seeing him (coal tar based creams). Surprisingly, he agreed and wrote me a script for it. He stated that he had been omitting an ingredient from the scripts that he had written before & he is sure that this one will work since it did the job before.
I honestly cannot work out why on earth he kept changing it. If it works why change?

Anyway, my script is now getting filled at the chemist. I am sure they hate me coming in to get these lotions & potions made up. I told them I'll be back in a day or two. At least that way it should be made up by the time I get there.

**That photo of the coal tar cream doesn't really do it justice. That stuff looks a much darker yellow in real life & has a very, very strong tar smell.

Treating Your Psoriasis By Changing Your Diet

Do you think that changing what you eat could help your psoriasis? It's a question that is often asked by a lot of people on various forums. Would altering what you eat really make that much difference? I have no idea if it would or not but it may be worth a try.

Perhaps it might be an idea to keep a food diary. In your diary you could list what you ate & how it affected your skin. I'm not sure how accurate it would be in isolating what might trigger a flare. You may have to eat the same thing several times to make sure the food really does make a difference.

Some people swear that going gluten & yeast free helps them tremendously. Perhaps following a gluten free diet may help. I have not gone totally gluten free. I like my bread way too much for that but I have switched to wholegrain & wholemeal breads. I don't know if it has made a difference yet or not but it sure does taste nice.

Being alcohol free also will help. I'm not a drinker so I cannot compare what its like to have a flare up from drinking alcohol. There are many P sufferers out there who swear that giving up drinking has helped them. Plus a lot of health websites recommend being alcohol free when it comes to psoriasis. So it must be a good thing to give it up.

Fatty red meat & dairy foods often cause inflammation. So avoiding foods that may induce that would be a good thing to give up. Plus we know for many other reasons that too much fatty food is not good for you as far as clogging up your arteries by increasing cholesterol levels & blood pressure. Avoiding heart disease is always a plus in my books especially since high blood pressure runs in the family.

Eating a lot of fresh fruits & vegetables would be a good way to help improve your skin. Colourful vegetables are believed to be loaded with antioxidants. Which is something that we are told is very helpful to us in maintaining out health.

I switched to a Low GI diet about a month ago. I don't know if it has helped much as my psoriasis is coming back. I do know that I generally feel better than I did since switching. And eating Low GI foods hasn't been all that much of a change for us as a family. We were pretty much doing that anyway without realising it. We just eat a little bit more healthily these days.

If you do keep a food diary please let me know how you went. I would love to know what foods irritated your skin.

Did You Know?

Did you know that ....

• applying moisturiser to you skin every day can help keep your skin healthy. You should use it every day even when you aren't having a flare up!
• hard water can irritate your skin and cause flare ups
• alcohol found in perfumes (and aftershave) can irritate the skin and make your skin feel like it is burning especially if you are experiencing flares.
• scents in perfumes can act as irritants or allergens & can induce flaring or make it worse
• running a humidifier can help moisturise your skin
• smoking can trigger or prolong flares because nicotine affects the immune system making it work harder
• soaps which are gentle, non-scented & free of dyes are less likely to affect your skin.
• anti-bacterial soaps will help reduce the risk infection during a flare
• if your scalp is affected using a tar based or salicylic-acid based shampoo may help you
• drinking alcohol is one of the most common triggers for a psoriasis flare & it can impair your immune system just like nicotine can
• keeping a psoriasis symptom journal on how your body is affected during a flare may help you work out the triggers that cause them ie: if you change soaps, laundry liquids, new foods, stress levels etc

Nail Psoriasis

Do you have Psoriasis in you nails? I do. My nails have been affected since I was 15. To be honest I can't even remember what my nails looked like when they were normal.

I spoke with my dermatologist about my nails a couple of months ago. He recommended that I rub my celestone ointment into the base of my nails where the cuticles are & just above it. He said that it should help them begin to look more normal. I've tried it but I can't honestly say that its helped or not.

My nails tend to improve over winter and then become all pitted again once the warmer weather starts. I always notice that over the summer months my nails look awful. That's when I tend to use nail polish it helps make them look smoother. There is one setback with that though. My nails tend to become discoloured once I take the nail polish off. It looks disgusting when the nails are tinged with yellow. So I try not to use too much nail polish at all these days.

If you want to read up on some possible treatments & info I found some on the Everyday Health website.

And my BIG tip for your nails. Keep them trimmed. You're less likely to catch them on things. They sting like mad when you catch them on stuff. It tends to make the nail lift up from the nail bed. OUCH! OUCH! OUCH!

Is Remission Possible?

I was reading an article over at everyday Health about Psoriasis Remission and it got me thinking about when I was symptom free. It seems like a lifetime ago. I was 14 and living in Darwin with my sister & her husband. I spent a whole year living up there, going to school, working and most importantly being outside every day.

I don't think I was totally in remission I vaguely recall having P around my ears but since my hair covered that up it didn't matter. I also remember that when I was around 11 years old I had been taking methotrexate. Old Dr. Hakendorf my dermatologist at the time had put me on them. You know I think they would totally frown on using that stuff on someone as young as I was but I guess back then it didn't matter as much. All I know is that it helped BIG time and that my skin improved. While I was in Darwin it was even better!

At the rate my psoriasis is going right now. Its coming back again. I have more and more spots showing up everyday. I keep putting more stuff on it but it truly doesn't seem to be as effective as it initially was. I have to admit though that my calves are still looking okay compared to how they were 12 months ago. Its my thighs and back that seem to be 'growing' more spots or the existing ones are getting larger.

One day, who knows I may go into remission. Its something worth dreaming of and hanging on to. I would love to be able to say HEY I have NO more spots! My skin looks normal! Right now the only thing (to me at least) that is normal is a cycle on the washing machine! Nothing else is 'normal'!

Anyway .. check out the article I was looking at. It mentions ways to help you try and keep psoriasis at bay if you ever go into remission and what to do if it starts coming back. Keeping up to date with treatments & possible solutions isn't a bad thing. Knowledge is power!

Getting Some Much Needed Sunshine!

What a gloriously sunny Saturday afternoon it is here! I went out with Angus into town for a bite to eat and a little bit of retail therapy. I was after some more wool for my stash so that I can make these super cute Christmas toys from this really neat pattern book by Jean Greenhowe I bought off ebay the other week.

I thoroughly enjoyed the ride home. Being winter its not terribly hot in the car right now and the sunshine streaming through the windows felt fabulous. I almost didn't want to get out of the car and come inside. Too bad the ride home was such a short one. At least I got some of that valuable Vitamin D that my GP is pressing me to get. If it wasn't so windy outside I might go out for some more sunlight. In fact I might go out there for a little while any way.

More Coal Tar Potions

I had another review with the dermatologist today. I swear I was only in there for 5 minutes. I guess I shouldn't complain really as I only had to wait for about 20 minutes before I got in to see him.

I have been prescribed some more tar based potions and more celestone cream. At least I think its cream. I've already put the script in at the chemist so I can't check that at the moment. The potion needs to be made up (I am sure that the chemist hates making it up) and its stronger than the last lot. I think its 30% LPC this time. Who knows if it will work or not.

All I know is that Spring is around the corner and I am looking forward to getting some natural UV on my skin!

Psoriasis Awareness Month

I know it's probably not psoriasis awareness month in Australia but it most certainly is in the US. So I thought why not help spread awareness anyway!

The National Psoriasis Foundation has started an Awareness Challenge Month if you are interested in checking it out.

Awareness & Knowledge is POWER!! Help others learn more about psoriasis and how it affects the people who have it.

What Causes Your Psoriasis To Flare?

I was reading an article over at Everyday Health about different things that may cause your psoriasis to flare or what may trigger it to begin with. It got me thinking about what sets mine off.

I remember as a kid a scraped knee from falling over while roller skating or even falling off my bike could cause a new spot to appear. Definitely a trigger if I ever knew of one & that dreaded Koebner Effect (also known as Koebner Phenomenon). Koebner is the guy who put two & two together and worked out that cuts & scrapes may cause psoriasis to appear. How nice of him to name it :P

Colder weather makes me flare. I'm not sure if its the lack of sunshine on the skin, the extra moisture in the air or the fact that we stay indoors with the heater on that cause it. I know that there are a lot of people, just like me, who have major (or even minor) flares during the winter months. Perhaps we all need some UVB during the colder weather. I know that helps me. (Yeah I know I said I wasn't using it at the moment)

Stress is definitely a trigger. There's so much going on at my place with various health issues or behavioural issues with the kids that there really isn't much of a chance that my stress levels will ever ease up. Of course it improves during the day when they are at school but the phone calls home don't help & then of course stress levels increase once school gets out. What a lovely rollercoaster ride that can be. Thank goodness for the happy pills (anti-depressants) I get from the doctor.

Now that I mentioned stress its also a catch 22 situation. You have a flare up and you get more stressed that you are flaring and that your skin is at its absolute worse. Some days you just can't seem to win. Please supply me with MORE happy pills on those days or Chocolate!! And lots of it!!

They say smoking & alcohol triggers flares. Considering I gave up smoking years ago & I never really drank I don't see that as a problem for me. The fact that I still get these blasted flares doesn't seem to matter to my psoriasis one bit that I no longer use either of these things.

Some medications cause flares also. I read that some blood pressure meds (beta blockers) can cause flares. Happy pills probably do too but hey they keep you happy so maybe they make you care less about flares. Who knows!

Also getting sick such as a head cold, sore throat or the flu may also be triggers for flares. So the best bet is to try and stay as healthy as you possibly can. Not an easy feat for lots of people but as long as you do the best you can that's all that matters.

Blood Tests

I went to my doctor the other week so that he could organise a series of blood tests since he told me to remind him next time I had to see him. It had been quite some time since I had them done. At least twelve months or more ago. I finally remembered to phone up on Wednesday to get the results from the practise nurse. She said that there was a bit of concern with some of the results so I made an appointment to go see my GP this afternoon.

It seems that my Vitamin D level is a lot lower than it should be. Dr F told me that I need to get more sunlight. I was thinking that perhaps I should start doing my UVB again. That should provide at least some Vitamin D.

My blood sugar level was higher than it should be. I had a level of 6.2. I now have a referral for a Glucose Tolerance Test where I drink that extremely sweet cordial like stuff. What a joy will that be. I have to stay at the pathology place for two hours with that one! I guess I will need to take my knitting or some crochet with me for that one!! To be honest I was expecting to go for this test again. I had to have one last time but everything came back normal. Diabetes does run in the family (both my Mum & my brother Wayne had it) & I was warned when I was having Angus that I was glucose intolerant. I guess you could say that I am pre-diabetic.

I also had a higher than normal level of Uric Acid. Not exactly sure what that one means but Dr F mentioned gout. Not that I have ever had that one. He did tell me if I had suffered from gout I would most certainly know of it. He just wants to repeat the blood test in about 6 months to see if anything changes.

I found some links on what these three things are if you wish to read further.
Vitamin D deficiency
Uric Acid Test
Glucose Tolerance Test

Plodding Along

Gosh I feel so awful about not posting on here more regularly. The trouble is I never really know what to put in the posts all the time. If anyone has any ideas about the things I could include I would be very grateful.

I had a review with my dermatologist almost two weeks ago. He's kept me on the same coal tar preparation but has now given me celestone cream (mydr.com.au) rather than the ointment. I don't know if it will make any difference as the strength between the ointment and the cream is the same.

I am hoping that both of these things will help the psoriasis on my legs. I am just getting so tired of it not clearing up as well as it did when I first went to the derm. I'm even getting new spots again so I dab a little extra of the lotion on. I don't know if its working or not.

To be honest I was thinking of using my UVB lamp again but the mornings here have been pretty dang cold of late. It was -1C (30.2F) this morning when I got up at 7 o'clock! Yeah I know I could do my UV treatment later in the day when its warmer but I like to do it immediately after a shower so that I don't feel so cold standing there butt naked! Its my excuse & I'll stick to it for now.
If my UVB lamp was like the cabinet in the photo then I wouldn't need to worry about turning round & round like a chook on a rotisserie. Those were the days when I used to use one of those machines!

Anyway, I go back to see the derm in two more weeks. Who knows what will happen between now & then.

P on the Scalp & in Folds of the Skin

I had a review with the Dermatologist on Wednesday. He was pleased with how things are going & is glad that the lotion I requested last time was working. I have to admit though it isn't working as fast as I would like but hey at least it is doing the right thing and making my skin better.

The derm wanted to up the LPC content to 30% again but I reminded him about what the Chemist had told me on how the ingredients separate once the LPC strength was too high. So he agreed to let me have the exact same 'formula' as last time. Thank goodness he is listening to me because I wasn't sure that he would. He seems like that REALLY old fashioned type that is more of a do as I say kind of person. I'm glad I was proven wrong. So now I am armed with a script of this potion with 2 repeats. I don't need to go back to see him until early July.

I have noticed that since going back to this style of potion the P in the folds of my skin is improving (you know those areas we don't talk about like near the groin, the spare tyre & armpits etc). I hated that it was so hard to get rid of there & this is helping even without having to use too much in the folds.

An added bonus is that my scalp is no longer as flaky. I know for certain now that it has nothing to do with the shampoo & conditioner I got from the hairdressers a few weeks back. It hardly made any difference to my scalp at all. In fact the only thing it truly did was make my hair super shiny (which I LOVE).
I don't use this potion on my scalp even though the derm said that I could if I wanted too. I hate the idea of using anything on my scalp as far as the lotions & potions are concerned. It makes my hair all oily & dull and my hair is the ONLY thing that I love to have looking really nice (I'm not a make-up person. I get too lazy to use it & I can never work out what type of foundation to use or what colour).
As I said I don't use in on my scalp yet the P on my scalp is improving. I was thinking that perhaps just using the stuff on the rest of my body was enough for it to improve in other areas. After all I do use a reasonable amount of the potion & it does get absorbed into the skin. Just a thought and as I said its improving. Always a good thing in my books!!

Finally!

After waiting 4 weeks to get in to see my dermatologist I finally was able to see him last week. Yet another SHORT visit for a rather LARGE amount of money.

When I told my derm that my psoriasis was coming back he of course wanted to take a look. I hate having to flash my skin at the best of times but he had to see how much of my P had come back. I think he was a little surprised that his latest concoction (coal tar based goop in vaseline or some such thing) wasn't working as well as he had hoped. To be honest the only thing it was good for was making the flakes really soft so that they could be picked off. Not that I condone picking it but it sure did make my skin feel less itchy ones the flakes were gone.

I asked if it were possible to go back to the lotions I was using earlier in the year. They were at least working. Not as well or as quickly as I had expected but they were at least working. Thank goodness he actually listened to me and said okay. I also mentioned that the Chemist said that the stronger the potion the more the ingredients separated from each other and my derm said he had wondered about that. So we agreed that I would use the LPC at 25% rather than the 30 he had used once before. I was a little disappointed when he said that he would exclude the salicylic acid from the preparation. I found that was extremely useful in smoothing out the skin. The derm seemed to think that it might be annoying my skin. Maybe it was. He's the expert so I'll go with the flow for now.

Armed with a new script for yet another potion I headed off to the Chemist. I am so glad that the people there know me so well (I've been going there for years) & that they are very accommodating when it comes to making up these lotions & potions. It also helps to tell them that I will be coming back the next afternoon to give them anywhere up to 36-48 hours to get it ready.

I've been using the new lotion twice a day since Friday night. I can't believe the difference its made already. My P is less flaky. Its wonderful! Finally something is working again.

I go back to see the derm next week on Wednesday. I wonder what his reaction will be this time.

Before I forget, once again we have reached the PBS Safety Net & we are now on free prescriptions until the end of the year. Which means we have spent more than $324 on scripts since the beginning of the year. I know that amount of money may not sound like a lot to some people for prescriptions (I know there are some who pay hundreds of $$ for just one script) but it's a lot when you are on a set (low) income.

Shampoo & Conditioner

I finally went & got myself a haircut last week & while I was there I asked the hairdresser, Sarah, what she would recommend for the psoriasis on my scalp. To be honest I am completely fed up with the itching & since breaking all of my fingernails recently I have absolutely nothing to scratch with and its driving me balmy.

Anyway, Sarah, suggested I try Redken's Soothing Balance Shampoo & Conditioner. Now I am not endorsing the product, I don't even know what its like yet as I haven't tried it. I thought I would finish my current bottle of Sunsilk that I have been using.

I'll let you know how I went one once I have used it for a while.

Yet Another Review

Well what an expensive 10 minutes that was. $70 for a fleeting visit with the dermatologist. And that was a "Cheap" consultation so he keeps reminding me. Thank goodness I get almost half of that back from Medicare.

I flashed some of my skin to show him that my P was coming back, quite a bit of it now too. I told him that the lotion from last visit, although its stronger, doesn't seem to be doing the trick. That it is too runny and doesn't seem to 'stick' to the skin long enough to make any major difference to it.

The derm once again mentioned that this was a pretty strong preparation & that he was surprised that it hadn't worked as well as he expected. Then he went on to state that he would add some vaseline to this preparation to make it 'stickier' & that he would prescribe some steroid cream to put on first. Turns out its just celestone cream but that mixed with the coal tar may make a difference. Well I am hoping it will.

There is appointment made for another review this time. Dr R said that there wasn't much point of making one yet until I know whether this new mix of stuff is working or not. He said it may last me two weeks or it might last me a couple of months. Either way there was no rush to see him again unless there is NO improvement. And there I was thinking he kept changing the prescription so that I would have to keep coming back. Dr R even said that he wasn't this under control so that I don't have to come back & see him. Gosh that would be nice to go into remission. One can only hope.

Back to the Derm in 6 Weeks

Well I had another review with the dermatologist around an hour ago. I swear I have the wrong job. He gets paid a hell of a lot of money for the very short visits that I have with him & he CONSTANTLY reminds me that I have a discounted rate because I am on a carers pension. I let him know that my P is coming back. To which he said that wasn't good. Well of course not. The whole idea of coming to see you is to make it go away. Sorry for the sarcasm its just how I am feeling right now - all hot & bothered from running around in town before coming home. So ... He's written another prescription. This one is much stronger than the last one and he's put back some of the ingredients that he left out last time. I'm crossing my fingers that this new stuff will work this time round. Oh gosh I hope it does. I just want to be psoriasis free. I haven't been psoriasis free since I was a teenager & I was living in Darwin. I cannot believe it that I have tears in my eyes when thinking about that. Please cross your fingers & toes for me that this new script will finally get rid of the stubborn spots that are hanging on for dear life. I don't pick the new stuff up until tomorrow afternoon. I'm making sure that my Chemist has time to make it up. I hope he will, he's been pretty good with making up the position the last couple of times I've left scripts there.        

Emotional Roller-Coaster

No real change from last weekends post other than there are more and more new spots appearing all over the place. To be honest I thought I would have more of a flare with all the going on here of late. You see our eccentric (and relatively young) neighbour passed away early last week. I wont go into it much here but its been an emotional week at times. You can check out my Blooming Lovely blog for more details if you feel like reading about him.

Anyway I thought with the emotional roller-coaster that we have all been on this past week that my skin would be worse than it is right now. Thankfully it isn't too bad at the moment. I only have to wait until Wednesday to let the dermatologist know how my skin has been misbehaving. Who knows what alterations he will make with the coal tar potions this time! Let's hope its to something that works better than this current lot. You know he should've left the last prescription alone. It was working!!

It's Coming Back

With my last review a few weeks ago the dermatologist altered the potion (coal tar preparation) that I was using. This time round there is no salacylic acid in it. As far as I know it helps make my skin smoother. I don't know if he changed any other ingredients apart from making it stronger. This time round I am not doing as well as I would like. My P is starting to come back. Even the boys have notice. Its more evident on my legs than my arms but its definitely coming back. Not happy Jan!!!

Too bad that I've had this set back. It will probably mean that I'll be visiting him in another months time. Although I wont know until I see him again on the 3rd of March.
Crossing fingers & toes!

More Potions

I had a review with the derm on Feb 3rd. He's prescribed yet another strength of the stinky tar lotion. Mainly because I complained about how the stubborn spots are still there. I know I should be grateful for the fact that the creams have worked at all & that I have almost normal looking skin.

I finally took the script to the chemist the other day to be filled. Angus described it as looking like the banana flavoured milk ice blocks we've been getting recently. He's not wrong there! They do look like those banana lollies you can buy in the supermarket. Almost the same shade of yellow!

Good news on the derm front though. I go back in one months time & he said that if things are still going this well he will make it longer between visits. I can't wait for it to be every two months or more!! I so want to look 'normal'.

Nail Psoriasis

I've had psoriasis in my fingernails since I was 15 years old (just a few years ago I might add :P - although my boys will tell you otherwise). The dermatologist I saw in my 20's said that there wasn't anything that could be done to help with the nail P. So I learnt to live with it.

There were many a time when I used to 'hide' my nails under nail polish to make them appear normal at least from a distance but nothing would EVER get rid of the pitting or the lifting up from the nail bed. In fact I noticed after a while that if I didn't wear nail polish that my nails would sometimes grow 'smoother' and less pitted.

Over the past few years, since I moved to Victoria, I noticed that my nails only began looking worse over the summer months and that come autumn they started to look smooth again. A coincidence perhaps? I have no idea but so far this summer my routine has not changed. My nails look bad in my book. You can decide from the photo that my baby took for me. Have you ever tried taking a photo of your own hands? I found it difficult as the pics ended up really blurry.

I am finding it really awkward with the nails lifting from the nail bed at the moment. I knock them on all sorts of things when they are in this condition and it can be very painful. My only tip is to keep them trimmed so that it is less likely to happen.

I'm crossing my fingers that once autumn/winter comes along my nails will begin to be 'normal' again.

Another Update

Happy Belated New Year!!
Shame on me for not posting sooner. Sorry but I got side tracked with Christmas, New Year, the boys and life in general.

I must remember to take photos of my skin to share with you again. You wont believe the difference that a month as made. I have loads of 'normal' skin! I mean it looks kind of normal to me at least. There are 'shadows' for want of a better description as to where my psoriasis was on various parts of my body & in other parts it just looks like I have a nice suntan.

I had a review with the dermatologist last week. He is impressed with how I am going and doesn't want to see me for another month. Which is good because it was a bit of a struggle to see him every fortnight and having to pay so much to see him for less than a 5 minute consultation. It not that easy when you are on a Carer's Allowance.
The derm still brags at how good this stuff is. He's a bit cocky if you ask me. He is definitely old school though and OLD is the word I use to describe him.

Our free scripts that we had since June of last year has now finished. It finishes at the end of the calendar year. So we start paying for all of our scripts again. I don't mind but when I have to buy anywhere up to 5 scripts some weeks it certainly adds up. Thank goodness I have organised it so that we don't all run out at once and I've staggered things so I get maybe 2 scripts a week.

Speaking of scripts. The Chemist has a very hard time making up the preparation that I use. I know the derm said that this stuff works and it has but the stress/waiting that I have to do to get it is horrendous to say the least. Last week I put the script in on a Thursday before lunch & said I would pick it up on Friday afternoon. I went in around 3:30pm hooping that it would be ready. No more like thinking it would be ready. Well guess what! It wasn't! I don't know if you can imagine how upset I was. Being let down yet again by the same people. It happened to me about 10 days before when I put the previous script in. I know they got busy before the new year so I let it go. This time I swear it was because it was a NEW worker (chemist) in the shop. I bet she saw that it was to be made up and left it for the boss to do when he came in the next day or something like that. I know it happens as it happened to me years ago when I lived in Whyalla. A family run chemist that I went to. The Dad ALWAYS left it for the daughter to make up. Which I thought was kind of miserable of him.

Back to this time though. The Chemist said that it takes about an hour to make up. I thought giving them a day and a half to prepare it was a good thing. I am guessing I have to give them around 48 hours instead for the next one. I swear that they hate it when I walk in the door now just in case I have the script for this stuff to be made. I am sure that they want to run in the opposite direction!

All in all though I suppose I shouldn't complain. There are plenty of bonuses going on where my skin is concerned. The fact that I am beginning to look 'normal' is great! Someone from Church commented on how good my skin is looking. She said it was the best she has ever seen it. It felt good to hear someone say that.
And even better .. I don't have to get the vacuum cleaner out every day to clean up after myself! It's wonderful!!

Look At My Arms!!

Take a look at my arms! Don't they look fantastic. That stinky old-fashioned coal tar prescription from the dermatologist is certainly doing its job! My arms haven't looks like this in years!

Speaking of the dermatologist. I had a review this morning. For the amount of money I pay to see him I only spent less than 5 minutes with him. I'm not happy about the amount of money I have to pay for the teeny bit of time I see him.

I told him how my skin didn't feel quite as smooth this time round as it did with the first lot of coal tar potions. To which he said he was glad that I mentioned it as he tweaked the potion last time and omitted the salacylic acid from the script. He said he would put it back in this time round. That it has a kind of peeling action that makes your skin smoother. Whatever! As long as it works I don't particularly care. I just want smooth NORMAL skin!

I go back in a months time and he has given me a script with two repeats. Not sure how I will make three small jars last for a whole month but I can always resort to other lotion and potions that I have. He also mentioned that I should get about 10 minutes of sunlight a day but only early in the morning as its cooler then. Well der!

Let's see how things go for the next month! I am just glad that my skin is beginning to look more normal each week. The kids were stoked as they could see freckles on my arms and legs. They've made comments like I didn't know you had freckles Mum. They think its neat. In fact so do I.

Quick Update

Here we are one week on from my last visit with the derm. I tell you I am not impressed with this new lotion/potion thing! In fact my skin no longer feels smooth like it did for the previous week and a half. I often wonder if I will ever truly beat this beast! It's so dang annoying.

And to top things off I just realised that I was meant to pick up another batch of potion from the chemist this afternoon because he didn't make it up yesterday like he was supposed to. It too late to get it now as the shop closed a few minutes ago! ArghHHHHH
Darn them for not having ready this morning when I picked up all of our other prescriptions. I'll have to go as soon as they open up tomorrow because I KNOW I wont have enough to do tomorrow mornings application.

Sometimes I swear I hate this blasted disease!

I took a pic of one of my arms but haven't transferred it from the camera to the pc yet. I'll post it as soon as I can to show you how good at least one of my arms looks.

Dermatologist Review

Well I had my first review with the new derm. For the amount of money I spend to see him I was hoping for MORE out of my visit. I finally got the bill for my first visit. Initial consultations always cost more and he said I got the discounted rate because I am on a Carers Payment (Pension). The first visit cost me $120 and today's review cost me $90. So of course me being the good person that I am paid for both visits today and went straight to medicare to claim the rebate.

Dr R told me that I would get a lot of it back because he wasn't charging me so much! Well I got $103.30 back! That's a heck of a lot of money to pay when you don't have a lot to begin with. Oh well not much I can do I suppose. What happened to to good old days when medicare got bulk-billed for everything?

Anyway now to get with what the dermatologist actually said about my psoriasis. He was suitable impressed with how the coal tar potion is helping. He even boasted again about how he ALWAYS gets good results with this particular preparation. I hate to burst his bubble but if I use it for too long it wont work as well. My body tends to get build up an immunity to any treatment after a while.

I told him how the preparation with the Salicylic Acid seems to be working better than the other one. So he's prescribed me with (get this) only two jars to last me for two weeks when I go back to see him again (on December 9th). Now the first time I saw him he prescribed TWO jars of each type and they barely lasted two weeks. How on earth does he expect me to make two jars last when I am chronically covered? I will most certainly have a flare up before I back to see him when I run out of the new potion. This new coal tar potion will be a lot stronger than the first lot. Not sure exactly what is the exact ingredient that he is increasing all I know is that the percentages are going up from 10% to 15%.

I do have a teeny bit left from both of the jars he prescribed me. I'll put them aside to use when I run out of this new stuff. I just hope and pray that I don't flare too badly once I run out. Or I will have to resort to the old stuff that I have plenty of (meaning the tubes of topical cortisone ointments from the GP).

I just hope that the new potion works FAST and perhaps I wont need quite so much of it. I have to look for that silver lining somewhere I guess...

Day 8/9 - Coal Tar

Its day 8 (or 9 depending on how I'm feeling) using this stinky new preparation from the derm. I'm still not liking the smell but I must admit is it helping.

As I mentioned (well I think I did) there are two preparations. One has salacylic acid (for the left side of the body) and the other has some aqueous cream (for the right side of the body). I have notice a difference in my skin. I wouldn't say its been miraculous or anything but its less red, less scaly and there are signs or 'normal' skin showing through the psoriasis. My feel are looking almost 'normal' too. All good I guess. Oh and the left side seems to be faring a teeny bit better than the right.

I did run out of the potions yesterday morning so I didn't have quite enough to slap on the usual amount I have used so I needed to use it sparingly. I noticed that I flared a little (but was thinking it is partly hormonal too) and I was itchier than usual. I suppose that was because there were more flakes to get rid of. I can't wait for the day when I don't have to vacuum all the time!

I go back next Wednesday to see the derm. I hope I have enough potion to last until then.