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.

Looking Better

Gosh I hadn't realised that it had been so long since I posted anything here. At least I can give a bit of an update on how things are going 'skin' wise for me at the moment.

I've continued with my UVB and am now currently up to 3 minutes per side. I'll keep at that level for a while longer as I am still getting a bit burnt from that dosage. Not that you can see the physical effect of the burn since my skin is so pink from the psoriasis. In fact the only way that I can tell that I have a burn is that at night, after I've done my baking in the morning, I get extremely itchy on my back. As I said I cant see the burn but I can feel it.

I'm still taking one primolut tablet each morning and I think that it is still helping with my skin. I can at least see more and more freckles all over my body. Especially my arms and my torso. Not so much on the legs though. That darned P seems to be more stubborn there.

I went to the chemist the other week to get my daivonex prescription filled and once again they are having problems filling the order. The guy that owns the chemist said that he will phone me when it becomes available. So for now I have settled with the advantan fatty ointment which seems to be doing what is is supposed to. I cant really complain I suppose. Although I would dearly love to have something that will help the P on my legs. After all it is spring time here and the weather is warming up. I would like to be able to wear skirts and t-shirts without being too self-conscious. Not that I used to let that bother me before but things are a little different at the moment. Perhaps I will become more confident again later on. Who knows!

Sentimental Sop!

I don't know what is wrong with me lately. I've turned into a sentimental soppy thing. I was checking out my skin thinking that the mirena must be helping a bit due to the release of the hormones. I honestly thought that my psoriasis would be flaring a bit at the moment due to my not baking with the UVB.

Anyway I was checking out the skin on my arms, thighs and abdomen thinking wow doesn't that look good. I can see freckles that I hadn't seen in years. I can still see the psoriasis not a problem but its paler, thinner and definitely not flaring. Even now I have tears in my eyes because I can see almost normal skin. Can you imagine that? Getting teary because my skin looks good. How soppy is that? I can't remember my skin looking this 'clear' in a long time.

I just hope and pray that maybe this summer I might look just like everyone else. I only have three more doses of antibiotic left and then I can begin my UV treatment again. I can't wait to show my GP. He would thrilled to see how good my skin looks right now. Too bad he is off on holiday for two more weeks. Let's just hope that I stay looking this great!

Maybe I should take a photo just in case it doesn't last.

GP Visit

I went to see my GP yesterday to get some new scripts written up. I also wanted to show him how great my arm looked before my current flare up took away all the progress that had been made in the past week.

I had taken the Primolut tablets like he had said 2 a day for two weeks and then drop it back to 1 a day. Well as soon as I went to one a day the flare up started again. By yesterday you could still see some normal skin on my arm near my elbow.

Dr F. said to me that if he had not seen my arm he wouldn't have believe that a hormone tablet could make such a huge difference. He also added not that he thought I was fibbing or anything but he had never seen anything like it in all of his years as a doctor. He was so fascinated that he called in another doctor to check out my arm. Dr Anna was surprised to see the difference in my arm. She remembered seeing me just before Christmas last year and recalled how bad my skin was at the time. She too was baffled by what had helped me. She said that she had never seen anything like this either and told Dr F. that I might make a good case study.
If being a case study might mean I get free meds I am all for it! I don't think anything would come of the idea but its interesting.

Oh and to top it off Dr F. said that my psoriasis is the worst he has ever come across. It doesn't surprise me in the least. My dermatologist that I used to see in Adelaide used to say the exact same thing to me. I guess that makes me SPECIAL :P

Dr F has put me back on two tablets a day since I was flaring so badly. Not that he was treating my skin with the hormone tablets but since my cycle has always affected my skin he thought that it would be best to go back to two. I'm not complaining since it stops me from bleeding and helps my skin. Even if I can't use this stuff long term I will get a month or two of good skin its worth it. And possibly worth the big flare up later on down the track when I am no longer on the tablets. One other thing my doctor said was how attached are you to your uterus. Well ... maybe if I no longer had it my skin my be better but I'll wait and see what the gynaecologist says (I see him in July). I'm in no hurry to get rid of anything yet.

Settling Down

Thank goodness my skin seems to be settling down at the moment. I was so tired of being so sore and red!!

I decided a couple of days ago that the advantan that I got from my GP was not working as effectively as it could be so I thought that I would try something a little different. Well not different more like alternating between the daivonex and the advantan ointment. I must admit that it seems to be working. The P on my chest & part of my torso has greatly improved. It is no longer as raised as it was nor quite as red as last week. The same with my arms. It's nice to have smoother skin for a while even if I know it wont last.

Too bad there isn't much difference elsewhere. My lower legs look the same as before. In fact the P on my lower legs have blended and merged into giant spots. The giant spot on my left leg is larger than both my hands put together.

I'll keep plugging away with this alternating system and see if that improves them. It certainly wont hurt at any rate.

Yay - we're finally home!

Boy am I so glad to be home. It was truly nice being away seeing family and friends but there is nothing like coming home!! We had such a long trip. We left at 6 p.m. Adelaide time and we arrived home at 6 a.m. our time - an 11 and a half hour trip!! By the time I wound down from travelling I finally was able to get about 4 hours sleep and a shower. It certainly made me feel a lot better.

Merry Christmas

Sorry I haven't posted much recently. I'm hoping to rectify the lack of posts in the New Year after we return from our holiday interstate. We're visiting my Dad for Christmas and staying for his 80th birthday, which is in the first week of January.

Just a quick mention, the new cream from my GP is working a treat although the tubes really do not last very long. The psoriasis on my arms is looking great. It's a pale pink and I can see freckles under all the p! It's the first time in years that I can see all the freckles on my arms. Too bad the rest of the body isn't looking as good. Never mind perhaps in time it will.

From our home to yours,
We wish you all a very Merry Christmas.
May your day be filled with love & laughter, lots of joy and much happiness,
May you be surrounded by the ones you love.

Merry Christmas!

Improvements

My skin is slowly improving. It's less flaky at the moment which is always a good thing. I don't have to get the vacuum cleaner out as often when it is like this. I can even see 'normal' skin on my arms between the patches. Well not between them but in them I guess you could say. I'll need to take pictures to show you how much better it looks. Although the patches are still very large it's nice to be able to see it improving.

I still asked the boys to scratch my back as I can't reach all the bits that are itchy. They both moan about who's turn it is to do it or they both decide that there is something critical happening that needs their attention. Looks like I am going to have to resort to bribery if this keeps up!! The the little dude when he finally does decide to help me complains that there is nothing to scratch as it's feeling smoother and there aren't any flakes coming off. I thought that would be a good thing for that to happen but he obviously doesn't think so. I explained that event hough there are less flakes it doesn't mean that I don't get itchy.

I'm still doing my baking, not that I truly want to continue doing so but it is helping a lot. I'm up to 3 minutes per side. It's getting long enough that I will stand their with a book to read to help pass the time. I just hate standing there, butt naked baking in front of the lights *sigh*. I wish there was some easier way to get rid of this blasted stuff but there isn't.

Last Night

Last night at applique I was talking with a couple of the girls about my skin. I showed Mandy (not her real name) my arm and she was all ouch and ooohs about it. Not in a bad way though as she looked more concerned than anything. She was very interesting in know what it was like to have psoriasis as she has eczema on her hands at the moment. So I answered as many questions as she asked and it was nice to share what I knew. She doesn't judge me or treat me any differently. I just wish that there were more people out there like her. It would make the world a much better place!!

The First Taste Of Spring

Today is the first real taste of Spring and it's been so lovely and sunny. I think that the weather has forgotten that it's August and it's meant to be the coldest month of the year for us. It's just absolutely glorious outside, just beautiful. I've even been outside over the past few days preparing the garden in the backyard for the new vegetables plants that we bought this afternoon and planted.

Now with all that said I think of my skin ... It's not looking the best at the moment. I'm not wearing a jumper at the moment and I am NOT liking what I see on my arms. Now if I don't like the look of it can you imagine how others will look or what they will think when they see my skin? I know I don't normally let things like this worry me but for some reason it's on my mind today.
Time to bite the bullet and see the GP again and ask either for something new to try or just gather up the usual supplies of things and start using them more often. *sigh* sometimes I just hate this stuff!

Fading ..

Well I must admit that at least the P on my arms is fading a bit. You can still see it and at times it can be as red as a beet but today at least it is looking really good. It must be that fact that it is late spring and that I haven't been covering up my arms while outside.
Shame about the legs though they still look bad.

The Cover Up ...

Well for the past two weeks I have been baking every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I reduced my dosage quite dramatically last week in the hopes that I wouldn't burn at all which worked successfully. This week I upped the dosage another 45 seconds and so far so good after today's session I haven't burnt either. All is good!!

Thankfully with this week being a little warmer I have been able to go outside without having to constantly wear long sleeves because of the cold. There have been a couple of times where I have been a little concerned as to how my P on my arms look. It has been rather horrid of late but only through my own neglect. I have at least been using a moisturiser and one or two of the prescribed meds twice a day that my GP prescribes. Between that, the UVB & natural sunlight I have seen a major difference in my arms. Thank goodness. I don't normally worry about who sees my skin but I had for some reason this week. Most of the time I have the WHO CARES! attitude but not this time round. But today I went without covering up and I didn't care who saw my skin.

On Friday afternoon's I go to my little dudes Primary School to type up and print off the newsletter. I was looking at my skin and thinking that perhaps I should cover up and not let the kids see it. But then after I while I thought 'stuff it' I wont cover up. Last week I went to the Team Games Sports Day (which the little dudes school won for the 9th time in 10 years) and I didn't cover up & No one said a thing. So today I got to thinking "Hey the school has seen my skin with all its P before. They no longer say anything about my it. They're used to me and my P .. so why should I worry about it today!!"

To be honest I have no idea what came over me. I should care less what people think about me and not worry about it at all. I need to go back to my motto of "Too Bad So Sad" and not worry about a thing. I'm not going to waste any more time this spring (or upcoming summer for that matter) feeling concerned about something that I cannot change. I have bigger things to concern myself with.

My Neighbour noticed .. ..

I was having a good old chin wag with my next door neighbour, Lyn, tonight when she made a comment about my P. Now Lyn isn't one to mince words, she tells you straight out what she thinks and feels! She said that the skin on my arms was looking really good & asked me how my P was going on my legs. She couldn't tell because I was wearing long pants. My legs aren't the best yet but they have improved too. And she told me straight out that they did look better.

It's nice to know that someone can see the difference all this UV and stuff is doing. It makes me glad that I have been keeping up the UVB this time and that I have been using the lotions and potions. I still haven't been using them as much as I should but I am using them.

Contemplating your navel

I have this huge spot of P around my bellybutton. It's about the size of a bread and butter plate or roughly a bit larger than my hand. It grosses me out! Well anyway, last night I noticed that it was peeling. Not just the regular flaking peel but a sunburn type of peeling. Its not normally happened before. Usually that only happens to the almost dinner plate spots on both of my inner thighs. It starts off going really smooth then it begins to peel. Once the skin (or flakes for want of a better description) comes off it goes all rough. Weird huh!

This morning I noticed my arms were doing the exact same thing. I don't recall it happening before. I mean it may have but I certainly don't remember. I'm wondering if the UV has something to do with it. Perhaps it doesn't but it might. Anyway I'm going to try and smooth my skin and de-flake myself in the shower later on & do another lot of UV before it gets too hot today.
Hot weather and I don't mix too well and I know if I don't do this while it is still cool I wont do it at all today!

Time Consuming

Do you realise how time consuming it is to put on all my lotions & potions? I've never really timed it but maybe I should. I know some people take a lot longer than I do. Maybe that's one of the reasons why I sometimes don't do myself some justice by applying everything properly. I have about 8 products which I should be using for the different areas of my body. Stuff for the scalp, the face, the eyes, etc.

Last night it took me at least 30 minutes just to do my legs & arms (I couldn't be bothered afterwards to do my torso). Making sure I only got my P and not my normal skin. I don't normally take my time ~ just call me slap happy rofl.
The cream I used last night, Daivonex ointment (CSL Limited), is only supposed to go on the spots. Don't get me wrong it's good stuff when you use it properly but I get slack sometimes. After all I've had this horrid disease for over 30 years now and you get complacent after a while.

Goodness I've lost my train of thought but hey that's nothing unusual for me. Maybe I'll come back to this later when I remember what I wanted to say.