Hello everyone!
I was diagnosed with psoriasis about 3 years ago after having a bout with strep throat. A few months later I noticed these weird itchy, scaly patches on my calves and hairline...made an apt. with my dermatologist and she diagnosed it as psoriasis. I'd never had it before and I'm in my 50's.

It was manageable at first but in the last year, it has been spreading to more of my calves and the itching has intensified. I've been using topical steroids (Taclonex) and a Vit. D cream. I've gone through about 11-12 Exemer light therapy sessions but the itching, scaling, stinging and burning sensations have turned me off to continuing....plus, my legs now look like leopard skin! The Dr. has suggested Stelara but not sure I want to go down that path. I hate the thought of the side effects...thank you to all who have posted on here your experiences with it....seems like the side effects can be worse than the disease. I really don't want to end up damaging other organs (kidneys? liver? etc) in trying to clear up my skin.

I've cleaned up my diet, thinking that would help...not noticeably other than lost some weight (not complaining). Read the threads on here about eliminating gluten, sugars, etc. which is what I have done. Eliminated wine/alcohol for awhile but sometimes, you just need that lil' sumthin' sumthin'. Aiming for just the weekends for now. Someone posted about "leaky gut" which I've been hypothesizing about, as well. Been on probiotics for about 7 months. After I started on those, the onset of PA went away! #Win!

That's my story...look forward to all the great information on this site and thank you, everyone, for sharing your stories, trials, and information!

I thought perhaps the wisdom of real people might help me out.

1. I HAVE always had very sensitive skin - I'm pale and as a kid I got rashes, etc whenever I touched a new plant or critter or used a new product.

2. I had adult acne problems until I went minimalist a couple of years ago ... pretty much any chemical products mess with my skin.

3. I was using a plain homemade coconut oil lotion at night and African black soap-based lotion in the day with pretty good results ...

4. About 2 months ago my routine changed a bit and I started using a (Badger Balm - Damascus Rose Antioxidant Face Oil) as well as a sugar scrub (Tree Hut, coconut lime) on my face; I also shortly used a homemade tallow-based moisturizer from a family member on my face at night (I've stopped now). I clean with facial pads Desert Essence (Desert Essence Natural Tea Tree Oil Facial Cleansing Pads)

5. About two weeks ago I got a BAD scaly and flaky red skin outbreak all over my face to the sides of my mouth ...

I started using a thick pure Bella Terra vitamin E oil on my face at night hoping that would help me heal. It seems to be just as bad today as when it showed up and I can't figure out what is setting it off. I guess I can (and will have to) discontinue all my facial products sand try to re introduce one at a time but I was wondering if anything sent up a red flag with others with this problem.

Anyway, as a total newbie I would love any advice or wisdom anyone might have to share. I try to use clean and natural products and stay as low on chemical saturation as possible ... I don't know what I've done wrong.

I am new here (obviously) and I am needing to talk to others who have psoriasis and can commiserate. I cannot say that this has ruined my life, but knowing how unsightly the flares are has put me under stress that I could easily live without. How do you keep your relationships together? How do you go out when you flare? What symptoms do you have with yours- I have fatigue and joint pain- doc says joint pain is pretty normal- and a pretty mild case, from what I have been told. "Only" had it for 5 years. Feels like forever.
Thanks for all of you who take the time to read this, and even more to those who reply.

hi im martin, had psoriasis 27 years, chronic over 90% covered head to toe. also psoriatic arthritis 20 years, neck back knees etc.after 17 years of no treatment whatsoever, i decided to go dermatology, after one of my customers, psoriasis sufferer also who is now completely  free of psoriasis. told me she was on cosentyx i had an appointment 1 week ago,, iv tried all the treatments in the past, and nothing works, puva baths light treatment etc etc, greased up to the eye balls daily. any how my appointment i told the doctor i want to be put on cosentyx at that point doctor said its only for severe sufferers and not everyone gets to go on it, at that point i stripped off n said severe enough??? errrr yeah its pretty severe doctor said, BUT, we have to try other treatments b4 i put you on biological treatments , soshe gave me a prescriptionas long as your arm with creams and lotions,, ones iv tried b4 i mite add. and not worked. sorry about long message. but how long will it take for me to be put on cosentyx????  any replys welcome

Hi everyone, I am new to the boards but not new to psoriasis! I had it as a young child, went into remission, had outbreaks here and there, after giving birth, etc. and now I just had a strep throat and figured "uh oh" because last time I had it I got guttate psoriasis added to the plaque psoriasis I have already.....bummer
To let you know how long I had psoriasis on and off, Im now a senior citizen!

I have three kids, and none of them have it Thank G-d, and eight grandkids, and hopefully they wont get it either ...
but this outbreak makes me so upset.

what do any of you do for a strep outbreak?
do you go to tanning beds? I have been going there.




thanks, Joyce

.

Hi All,

Had psoriasis for approx. 8 years, Knees, stomach, elbows, toe and finger nails. Tried a good few creams  - Dovobet, Lotroderm, Trimovate etc. and received the "There is no cure" from the dermatology clinic.

I really like the look of this site,  more down to earth and informal.

Cheers,
John

On week 3 and pleased with results so far. Can anyone share longer term experiences of skin improvement / failure assuming all the side effects are tolerated?

Hi lads, completely new to this so bare with me when I ask basic questions   Im 20 and have had psoriasis for nearly 4 years, just started Fumaderm after many other methods such as light treatment and Otezla. I have been on it for 7 weeks now and my dose is 360mg a day until Saturday in which my dose will be 480mg a day. I have seen no change in my skin and am getting a lot of the side effects which are making re-think staying on the tablet. Is there a reason that it is not working yet or is it just standard? 
All the best,
Michael

This study looked at adverse events associated with discontinuation of systemic treatments in psoriasis patients.

Quote:

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Background:
Little is known about the adverse events (AEs) that lead to suspension of systemic treatments of psoriasis in clinical practice.

Objective:
The study aimed to investigate to AEs associated with discontinuation of systemic therapy in patients with psoriasis in a clinical setting (Biobadaderm).

Materials and methods:
Multicenter, prospective, cohort study of patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis receiving systemic therapies from January 2008 to November 2015, in 12 hospitals in Spain. The incidence rate (IR) was used to compare biologics and classic systemic therapies.

Results:
A total of 4218 courses of treatment were used in 1938 patients. A total of 447 (11%) treatments were discontinued due to AEs. The IR of AE associated with discontinuation of systemic therapies was 13 events/100 patient-years (PY) (95%CI:12.14-13.93), 9.34 events/100PY (95% CI:8.44-10.33) for biologics and 19.67 (95%CI:17.9-21.6) events/100PY for classics (p< 0.001). Of 810 discontinuation-related AEs, 117 (14%) were serious. The highest IRs were for cyclosporine [49.18/100PY (95%CI:41.91-57.72)] and infliximab [26.52/100PY (95%CI:20.98-33.51). Ustekinumab presented the lowest IR (2.6/100PY (95%CI:1.83-3.69).

Limitations:
Observational study with potential selection bias.

Conclusion:

Biologic therapies are associated with a lower rate of discontinuation-related AEs than are classic therapies in real clinical practice. Ustekinumab showed the lowest incidence.

just thought I would join up to see how many people are going through the same PsA as me. I have been told back in 2007 that this is what I have. I had been on humira for 6 years which was great for me but sadly it stopped working for me so now I am to start cosentyx. Anybody tried this drug?

Hello!

I'm Nathan, nat965, from Australia

Hi, I'm Lisa and I have been newly diagnosed with sebopsoriasis, although I have been dealing with these symptoms on my face for about a year.  I'm married, have three grown children and work full time. I've browsed this site since yesterday and I am very pleased to be accepted as a member.

After my last trip to the rheumy, i've been swapped from Sulfasalazine to leflunomide. 
fingers crossed it is more successful 

i am also being scheduled in for a shot to my thumb, have others had much success with steroid injections? my thumb is pretty much useless now and i'm hoping the shot will let me at least be able to move it

Hi, I have been suffering with a painful itchy rash on my eyelids, corners of my eyes, and my upper cheekbones for about a year.  I have tried eliminating skin care products, detergents, moisturizers, almost everything over the last year and nothing seems to help. I even modified my diet, but that does not seem to matter either. The only way I can keep it under control is to use an OTC steroid cream.  I use it around my eyes about 4-5 nights a week.  I do not like using steroids on my face, but I feel it is the only thing that keeps it at bay.  I have been to two dermatologists and an allergist.  I had the "thin layer rapid use epicutaneous patch test" back patch test and all 36 items were negative.  They have called it sebopsoriasis, so now I am learning about this problem.  My sister has had similar problems for about 40 years and she only uses OTC Cetaphil.  I started using this recently and it helps somewhat, but not entirely. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

This study looked at the risk of Schizophrenia patients getting Psoriasis.

Quote:

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Background:
Schizophrenia is a complex disease proceeds from an interaction between genetic background and environmental factors. Recent studies showed T helper 17 (Th17) signaling, which is the main downstream immune response of psoriasis, is activated in schizophrenia.

Objective:
To investigate if patients with schizophrenia have higher risk of psoriasis.

Methods:
In this nationwide retrospective cohort study, we analyzed the 1-million-enroll cohort from Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database. Psoriasis and schizophrenia were ascertained by International Classification of Diseases, 9th revision, Clinical Modification coding. The study cohort was comprised of enrollees diagnosed with schizophrenia during the period from January 1, 1996 through December 31, 2010, while the comparison population consisted of enrollees who had not been diagnosed with schizophrenia during the study period. Hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated for the risk of psoriasis associated with schizophrenia using Cox proportional hazards regression.

Results:
The adjusted HR of psoriasis associated with schizophrenia was 2.32(95% CI = 1.81-2.98). After 15 years, the cumulative incidence of psoriasis in patients with schizophrenia and comparison population was 2.82% and 1.17%, respectively. The Kaplan-Meier curves for the cumulative incidence of psoriasis in individuals with and without schizophrenia differed significantly(P<0.0001, log-rank test).

Conclusions:
Patients with schizophrenia have higher risk of psoriasis, which may be due to common genetic susceptibilities and/or immunologic mechanisms in both diseases. Th17 signaling and pro-inflammatory cytokines may act as a link between these two diseases and are potential therapeutic targets for schizophrenia.

I just developed Sebopsoriasis for the first time ever in the last 40 yrs i have never had to deal with it but typical plaque psoriasis on elbows and knees. Has anyone else had a major flare up this year?

Hello,my name is terina. I have had psoriosis since I was 18. I just started stelara after my humira didt work. I thought I was the only person going through this wierd type of hell. But I stumble upon this and I find it so helpful and great. I will learn how to do everything properly. Enough rambling. I really just wanted to touch base on myself. And thank everyone in advance. 

But unfortunately not new to psoriasis.  My name is Kathryn.

I got my first spot at 23 and had only the one until my early 30's.  Then the system went nuts. I have all five types of psoriasis including the arthritis.  

At 35 my doctor told me I would be in a wheelchair within two years unless something changed.  From then on my life has been a constant round of any and all medicines and almost constant fights with a variety of insurance companies who fight to keep me off the very expensive medicines that  need.  I never got that chair and I am determined not to!

I found this forum while researching Taltz vs Cosentyx.  The dermatologist has decided to change me off Embrel and feels that Cosentyx is the best option but the insurance company is fighting for the cheaper option.  I didn't much care until I did the research and found that Taltz is not recommended for arthritis at all.

Now I would love to have cleared skin but I have taken everything under the sun from the early years of methotrexate and gold injections to more than 15 years of Embrel, Stelara and Humira.  If I have to choose skin vs joints - no contest!

Would love to hear what works best for other people with the arthritis.....

Hi 

Before i begin i have to say its a credit to the creator and administrators of such sites. People who honestly give up their time and money just so the internet and world can become a much more open and sharing space.. Well done. 

Ok. 

I live in Australia and i have been on Cosentyx since feb. Its the first bilogical i have used and from reading other posts i am very grateful for the health system we have over here... Seeing a dermo took about 1 week and getting on the biological took about a year. But we did try the less expensive and ones first. 

Cosentyx is amazing.. i feel like a new person... especially when my kids say how happy they are i can now take them swimming. 

Anyway... just want to get in touch with someone who is on cosentyx and a few issues which may or may be caused by it. 
Keep getting eye infections. Have been using antiboitc drops which work but obviously cant use them for ever. 
Also for all us pale skin people out there have you noticed that parts that are not exposed to the sun are taking longer to go away. 

Seen the specialist on Thursday and my scrore went from 18.5/20 to 2.7/20.... buns and guns will be out for summer... so if you hear screaming, thats just people running away.

Has anyone experienced a correlation with high blood pressure medication and onset of psoriasis? Curious.