Apremilast Cowsaregreat

[Cowsaregreat]

Hope the new treatment works.

I looked NAFLD....it can be caused by MTX.

The nurse didn’t divulge that information- I just had the lecture of being over weight therefore lose weight and all will be cured - allegedly!

[Forest Walker]

So, I got prescribed Apremilast and started on Thursday last week. No side effects as yet BUT my psoriasis seems to be getting worse. I know it’ll take time to settle into the medication but my skin is even more drier and my plaques are sooooo dry and itchy (they weren’t itchy before!). I’m hoping it’ll all settle down in the next month or so but is it normal for the p to get worse before it gets better?!

I'm still learning about Psoriasis and don't know if it's normal for it to get worse before it gets better.  The itching drives me crazy, sometimes.  I'm just commiserating with you and hoping you have a good moisturizer or virgin coconut oil to help with the dryness.  Others will have better replies than I do.  

[Cowsaregreat]

So, I got prescribed Apremilast and started on Thursday last week. No side effects as yet BUT my psoriasis seems to be getting worse. I know it’ll take time to settle into the medication but my skin is even more drier and my plaques are sooooo dry and itchy (they weren’t itchy before!). I’m hoping it’ll all settle down in the next month or so but is it normal for the p to get worse before it gets better?!

I'm still learning about Psoriasis and don't know if it's normal for it to get worse before it gets better.  The itching drives me crazy, sometimes.  I'm just commiserating with you and hoping you have a good moisturizer or virgin coconut oil to help with the dryness.  Others will have better replies than I do.  

I’ve found Alturist 10% urea cream is great. Available on Amazon and ‘designed’ by a dermatologist. Their suncream is good too and very reasonably priced.

[Fred]

So, I got prescribed Apremilast and started on Thursday last week. No side effects as yet BUT my psoriasis seems to be getting worse. I know it’ll take time to settle into the medication but my skin is even more drier and my plaques are sooooo dry and itchy (they weren’t itchy before!). I’m hoping it’ll all settle down in the next month or so but is it normal for the p to get worse before it gets better?!

I wouldn't have thought your psoriasis would get worse so quick because of the treatment, you were probably heading for a flare up or it could be the anticipation of starting a new treatment.

I've just checked here Otezla (aka Apremilast) and the only thing I notice is "Skin and Subcutaneous Tissue Disorders: Rash" as a side effect.

Keep an eye on it, but do call your dermatologist if you are not sure. They will have other patients using it and will be able to advise the best way forward.

Good luck.

[mataribot]

It isn't uncommon for your skin to get a bit worse (specifically more dry) when starting a new treatment. You'll know when the treatment is going in the wrong direction when the scaling is getting thicker.

25 mg MTX is not a sustainable dose - it's not surprising that you had elevated test results.

[Caroline]

Hope the new treatment works.

I looked NAFLD....it can be caused by MTX.

The nurse didn’t divulge that information- I just had the lecture of being over weight therefore lose weight and all will be cured - allegedly!

Well.. it is a known problem the combination of overweight and Psoriasis. Overweight is always called a comorbidity. But…. It is also a chicken - egg problem.
Does psoriasis cause overweight?
Or does overweight influence psoriasis?

Certainly your psoriasis will not go away if you lose weight, as it is a system disease it will stay in your system.
But… it may be that there will follow a positive effect if you would lose weight.
Perhaps you should overthink it, if you would give it a try.

[Kat]

Speaking as someone who is overweight, I do know it doesn't help with certain conditions. Arthritis is one, when you're overweight your weightbearing joints in particular are burdened by extra weight and so it makes sense that losing weight could help. Also diabetes has long been associated with weight.

Psoriasis.... I mean I was slightly overweight when I was diagnosed, and now I'm more overweight but I can't really understand what one would have to do with the other. I understand that a lot of things correlate to each other, back to diabetes - sugar can effect both being diabetic and being overweight but I'm curious what the connection would be between weight and psoriasis. I understand that any health condition can affect another health condition but curious as to if there is a specific area when it comes to weight and psoriasis.

Back to treatment, I would think if things were only slightly worse then I'd keep an eye on it but if things continue to get worse then definitely contact your doctor. Even if you are uncomfortable or just concerned, I'd contact your doctor.

Hope you see results heading in the right direction soon!

[Caroline]

Well…
On the one side … if you are overweight, the relation that could be negative for psoriasis is a disbalance in your energy system, thus affecting the immune system, thus affecting your skin or joints.
As there is a statistical relationship, it could be that the cause of the psoriasis is somewhere in your cells that produce energy. This is a theory that I know from the doctor who has treated me years ago, and it is a theory that at least is logical..

The other way around… If you have psoriasis… you are not only suffering physically, but also mentally/psychologically… result may be that you want to be nice for yourself and start overeating, that is at least what I can imagine myself.
If you are sad, you will want to reward yourself to feel happy again.


So, me, yes, I do see the possible relationships both ways.

[Kat]

Well…
On the one side … if you are overweight, the relation that could be negative for psoriasis is a disbalance in your energy system, thus affecting the immune system, thus affecting your skin or joints.
As there is a statistical relationship, it could be that the cause of the psoriasis is somewhere in your cells that produce energy.  This is a theory that I know from the doctor who has treated me years ago, and it is a theory that at least is logical..

The other way around… If you have psoriasis… you are not only suffering physically, but also mentally/psychologically… result may be that you want to be nice for yourself and start overeating, that is at least what I can imagine myself.
If you are sad, you will want to reward yourself to feel happy again.


So, me, yes, I do see the possible relationships both ways.

I do understand that one can overeat by being depressed as eating can be a comfort.... but then the relationship is between eating and depression, not necessarily psoriasis.  At least that's how I think and for no reason really. 

Not totally sure what you mean by "cells that produce energy" and psoriasis.  So I looked around a bit and found this:

"Cellular energy is essentially the ability for your cells to take in food and air and convert them into usable energy to function. It is required to perform almost everything we do, from sneezing and digesting to walking and blinking. This energy is also required for the cell to self-repair"

So I see where it is important but it seems to be important to everything that we do, which of course supports the case that cellular energy is involved in a LOT.  I also read:

"Cellular energy homeostasis is a crucial function of oxidative tissues but becomes altered with obesity"

So that supports that being obese could add to the problem and that makes sense... but that also supports that being obese (and overweight to a lesser extent) is problematic to almost every illness/disease a person could have.  Which is probably true to some degree 

I was curious if there was a direct link to being overweight and having psoriasis as most people here seem to be a healthy weight and of course people who aren't overweight still get psoriasis and other diseases/illnesses.

And I've already hit post but perhaps Fred you could move this to a thread called psoriasis and weight? I don't want to hijack this thread. Thought about it a bit late though.

[Cowsaregreat]

I’ve read what you’ve all written regarding weight and psoriasis. Personally, being over weight is such a personal subject. My psoriasis started through stress - that’s the main contributing factor. I’ve had to come to a place in my own head where my mental health is much, much more important than my weight will ever be. I understand people won’t understand that (because it’s obviously ‘very easy’ to lose weight ). We are all entitled to our own opinions and we all don’t have to agree.