My Journey to halt/end my psoriasis

[Sheila]

In the early stages of my affliction, I paid it no mind. My skin was discolored, but it wasn't painful. I let it be. A year later (2017), I noticed that my knees were reddish. Again, I paid it no mind because it wasn't painful. 6 months later, It started on my elbows. Now I was concerned. I went to a doctor, and he gave me a corticosteroid cream. I used it and I was good to go. There was still redness, but the plaque disappeared. 

As time went on, I was seeing more and more inflammation. It popped up, here and there, so I used the cortisone cream and again had some results. By 2018, the cream wasn't working any longer...at all. I went back to my doctor. He gave me dovobet ointment. Wow! I was impressed. It worked so well. Inflammation was at a near zero on my body. I used the ointment. I had to scrounge to get the money to pay for this med, in spite of it costing me $250 a tube. My doctor kept on refilling the prescription for Dovobet ointment. I kept on using it. He even sent me to a dermatologist where I started to get phototherapy. That was the only thing he did in addition to the Dovobet. in the spring of 2020, the dermatologist told me to take the summer off from the phototherapy and told me to come back in the fall. When I tried to return and make an appointment, the receptionist told me that I had not been to see him in 3 months, so I had to be referred to him again by my family doctor. To date, this dermatologist has yet to return my calls, in spite of 2 referrals from my GP. 

In recent months, I have not been able to afford the ointment, due to being unemployed (government shut down my job due to Covid). My psoriasis exploded! Hands, arms, back, legs, chest, behind the ears, in my ears, on my forehead/eyebrows, eyelids, nose and cheeks were affected. Now I am constantly scratching causing lesions on my body. Blood on the inside of my shirts and pants is a common occurrence because I can't seem to stop itching. Everywhere I go, I leave a trail of skin flakes. When I get up from the couch, get up out of the bed, get out of the car, I see tons of flakes and I wasn't even scratching! I feel so ashamed. 

Passersby stare, kids point and ask about it. I have had the experience of having being singled out at work because of the mess I leave behind, unintentionally. I am embarrassed and shattered by this disease. I feel depressed. I secretly wonder how my wife can even stand to be around me, because I can barely stand to be around me. As a result, depression is a large part of my life.

Fast forward to today, and I am working to remedy my psoriasis. There is actually a new dermatologist in the practice that my general practitioner (GP) is in. I have an appointment on the 13th and am looking forward to it, anxious for it. I am learning lots here and now have some info about what I might need or want for treatments. I am actually feeling hopeful for the first time in a long, long time. 

My commitment to you folks, is to document my journey in hopes that it may help someone else in the future. If I can do that for someone, then all my suffering will have been worth it.

Cheers!