Phototherapy for psoriasis

[kclalwani]

Hey guys!

How is everyone doing? My first post
I'm 21 years old, I've been diagnosed with psoriasis Feb 2014. I was living in Nigeria all my life, I moved to Toronto 4 years ago and ive been perfectly clean. Only recently I've been almost 80% covered with psoriasis. I can say I'm pretty lucky I do not have it on my face, I'm already very shy, the P on my face would have totally destroyed my confidence. I'm guessing my P got triggered due to the cold winter? but then why not 2-3 years ago when I moved? why now?

I've been going to the derm since Feb 2014, and have been using prescribed topical steroid creams, clobex spray and what not, all it did was burn a layer of my skin. I do not think it helped at all. Recently I started Homeopathy, I do see some changes but not significant enough. Apparently the process takes 3-6 months.

The derm suggested I do Phototherapy...3 times a week for 5 minutes each session. would you guys recommend this? is this a temporary solution? have any one of you tried this? I heard it might trigger sun burns and even skin cancer.

Thanks for reasding guys!

Tl;dr- would you guys recommend phototherapy?

[jiml]

Hi to you and a big to the forum you will find a lot of good advice on here. There will be nobody trying to sell you anything. We are all sufferers with psoriasis. Some like me are clear on our current medication, but a lot have been through the range of treatments.
You will find it a very friendly place with a very serious side where psoriasis and PSA are the topics, you can find most treatments for psoriasis on the forum, and Phototherapy is one that always used to work for me. It is simple and gives you a good tan as well as ridding you of the dreaded scales. It needs to be monitored though, it's not something you should undertake without medical supervision..and I don't know what machine your derm is referring to but when I used to be on it, you were started on very low doses as little as a minute and gradually building up, it's the over cooking with sun beds that causes cancers.
I look forward to hearing what you find and what success you have with it.
I would read through the various treatments that are available, this will give you something to discuss with your derm on the next visit
.
Please keep us updated on what works for you as it will be useful to others

If you need a light hearted few minutes the off topic section is a must for a chuckle or join in a debate it's all light hearted
Jim

[jiml]

A quick note about the homeopathic treatment I am not a great believer in homeopathy although it seems to work for some I think with psoriasis a positive take on life and staying as stress free as possible and getting some natural sunlight would do more good.....
But that is just my opinion I'm sure you will get other different answers from different members

[kclalwani]

Thanks for the warm welcome and info!

I'm going to give Homeopathy a shot..probably 1 month more. If theres no significant change, I will try phototherapy. I just want to know what other members think about this procedure. if they've tried it, how long does it take till the next outbreak? I'm just a little skeptical about this procedure.

Its difficult to get natural sunlight since I'm stuck in a closed office from morning to evening, so I started taking vitamin D supplements, havent seen any changed yet. but I guess its a lengthy process.

[jiml]

Thanks for the warm welcome and info!

I'm going to give Homeopathy a shot..probably 1 month more. If theres no significant change, I will try phototherapy. I just want to know what other members think about this procedure. if they've tried it, how long does it take till the next outbreak? I'm just a little skeptical about this procedure.

Its difficult to get natural sunlight since I'm stuck in a closed office from morning to evening, so I started taking vitamin D supplements, havent seen any changed yet. but I guess its a lengthy process.

Well (sorry I don't know what to call you kclalwani is that your name?) Yes phototherapy is very effective and it usually has an effect quite quickly, but often the results are quite short lived, I used to have mine in the late winter that would keep me clear until the end of summer with top ups of real sun at weekends.......it like all other treatments is not a cure as there is no cure for psoriasis it's a condition that needs managing, by coming here I think you have made a big step forward as you can exchange views on virtually all the natural and prescribed treatments. You are still a very young man and will have many years of managing the condition, you may go into remission and I hope you do, but arm yourself with all the good advice that is on this great site and keep coming back as the site is updated regularly

You will note that no external links or advertising is to be seen anywhere on the site it's so people like you and I have a safe place to come and talk about our condition in a friendly safe environment

[Fred]

Don't know if this thread by Sandra could help: Phototherapy.

[kclalwani]

Thanks for the info again!

Karl is my name. The username was already taken, hence 'kclalwani'.

The homeopathy clinic that I go to believes that the meds Im taking is a solution to psoriasis and after 3-6 months, I will never have to face it again! I want to believe that, but then again everyone online and the derm says that there is no cure. The reason I do not want to try phototherapy is due to the fact that its only a temporary solution, and regular exposure to artificial light can be harmful in the long run :(

[kclalwani]

Don't know if this thread by Sandra could help: Phototherapy.

I did read go through that thread before sigining up for this forum. I just wanted to get more information regarding phototherapy before actually signing up for it.

[kclalwani]

Thanks for the warm welcome and info!

I'm going to give Homeopathy a shot..probably 1 month more. If theres no significant change, I will try phototherapy. I just want to know what other members think about this procedure. if they've tried it, how long does it take till the next outbreak? I'm just a little skeptical about this procedure.

Its difficult to get natural sunlight since I'm stuck in a closed office from morning to evening, so I started taking vitamin D supplements, havent seen any changed yet. but I guess its a lengthy process.

Well (sorry I don't know what to call you kclalwani is that your name?) Yes phototherapy is very effective and it usually has an effect quite quickly, but often the results are quite short lived, I used to have mine in the late winter that would keep me clear until the end of summer with top ups of real sun at weekends.......it like all other treatments is not a cure as there is no cure for psoriasis it's a condition that needs managing, by coming here I think you have made a big step forward as you can exchange views on virtually all the natural and prescribed treatments. You are still a very young man and will have many years of managing the condition, you may go into remission and I hope you do, but arm yourself with all the good advice that is on this great site and keep coming back as the site is updated regularly

You will note that no external links or advertising is to be seen anywhere on the site it's so people like you and I have a safe place to come and talk about our condition in a friendly safe environment

Thanks for the info again!

Karl is my name. The username was already taken, hence 'kclalwani'.

The homeopathy clinic that I go to believes that the meds Im taking is a solution to psoriasis and after 3-6 months, I will never have to face it again! I want to believe that, but then again everyone online and the derm says that there is no cure. The reason I do not want to try phototherapy is due to the fact that its only a temporary solution, and regular exposure to artificial light can be harmful in the long run :(

[Fred]

Homeopathy will not work for psoriasis, and will just cost you a load of money. Yes it can help but the reason for that is the placebo effect, if it was that good psoriasis wouldn't be such an age old condition and we wouldn't have psoriasis.

To much exposure to sunlight can be damaging but if a dermatologist is prescribing phototherapy they will monitor you and make sure it's safe, I would say give it a try and forget the homoeopathy.

There are also many other treatments that can give you your life back and your dermatologist will work with you to find what's best, if homoeopathy was that good we would all be cured by now.

Just my opinion.