Hello I'm a newby. Nice to meet you all

[jiml]

Is it okay to drink alcohol with this then? I know with Mtx it had to be very limited. Not that I drink a lot but it would be nice if going out with friends.

I have always enjoyed social drinking but I don't overdo it, I generally have either wine or beer with my dinner in the evening and if out I never restrict my intake I wouldnt say get drunk, but do enjoy a glass or two of wine......hell life's to short to give up everything
I drink and eat what I fancy and it hasn't affected my psoriasis at all

[Audrey]

That's good to know with xmas approaching. Thanks for your advice and I'm sure I will have plenty more questions for you. Cheers.

[jiml]

Well Audrey you will get others giving you advice I'm the only one daft enough to be up through the night in Europe they are ahead of us by an hour so they are sleeping. But Australia is awake now and I know you will get advice from there as you will from The Netherlands .... We are very fortunate to have Fumaderm as the Americas and Australia don't have it yet.

[Bill]

Hi Audrey,

Sounds like the flushing alright. Jim is spot on about the food and fluids. I often find myself quite thirsty even several hours after a dose, so be sure to have a few glasses of water as well as plenty of food. The side effects can be pretty horrid to start with, but they should abate substantially after a few months, so hopefully you can tough it out. I have had outstanding results from the active ingredient, DMF, and now have less than 0.5% of plaques (cf 30-40%) and greatly reduced arthritic pain for which I no longer require ibuprofen and paracetamol.

Good luck,

Bill

[Audrey]

Hi Bill. Thanks for your reply. This is an amazing site. So glad I stumbled across it. Yes it sounds like it could be a bumpy road ahead but yes hopefully I can get through it. There have been do many good reports bout it.

[jiml]

Hi Bill and Audrey
Well it's the same story from most of us on the DMF as whatever name it's given it has very similar side effects
Bill is different and has written here of his journey read about it here Bill's pure dimethylfumarate thread
He buys his own raw DMF and does a DIY version as it's not available in his country Australia

[Caroline]

Jim.
Don't tell Audrey everything yet. Leave some for me.

Hi Audrey. Welcome to the forum.
I'll come back to you, but now I have only my phone available, so that is a bit clumsy.

Caroline

[jiml]

Jim.
Don't tell Audrey everything yet. Leave some for me.

Hi Audrey. Welcome to the forum.
I'll come back to you, but now I have only my phone available, so that is a bit clumsy.

Caroline

Ooooh caroline I've left all the "best bits" out so you can tell Audrey ... I was on my phone earlier they are clumsy with the small keyboards

[Caroline]

Hello Audrey,
A second Welcome to Psoriasisclub.
Jim and Bill already told you a lot.
So perhaps I should make a little overview of it.

Yes, what you experience are the so called flushes. They differ in intensity. Sometimes only your head, sometimes even your whole body.The advantage of that will be that you become quite warm . Luckily it is totally harmless. It even has a number of advantages as all your tiny vessels will be cleaned by your blood.
The only moment I didn't like the occurrence was in situations that you are in the middle of the attention already and than become totally lobster red.
They last between 20-30 minutes.
That you already experience them now, may even be a good sign, as your body reacts on the DMF.

I read about the other things you used, and indeed, most of those do not help in the long run. With Fumaderm you at least have a 70% chance that it will work for you. It is good to know that.
Jim and Bill warn you for stomach cramps, well I will have to go on their word, I don't have them, but I don't use fumaderm.

Alcohol is ok. Beer is even the best. Wine is less good and they say that you should avoid red wine. I myself don't drink much, but if I drink, I don't keep a real eye on what I exactly drink.
There is the possibility of an additional diet to enhance the effectivity of the DMF. For some this seems to help, for others there is no effect, and again others just don't do it.

Of course you already know that you have to keep an eye on a number of substances in your blood, of them the lymphocytes are the most important.

If you have any other questions, certainly don't hesitate to ask them.

And for certainly have fun on the forum,
Caroline

[Audrey]

Hi Caroline. Thanks for your message. It is so good to speak to people who have experience of these things. Even better than docs sometimes as they have never had this condition and can only go on what their patients tell them. I took my tablet with my breakfast this morning and a big glass of orange juice and so far no flush today. But good to know that I might have a good reaction if having flushes already. Fingers crossed anyway. What treatment are you taking if not Fumaderm? Speak soon.