My Psoriasis Is Evolving and On The Move...

[Spot On]

My P is usually on my elbows, one knee and a few spots here and there, plus on my scalp. I have a home uvb machine that would control it, but never completely get rid of it.

Over the last while it has become way worse. I have spots all over. The backs of my hands are covered with small spots that seem to almost merge to cover the backs. My arms, sides and legs are dotted as well my other knee, ankle, sides, butt have small potato chip sized plaques. I have a new plaque under my left eyebrow and on my forehead. Something seems to be going on with my back. The old plaques on my knee, elbows etc. are larger and way thicker. All the spots are a new extra thick style plaques.

Anyone experience this? Are all the spots guttate?

Should I consider some hardcore immune drugs?

Any insights are appreciated.

[jiml]

My P is usually on my elbows, one knee and a few spots here and there, plus on my scalp. I have a home uvb machine that would control it, but never completely get rid of it.

Over the last while it has become way worse. I have spots all over. The backs of my hands are covered with small spots that seem to almost merge to cover the backs. My arms, sides and legs are dotted as well my other knee, ankle, sides, butt have small potato chip sized plaques. I have a new plaque under my left eyebrow and on my forehead. Something seems to be going on with my back. The old plaques on my knee, elbows etc. are larger and way thicker. All the spots are a new extra thick style plaques.

Anyone experience this? Are all the spots guttate?

Should I consider some hardcore immune drugs?

Any insights are appreciated.

Hi again Spot On. Im glad to see you have started a thread you should get more responses here . I'm not sure if it's guttate or not but I think you are certainly having a flare of the disease.
I think it's time you saw a dermatologist and got some advice, on what is available as the next step in Canada. But I guess it may be time to move on if creams aren't helping and UV is failing ..the next step I would think will be one of the oral treatments.
Perhaps methotrexate or acetretin they both have good success but different side effects .....but certainly you need be considering the next step
Jim

[Spot On]

What about all the other newer drugs? Are they not better?

[jiml]

What about all the other newer drugs? Are they not better?

Probably, but that's why I said I don't know the system in Canada... here in the U.K. You have to have tried the cheaper drugs and if they fail they will move you on to more costly stuff.
You may be lucky with your health care and get offered something else. Hopefully that will be the case for you

[Caroline]

What about all the other newer drugs? Are they not better?

Biologicals are better in the sense that they target very specific points on your cells so that the expression of the psoriasis is blocked. They are also very expensive. But they work very quickly.
Therefore it is a habit to first try out the so called systemic drugs, that are far cheaper. It is in the protocol as they say.
E.g. Methotrexate is very very cheap. At the same time it is kind of a chemo therapy, where it was originally developed for. Some can handle it, many cannot.
At the same time there are a few systemica that work rather well and are way less toxic. Acetretin and dimethylfumarates belong to that. They are both slow burners, it takes time for them to start working.
If they are available in Canada you could go for them. In mine and others advice, try to avoid mtx.

It seems as if you have no choice but to move on as finally uvb will also not do the job and is quite heavy for your skin. Remember it is not a skin disease, so with uvb you are mostly treating the symptoms. Allthough of course the vitamin D that comes from it, is good for you.

The final point unfortunately is that we still are treating the symptoms, there is too little investigation and progress in trying to solve the problem at the source.

[Fred]

UV treatment is never going to last in my opinion. You say it's a home machine, does that mean you are not seeing a dermatologist?

Re the Bio "newer" treatments they do work very well, but like the others said I don't know your health system. Though I would imagine it's much the same as outs in Europe. You will need to fail on an oral treatment and have bad psoriasis before moving onto them, that is unless you can pay for it yourself but they are very expensive.

Another thing is, we are all different and flare ups can effect us all in different ways. So you could be having a flare up because the light treatment is no longer working, or it could be down to an emotional problem such as stress.