Acitretin 20mg

[Nicci]

Hi Everyone,

I've suffered with Psoriasis for 30 years and tried all sorts of lotions, creams PUVA treatment, cyclosporian and lastly MTX which worked fantastically, the only thing to have every cleared my psoriasis up. Sadly I've been taken off of it as was affecting my liver to much 3 months of bad blood results ending in derm doctor saying I couldn't have it anymore fall stop.
So I have been moved on Acitretin only been on it 2 weeks today my psoriasis have gone crazy covered badly especially my lower legs they feel like they are burning now and itchy which I have never suffered with, and my lips have gone so dry and sore.
Am worried as only 2 weeks in and already getting side effects, will these get worse or better in other peoples opinions?
Thinking of stopping the drug as cant believe just how bad they have become right on top of Christmas

Any advise greatly appreciated  xx

[Fred]

Hello Nicci to Psoriasis Club.

I can't help with Acitretin, but I'll move this thread to Prescribed Treatments For Psoriasis as it may get noticed better there.

Your are welcome to start another intro if you wish, but I think in this case it's best moved.

Regards.

Fred.

[Turnedlight]

Nice to meet you!

Do you have a hotline to the derm nurse? I phoned the number mine gave me when I started ciclo and they were very helpful. If you take a treatment that makes your psoriasis go nuts you should really let your derm know as quickly as possible in case they want to get you back in quickly.

[jiml]

Hi Everyone,

I've suffered with Psoriasis for 30 years and tried all sorts of lotions, creams PUVA treatment, cyclosporian and lastly MTX which worked fantastically, the only thing to have every cleared my psoriasis up. Sadly I've been taken off of it as was affecting my liver to much 3 months of bad blood results ending in derm doctor saying I couldn't have it anymore fall stop.
So I have been moved on Acitretin only been on it 2 weeks today my psoriasis have gone crazy covered badly especially my lower legs they feel like they are burning now and itchy which I have never suffered with, and my lips have gone so dry and sore.
Am worried as only 2 weeks in and already getting side effects, will these get worse or better in other peoples opinions?
Thinking of stopping the drug as cant believe just how bad they have become right on top of Christmas

Any advise greatly appreciated  xx

Hi Nicci and    to the club, we have several members in acetretin and I'm sure you will get some good advice from some of them. I'm not on acetretin but I have read that the psoriasis can get worse on it before getting better, I think you are experiencing typical side effects at the start of treatment, but others will tell you more I'm sure.

Have a good look around and see what others are using and if you put Acetretin in the search bar Search you will get lots of posts to read

If you would like to be kept in touch with the latest News from the club you can subscribe to our free newsletter here  Groups

[JohnB]

Hi Nicci and welcome to the club and to the Acitretin Gang   .
Unfortunately this stuff does have a nasty habit of making you worse before it starts to work. I've been on the stuff since April, starting on 25mg, going up to 30mg and then dropping back down to 25mg. I was fortunate with the itching mine stopped fairly quickly but then the dreaded side effects kicked in. Dry lips were the first smartly followed by sticky palms then peeling hands and peeling feet. The sticky palms receded about a month ago, the peeling hands a month previous to that. As for the peeling feet they are still shedding and I still have dry lips.
For the itching you could try a non drowsy anti histamine and use a good moisturizer. I use Cetraben first thing and Dermol just before bed. A good quality unprocessed virgin coconut oil is the forums go to and yes it is good but not as easy to apply when you are half comatose in the dark getting ready for work. For the dry lips, tons of lip balm. I use Nivea Hydro care. 
So yes thus stuff does work but it is a very slow burner, must people take 6 to 12 weeks before they see any improvements. As for the side effects, everybody is so different so it is very difficult to predict how your body will react over the coming monthsIf
If you have any worries though I would suggest contacting your Dermy. In the meantime if you have any questions please ask, I will do my best to give an honest answer as soon as I can
JohnB

[Nicci]

Thank you everyone for your fantastic advise and great I can talk to people who understand I think my family are getting sick of me moaning how much they burn itch lips sore etc. It seems to me I'm suffering the "typical" side effects and have to run with it. Hate the fact its made my psoriasis so much worse I don't think they have been this bad for 20 + years and right on top of Christmas and a holiday in the sun which won't be fun covered up

I did see a private professor in derm in London about a month ago who said I should ask to go onto "biologic" when I mentioned this to my derm dr he wasn't that keen, from what ive heard its very expensive maybe that's why they are not using it on many patients?

[Fred]

I did see a private professor in derm in London about a month ago who said I should ask to go onto "biologic" when I mentioned this to my derm dr he wasn't that keen, from what ive heard its very expensive maybe that's why they are not using it on many patients?

They are expensive but covered under the NHS, you have to have failed on the Oral treatments before going onto them (which you have done) so I would push harder. Some dermatologists may not think you have enough psoriasis and/or psoriatic arthritis, but you've had it for 30 years and tried most things so your chance should be good.

You can read more about the Bio's here: Biological Treatments For Psoriasis

[Kat]

Hi Nicci! I was on Acitretin and it helped me to clear. I did not have any major side effects and it was a couple of months before I noticed an improvement, however once I started to improve, I cleared quickly.

However, Acitretin may not be the treatment for you if you are having that many side effects. If you are just disheartened that it is getting worse before getting better (which is common, although I didn't get worse I just didn't see much change for awhile) then you may want to wait a bit, but there are too many options to be miserable so if that's the case I'd call the doctor up and inform them of what is going on.