[split] Acitretin

[mark]

Sorry Nette....didn't mean to call u Bette....
Damned spell thingy thing.

[jiml]

Hi Mark
It's a while since we saw Mickyfinn on the forum, bur mataribot has used acetretin so he may be able to tell you his experience, and there's a post he put on the other day which may help
RE: Prescribed Soriatane today - any thoughts? soriataine is acetretin

[Kat]

Hey all, fairly new to psoriasis and new to the forums.

I've just been prescribed Acitretin, 25 mg daily. Since I've just taken my first dose today, nothing to report but I'll post if I notice any side effects or any improvement.

[mataribot]

Hello and welcome! I'd give it 2 to 4 months before you know if it's effective. It's not uncommon to flair for the first month or so. For me it took two months before I noticed thinning of my patches.

[kh924]

I was prescribed 25 mg/day about a month ago. I was hesitant to take it because of the side effects. I lost quite a bit of hair following cancer treatment 2 years ago that has never come back. Acitretin side effects list hair loss. Ok if you're a guy perhaps but not when you're a female.

I took two days worth and my palms started peeling. then all hell broke lose and I had a death in my immediate family so I stopped because I was taking sleeping pills, anxiety medication and having a few drinks to get through the two weeks of the details surrounding my son's death. Long story short it's now a month later and I go back to the dermatologist next week and have to report that I haven't taken it and I'm not sure I want to start taking it. Light box is not an option for me due to the cost. Methotrexate is on the no-no list because I had breast cancer, still have cancer in my blood vessels and my oncologist told me not to take it.

So - what if I just do nothing at all? I mean I'm 100% covered on my back and stomach, probably 50% on my scalp, 40% on my arms and legs - how much worse can it get. It's not like I can wear a dress, shorts or short sleeves now.... Hell, I'm convinced I'll never even have a date again so how much worse can it really be???
I even get patches on my face that subside with the steroid cream then I stop after two weeks. They come back - I wait a week until they are really noticeable and I use the steroid cream again on my face again. What do I lose by just doing nothing at all. Does this stuff ever just go away as quickly as it came on?This spread so darn fast. Never had it before Jan or Feb of this year and now...boom. it's all over.

I can't deal with having hair any thinner than it is now and the thought of a flare making things worse before they get better....how do you have a flare when you have 100% coverage. What the heck is that like?

[jiml]

Kelly I'm sorry, I missed this post. Being away at the moment I am missing things on here.
You are certainly getting a rough deal from life at the moment.
My advice for what it's worth is get back to the doctors as soon as possible, tell him what you are telling us, I think doing nothing is not an option for you......
I'm not a medical person so can't advise what will or will not aggravate your cancer cells.
I wish I could think of some positive advice, I would say get some stronger steroid cream, if there is one,
But the first thing is to get back to a good dermatologist and talk openly to them
Good luck and make a nuisance of yourself to them

[kh924]

one small problem with that my friend Jim - I can't put the stuff on my back, where my psoriasis is the worst. I've tried a few different contraptions to get cream on my back and none of them are efficient. Also, last time I was at the derm the reason he put me on the Acitretin is because he felt I my body was too covered to try and continue to treat it externally at this point

[Caroline]

one small problem with that my friend Jim - I can't put the stuff on my back, where my psoriasis is the worst. I've tried a few different contraptions to get cream on my back and none of them are efficient. Also, last time I was at the derm the reason he put me on the Acitretin is because he felt I my body was too covered to try and continue to treat it externally at this point

In a certain sense I can very well understand that. Psoriasis is an immune deficiency in your body. It is nice to try to treat it externally, but you don't touch the cause of it.
So to say, it the expression on the outside is bad, than the auto immune reaction in your body is also very strong. Trying to treat the symptoms does not lead to a result as you don't get rid of the trigger which keeps on continuing to fire.
You have just been confronted with a very large emotional shock and that is one thing that we all know, stress is one of the triggers.
Currently the best way seems to try some medication that is aimed at getting down the immune response.

Caroline

[kh924]

Funny, I never thought of myself as a stressful or stressed person but I absolutely have experienced many extremely stressful events in my life. I even dare to say more than the average person. Perhaps I have been in denial all these years.

[jiml]

That's a possibility. I like you have always thought myself so laid back it was amazing I could stand. I know now that I bottle everything up. I don't think I'm stressed but when I look back I must have been, my stressful events pale into insignificance compared to yours though Kelly, but my flares have always been stress related.
Anything I'm stressed, about is bottled up inside and you are probably similar some of the events in your recent life in my thinking are probably a contributing factor in your flare