ArteMie's journey with Stelera

[artemie]

Well, here we go. Two days ago was the first injection with Stelera. Starting this journal for myself and it would be awesome if it can help people make a choice in the future. 

Before that, you name it:
Tar (when I was but a child, can't remember much except the horror of having P)
UVB (3 treatments total, the last one, a nice doorpanel that I got to use at home, stopped working just as I was nearing the final top doses)
Vitamine D derivatives creams, sometimes mixed with steroids. But rarely. Helped a bit, never total clearance on either combination)
Psorinovo; dymethilfumerate, slow realise and enteric coated (failed on that after a brief interlude of not taking it. The second round it didn't work, upset intestines, and also in a period of a lot of stress, so... I dunno. Wish it still worked)

Diet; elimination of so-called trigger foods. Does work for some, but not for all, including ArteMie.

Then a long period of trying to avoid biologicals, scared of side effects and going down the slope, never to be seen healthy again...

Humira (end of june to end of august this year. Big fail; high blood liver values within two months, ALAT 177, extremely tired)
Enstillar. ( since last thursday. Always avoided steroids like the plague, but this spray foam is the dogs bollocks, GO steroids! I know it can't be used indefinitely, but wow, what a relief from sore, flake, painful skin. It's almost clear. So; imho this is a quick fix when you're up shit creek ) 

Nursey told me I couldn't take the subcutaneous shots myself, because it's slightly more difficult than Humira. Which I fail to see, after all, didn't I practise setting shots on oranges at the Seafaring Sailing school in Medical Class when training for Sailing Captain school?
Also, she failed, some liquid squirted out after the injection, so it's still to be seen if I received the full dose.

Status now; don't feel any different, still first in line for a midday nap, but that could be because I'm; a) still fighting P b) still recovering from the Humira. btw; my liver is recovering awesomely rapidly, so got the all-clear for Stelera. oh and; c) I love nodding off and napping in the afternoon =] Couch blankets are a Concept in this house

I try to eat good food, not too much sugar, make my own kefir, a healthy probiotic drink. And I love wine : Which I probably shouldn't, but one has to live and have fun.  Wasn't there a lot of sugar in wine? Well, if there is, I'm just gonna deny that, if you don't mind.

   ArteMie

---

[Group Specific]

[jiml]

Great to read your story so far Artemie .. I will be watching with great interest and have my fingers crossed that Stelara  will be “the one” to get you clear quickly and will give lasting clearance

Also good to read of your good  experience of enstilar.
Good luck  
Jim

[D Foster]

Brilliant Artemie you are on your way, don't expect to much until after your second shot at 4 weeks if it follows what happened to me, it all started to move forward after the second shot and by the time I was ready for the 12 week shot I was almost clear. I know we are all different so I hope that you progress better than I did as I know some have. A little of what you fancy does you good .

[Fred]

Good luck Artemie, I think you will soon find out that Stelara is better than Humira.

I don't understand why they are saying the shots are different. The only thing I can think of is if you used to have the Pen type shot with Humira. I actualy prefer the syringe and it's simple to do, but then you only have Stelara once every three months after the loading dose is done so you won't have to visit the nurse that often. (I however also prefer doing my own shots, I take my time with them)

[Maryam]

I am going to follow you! Be aware! 

Hope you feel better soon 

[Turnedlight]

Look forward to hearing about your progress - like your style

[Caroline]

Following you too of course...

[Grizzly Bear]

ArteMie, do you find Enstillar sticky after applying it to your skin ?

Good write up too ArteMie

[Spotless]

Good luck ArteMie! I hope your journey on stelara is a successful one!
Be patient you won’t know until week 12 whether the drug is working. So far so good for me, so I hope you will get the same results too!

Spotless.

[artemie]

Hi all,

tnx for the replies =]

Had the most horrible long-lasting flu, which always makes me feel down and terribly sad. One of the downsides of being highly sensitive. And all that after feeling horrible (while) on the Humira liver failure... didn't feel like writing.

The Enstillar did a great job. It's been 4 weeks so I stopped last wednesday. This means I have no idea what is causing the general calming down, Enstillar or Stelera. I *do* know that my scalp is much much calmer and I sure didn't graffiti that part with the Enstillar spray =]

Monday I had the second jab of Stelara, from now on every 3 months, so fingers crossed! I'll know more soon, because I've weened of the Enstillar, and already it doesn't seem to be coming back so quickly (read aggressively)

Grizzly; I *like* that the Enstillar is sticky/fatty. Gives me the idea it workes longer/better. Routine; shower, apply, run around the house - scantily clad - and do some household tasks, like doing the dishes. All to avoid getting dressed straight away, give the meds more time to work instead of being soaked up by clothes and sitting down. 
(no there are no photos, you naughty man, what were you thinking?)  


ArteMie has some art commissions to work on and I'm feeling very confident and excited about that. Also, as some of you know, young mr ArteMie had to have heart surgery and being on the waiting list for so long was scary. He's only in his early forties. Turns out it's a 100% succes and he's running around with more energy than me now, the bloody sociopath he is =] 

The positive side of being highly sensitive is of course, being highly sensitive =]