Can't afford Clobetasol, looking to go natural

[Nostalchiq]

Hello, everyone.   I'm new to this forum and I thought that I'd reach out to my fellow psoriasis sufferers and see if I can get some advice on how to deal with an issue that has recently come up.

I had to quit my job a few months ago due to depression and anxiety. Because of this, I have lost my insurance which wasn't good for much, EXCEPT for paying for my clobetasol solution that I used for my scalp psoriasis.

I don't know how many of you have used this medication, but in spite of the warnings that steroids are not good for you, I couldn't stop using it completely. I've had psoriasis since early childhood and I am now 31, so I have been squirting this stuff on my scalp for most of my life now. Back when I had more money I did purchase at least $100 worth of essential and carrier oils in order to create a natural treatment that I had learned about online, but it didn't do anything except for make my hair oily.

I am on my last insurance-funded bottle of clobetasol and I think I only have about a day's worth left in there. I have been going as long as I can stand without it, but as soon as my scalp starts to scale up and bleed, I can't help but reach for the clobetasol. I am beginning to worry now because as some of you may know, clobetasol used to be extremely affordable and has since gone up to several hundred dollars in price. I definitely can't afford it now that I don't have the insurance I had with my last job.

Have any of you had success with natural treatments? It would be awesome if I could find something that isn't going to gunk up my hair as well, but at this point I'll be happy to find anything that is affordable and that will prevent my scalp from bleeding and flaking.

Any advice would be extremely appreciated!

[jiml]

Hi Nostalchiq and   to the forum, you have come to a great place for information, you will find the members here a friendly group of sufferers and I'm sure will come up with some tips for you .....but as you know the scalp is a difficult area to treat ...the best thing I can suggest is to look at this thread Topical Experiment if you go down this route I would think apply at night and put a shower cap on and then wash out in the morning
Another idea is to use a virgin coconut oil and again wash it out in the morning
I hope someone will come on with a cleaner idea for you

Aren't there any free health programmes in your part of America to help with uninsured patients ?
I wish you good luck
Jim

[Nostalchiq]

Hi Nostalchiq and   to the forum, you have come to a great place for information, you will find the members here a friendly group of sufferers and I'm sure will come up with some tips for you .....but as you know the scalp is a difficult area to treat ...the best thing I can suggest is to look at this thread Topical Experiment if you go down this route I would think apply at night and put a shower cap on and then wash out in the morning
Another idea is to use a virgin coconut oil and again wash it out in the morning
I hope someone will come on with a cleaner idea for you

Aren't there any free health programmes in your part of America to help with uninsured patients ?
I wish you good luck
Jim

Thanks for the warm welcome and reply, Jim!

If there is such a program, I'm not aware of it. We fall into a tax bracket that is over the poverty line, but we have a ton of debt that eats up a lot of our income. Neither my husband or I currently have health insurance because of it and it does worry me sometimes.

In any case, I will definitely check out the thread you've shared and see if I can find some useful information there.

Thanks again!

[jiml]

You’re welcome   I hope you find something that works for you. If I find any other things I will post again
I will also put a note in our free newsletter and see if anyone has other ideas

If you wanted to subscribe to our free monthly newsletter to see what’s happening on the health boards and off topic just click Groups and click on join group

[Caroline]

Hi Nostalchiq,

Welcome to psoriasisclub.
I indeed heard of the jump in price of some medications in the States because there is somebody already having too much money and wanting to have even more. The same behaviour as a parasite.

Very inconvenient for you not to have insurance. Isn't it possible for you to use Obama-care?

There could be a possibility that you react to a diet, but it is a very strong diet you have to follow, we over here have Alan who did it and has very good results, he describes it in his thread How I Cured My Psoriasis By Diet.

Enjoy over here with us.
Caroline

[Bill]

Welcome Nostalchiq,

You can make a tar shampoo by mixing Stockholm tar with an ordinary shampoo. A couple of percent by weight works fine for me. My biggest mistake with topicals was not realising when they were no longer up to the job for me. A good systemic wins hands down for a disease going out of control.

Cheers

[Turnedlight]

Hi there!

One thing you could try (which is a bit grim I know) if you wash your hair very frequently, is not to wash your hair as often and see if it helps. I have come to realise that it’s not the products that dry me out so much as the water itself.

I’m not saying anything about the healthcare in the US

Hope you like it here on the forum, anyway!

[Kat]

Hello and welcome!

Scalp psoriasis, ugh!  I know the feeling.

I don't know anything about Clobetasol and you stated that you know topical steroids for long term aren't the best way to go (BUT... I can relate, if I couldn't get anything else I'd take the chance because the itching will drive you insane!)

Just for some information, even with insurance I ran into a problem with affordable treatment.  I was on Acitretin for awhile and after the prescription coverage, I was still $300 out of pocket each month so when they mentioned biologics to me which I knew was even more expensive I was like I'm not going to be able to afford it!!!!  I already knew we were over the income that would make me eligible for some of the manufacturer's offers as I had ran into that before with an inhaler, plus I had checked around a bit after getting diagnosed with psoriasis.

There was a chance my medical insurance would cover biologics but they denied it.  But, my dermatologist office checked into different options and found one called "buy and bill" which made it free to me (or that's what they claim, I've had one injection and so far no bills have come my way)   I do not know a lot about it, I've searched online and have a very limited understanding of how it works but perhaps you could ask about it?  I have to get the injections at a hospital as opposed to getting them at the doctor's office.   As for topicals, not sure if that would work with the buy and bill or not.  In any event I think I would contact the manufacturer (if you want to stay with your current treatment) and explain the situation and ask for advice.  Most likely that won't get you anywhere but hey, never hurts to ask!  Also, another thought... although you'll have to pay out of pocket, if possible get to a dermatologist and ask them for advice, actually I'd ask BEFORE going to them to see how helpful they are and if not I'd keep calling around until I found one willing to help me.  

In the meantime, I found that virgin coconut oil helped quite a bit.  For me it was hard to apply to my scalp in solid form so I put some in a small bowl, then placed that bowl in a larger bowl of hot water and let it melt.  It gave me a nice warm liquid form that was easier to get past the hair and down to the scalp, plus the warm feeling was quite nice! [Also wanted to add that a cotton ball works well to apply it as a liquid]