Intro from Sandy

[Sandycheeksss]

Hi, 
I’m sandy. I’ve been dealing with psoriasis since I was 12. I cried about it because I didn’t know what was wrong with me . I got it on my scalp and my parents never had it . I then had a terrible out break on my entire body. It made me feel so ugly and ashamed . I didn’t want anyone to look at me . I got treated and after a few years Enbrel stopped working for me. I got sick with Covid and my psoriasis had the worst reaction ever and I’m in the worst skin episode I’ve ever had . My entire body and face is covered . I recently broke up with my boyfriend because I didn’t want him to see my face or body. I’m 23 years old and I feel so ashamed of myself... I joined this page because I want to be around more people who are suffering with this. 

We are in this together guys .
Xoxo

[Caroline]

Hi Sandy,

Welcome to psoriasisclub !!  Finally someone a bit younger than the oldies here    (Oh, I must be careful not to insult them...  )
This is a very friendly forum, you will get that when you get more reactions on your post.

You are in a nasty situation as I read.
The most important thing is that you went through your Covid. That is way more dangerous.
See that you are starting Cosentyx. There are some over here who have experience (good ones) with that.

Later we should have a talk about your boyfriend, perhaps.

Feel comfortable over here. Everyone has Psoriasis or Psoriatic Arthritis, and indeed we are all in the same boat....
Love to speak with you later on..

Cheers 
Caroline

[Turnedlight]

Hi Sandy nice to meet you

I’m sorry to hear about your experience, it must be tough to get P at that age. If your psoriasis is quite bad it really affects you - more than mentally, it was explained to me by a dermatologist that the function of regulating body temp for instance relies on the skin so on a flare up your body is working harder and it’s like being ill. This also can affect your mental health beyond how you feel about your appearance.

I hope it settles down for you, are you seeing a dermatologist at the moment?

The enbrel working for a while then stopping is not unusual, I’ve been through 4 biologicals (I think?) and those that worked always seem to stop after a while for me.

We are in this together, and it’s a surprisingly common condition though you wouldn’t know it - I guess so many of us cover up..

Hope you like it here!

[Fred]

Hello Sandy  to Psoriasis Club.

First thing I will say is "Never be ashamed of yourself" it's what on the inside that matters, just be yourself and remember that psoriasis can go after everyone ........................... It has no barriers and if anyone thinks you're ugly, remind them that they could be next.

Regarding splitting up with your boyfriend, can I ask. Did you try speaking to him about it ? The reason I ask is because myself and a few others I know have been pleasantly surprised by the reaction they received from their boy/girlfriends. You have nothing to loose by talking to him about it, and if he doesn't like it then let him walk as he worth be worth it. But give him the chance as he may be feeling it's him. 

You will find a very friendly and supportive group here so dive on in, I can recommend the [forum=17] if you want to get to know some of our members.

Good luck with Cosentyx it's a good treatment and feel free to start a thread about your journey here if you wish. [forum=10]

Regards.

Fred.

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[jiml]

Hi Sandy and welcome to the club. As has been said we are a very friendly support group and always pleased to answer any questions you may have or even just to chat.
I'm one of the oldies that Caroline told you about but we have got several younger members as well
I can relate to wanting to hide away with psoriasis I got it when I was about 17 and was devastated and spent most of my life trying to hide it. But fortunately my now wife was very understanding when I met her, but I was always reluctant to mix much as I really felt alone and never realised how common the problem is.
Fortunately things have changed a lot in the last few years and you should get some lasting clearance with the latest drugs available... I myself am on a tablet drug called Skilarence and it has kept me clear for around 8 years now and hopefully you will have a similar experience with cosentyx.
I hope to read that you get clearance quickly with cosentyx as lots of users get fast results and hopefully you can get back with your boyfriend...I found this forum very useful when I joined and got plenty of advice from fellow sufferers
Thanks for joining and posting feel confident you will always be welcome here, and you are among other sufferers who can relate to your feelings...
Do pop into the off topic section if you want to join in any of the threads you will be made welcome

And finally (from me) I recommend our monthly newsletter which Fred has put a link to above
Good luck

[Kat]

Welcome Sandy!

Please never feel ashamed, psoriasis isn't a choice nor anything that you did wrong. I was older in life before having psoriasis and I know that it is a bit easier after you are older to not care as much about what other people think, but truly a true friend or true boyfriend/significant other would not care if you have psoriasis (or any other medical condition) as they should care about who you are as a person.

Psoriasis is a part of us and our lives but should never define who we are.

I am so sorry to hear that you had covid! I hope you are fully recovered and also that your psoriasis calms back down.

And you are right that we are all in this together!

[KatT]

Hi Sandy,

to the Psoriasis Club

Must have been really difficult dealing with psoriasis at that age with no one in the family who had it therefore it was something new and unknown  

Please do not feel ashamed    It`s not your fault and not something you can control (I mean having psoriasis or not).  You can however treat it and I hope the next treatment works for you.

You will notice as time goes by other people with psoriasis or other conditions and will eventually change your way of thinking.

I was fortunate not to have any on my face but my legs, arms, hands and scalp were full and used to shy away from skirts, dresses and shorts….until i said to myself...let them look! And if they are too curious, they will ask and I will gladly provide information!

A true friend, boyfriend will not care about your psoriasis and will also provide support! 

Good luck with the next treatment and feel free to join in the fun in the off topic section

Kat

[Wooley]

Hi Sandy

Nice to meet you and a warm welcome to the club! 

You have indeed suffered for a while, you must have had a shock finding out you had psoriasis at the age of 12!  Makes me sad though that you feel ugly and ashamed, but totally understand you feeling that way but also totally appreciate that it is difficult to not feel these things.  I hope that you have been able to see your dermatologist and that they can help you and give you different medication that will hopefully help in the coming months/years.

Sorry to see that you have also had Covid, really hope that you are on the mend from that.

You are right in saying 'we are all in this together', that's totally true and hopefully you will find lots of help/advice and support from all the lovely members in the group and you will start to feel a little better about yourself - I know from experience that this was the case for me.

Really hoping that you can start to feel a bit better about yourself and more confident soon.

Wooleyb

[Caroline]

For now it seems to be a one time visit by Sandy..

[Raxyl]

Welcome to Psoriasis Club, Sandy, I'm really sorry to hear about your experiences.  We are all very supportive here and always available for a chat.