Psoriasis Another Wonderful Fuck Up From Gawd

[LivingLife]

Been battling with this itch for close on two years now and started in the genital region and has now spread to my shoulders, chest and under the arm pits.

 

And the great thing is no one knows what causes it and it is incurable. What a phun gawd/creator.

 

If you image google it, it is frigging scary but my case looks more or less like this.

 

 

Not quite as bad.

 

Plenty advise of possible ways of alleviating it but they all seem to suggest vitamin D is need so I have to do some sunbathing when it gets warmer.

 

What it is the body produces more skin cells than is needed and these form into welts and blistery pimples that itch like shit.

 

It comes and goes.

 

Luckily it is not contagious.

 

Thank you jeebuz......

[Blue elephant]

I have had a few attacks of psoriasis over the years but they looked more like ringworm.

 

But yeah, they itched like hell. Auto immune isnt it?

[VacuumFlux]

Not fun at all. I hope you find a treatment that works for you.

 

Mine's seasonal, worst on my hands with some on my neck and outside of my elbows. Lately I've been getting a patch on my scalp, too. It's changed as I get older too; used to be a summer thing in the creases in my joints (knees, elbows, etc). Now it's a late winter/early spring thing. It's triggered by dry heat, I think. Worst is when there's nothing on my hands when I go to sleep, forget (or roll around in the night) to leave my hands not under the covers, get a giant blister, and wake up in the middle of the night from the pain.

[LivingLife]

VF

 

Seems there is some truth in the vitamin D and sun stuff. The sun was out and relatively warm and I sunbathed for an hour and since then it is not itching, will repeat tomorrow.

 

There are some topical creams that have claims before and after pics and all, but I will have to see. The sun is for free and if that means getting nekkid for relief, hell yeah.

 

I could do with a bit of color anyway.

 

After my mom passed away we discovered loads of creams that were prescribed, she thought she had shingles and probably had this too. My wife actually diagnosed me and when I researched, bingo 100% match on symptoms and pics. Mine is relatively mild by comparison to some poor folk.

 

Just another result of survival of the fittest not working and bad genetic mutation. Some legacy to pass onto my offspring. :\

[florduh]

First, disease is not God's fuck up. It is the result of your rebellious and sinful nature.

 

The good news is that my wife had the condition in her late teens and twenties and apparently "outgrew" it. In the mean time, don't be afraid to take a daily hefty dose of a D supplement. Even some Floridians don't get enough of the sunshine vitamin by natural means.

[♦ nivek ♦]

Vit D3 is one key to helping quite a few people with skin conditions of many types.

 

I use a liquid form, delivers 5000 IU per 1ml dropper. Easy to take, helps the problems of not enough sunshine that using anti-rejection drugs causes.

 

Don't envy your condition, nothing topical seems to help the problems I've got...

 

kL

[xandermac]

I think it's also hereditary. My mother suffered with this and I have a sister with it too. Sorry, I know it sucks.

[I Broke Free]

I was diagnosed with psoriasis in 1983 (age 23) and to this day I have never had a complete remission of the disease. I have been treating it almost daily for 28 years. It started with a patch on my hairline on my forehead and then spread to my scalp. Over the years I have had it on the head of my penis, the general groin area (anywhere it never gets air) my elbow, my feet, my hand, and behind the ears and I am one of the very lucky few who gets it all over my face! I have been fortunate that I have never had large patches; the biggest patch was about two square inches. And except for the scalp patches it has never itched. In the past ten years I have also developed some psoriatic arthritis in my right index finger. It lasts about two weeks and then clears up, but it is quite painful and it makes life difficult.

 

I use a topical ointment called Fluocinonide and it works okay. It works great on my groin and penis (thank goodness) but I can’t use in on my face because it makes my skin so thin I turn beet red. I hate this disease. I am fortunate to have a partner who so understanding.

 

I have an identical twin brother and over the years any ailment one of us gets, the other one soon follows. Yet for some odd reason my twin never got psoriasis. That was until last year! He called me one day and told me his left index finger was arthritic. I told him to look out for psoriasis and low and behold two weeks later his first patch appeared in the exact same place my first patch appeared. The only reason I think I got psoriasis so much earlier than my twin is because the disease is linked to ones immune system and I compromised my immune system big time just before I got the disease. I had been doing A LOT of cocaine.

[LivingLife]

First, disease is not God's fuck up. It is the result of your rebellious and sinful nature.

 

The good news is that my wife had the condition in her late teens and twenties and apparently "outgrew" it. In the mean time, don't be afraid to take a daily hefty dose of a D supplement. Even some Floridians don't get enough of the sunshine vitamin by natural means.

 

TY

 

Gonna have to try getting in more vitamin D. I am just pissed off the doctor never suggested this. These topical ointments do not help unless the have some local anesthetic too. I had a whole regimin of antibiotics and cortisone but you cannot take them indefinitely. This helped to some extent but it is like throwing shit up against the wall to see what will stick.

[I Broke Free]

First, disease is not God's fuck up. It is the result of your rebellious and sinful nature.

 

The good news is that my wife had the condition in her late teens and twenties and apparently "outgrew" it. In the mean time, don't be afraid to take a daily hefty dose of a D supplement. Even some Floridians don't get enough of the sunshine vitamin by natural means.

 

TY

 

Gonna have to try getting in more vitamin D. I am just pissed off the doctor never suggested this. These topical ointments do not help unless the have some local anesthetic too. I had a whole regimin of antibiotics and cortisone but you cannot take them indefinitely. This helped to some extent but it is like throwing shit up against the wall to see what will stick.

 

 

I read that vitamin D can help too. I have been taking 2000 units a day for a year now. NO CHANGE WHATSOEVER.

[Guest end3]

Been battling with this itch for close on two years now and started in the genital region and has now spread to my shoulders, chest and under the arm pits.

 

And the great thing is no one knows what causes it and it is incurable. What a phun gawd/creator.

 

If you image google it, it is frigging scary but my case looks more or less like this.

 

 

Not quite as bad.

 

Plenty advise of possible ways of alleviating it but they all seem to suggest vitamin D is need so I have to do some sunbathing when it gets warmer.

 

What it is the body produces more skin cells than is needed and these form into welts and blistery pimples that itch like shit.

 

It comes and goes.

 

Luckily it is not contagious.

 

Thank you jeebuz......

 

Well, there's a bad side....which you have describe, but also a good side......that scratching an itch can be most satifying. I don't have psoriasis, but have dishydrotic excema...how ever you spell it. Mine was worse when I was younger. Patches of itching....worse when I get hot and sweaty from working. Anyway, you might look into detergents.....mine sure gets worse with some detergents...Gain? Don't use Gain. Also, we get cheap steroid cream from Mexico that keeps the rash at bay. I will be glad to get you some as it is much cheaper acros the border. Sincerely.

[Guest end3]

I was diagnosed with psoriasis in 1983 (age 23) and to this day I have never had a complete remission of the disease. I have been treating it almost daily for 28 years. It started with a patch on my hairline on my forehead and then spread to my scalp. Over the years I have had it on the head of my penis, the general groin area (anywhere it never gets air) my elbow, my feet, my hand, and behind the ears and I am one of the very lucky few who gets it all over my face! I have been fortunate that I have never had large patches; the biggest patch was about two square inches. And except for the scalp patches it has never itched. In the past ten years I have also developed some psoriatic arthritis in my right index finger. It lasts about two weeks and then clears up, but it is quite painful and it makes life difficult.

 

I use a topical ointment called Fluocinonide and it works okay. It works great on my groin and penis (thank goodness) but I can’t use in on my face because it makes my skin so thin I turn beet red. I hate this disease. I am fortunate to have a partner who so understanding.

 

I have an identical twin brother and over the years any ailment one of us gets, the other one soon follows. Yet for some odd reason my twin never got psoriasis. That was until last year! He called me one day and told me his left index finger was arthritic. I told him to look out for psoriasis and low and behold two weeks later his first patch appeared in the exact same place my first patch appeared. The only reason I think I got psoriasis so much earlier than my twin is because the disease is linked to ones immune system and I compromised my immune system big time just before I got the disease. I had been doing A LOT of cocaine.

 

Yes! that is the same prescription I use....good stuff.

[ShackledNoMore]

Yeah, my wife has it bad. Even the Remicade treatments she takes for her Crohn's disease barely puts a dent in it.

 

Sunlight does help and phototherapy is a legitimate treatment, and working with a dermatologist should result in a treatment that gives a goodly amount of relief even for bad cases.

 

@ IBF and/or End: My wife has never used Fluocinonide. Is it effective on the scalp? I see that it is a steroid. Have your doctors mentioned any of the same cautions for long term use that there would be for oral steroids such as Prednisone?

[pitchu]

Not just vitamin D, but D3. Make sure that "3" is attached.

[OpheliaGinger]

My brother has had psoriasis for quite a long time and I have a very very mild form of it on my arms (dead cells pile up around a folicle and create faint red bumps that don't itch).

[DrummerScott]

I can't imagine having bad psoriasis. I had 5inch patches a few years back. I too used Fluocinonide and it worked out well for me. Never used on my scalp though since I didn't have problems up there. From what my doctor told me, there are better treatments for the more extreme cases. I was fortunate to not have to deal with a bad case of psoriasis.

[Guest end3]

Yeah, my wife has it bad. Even the Remicade treatments she takes for her Crohn's disease barely puts a dent in it.

 

Sunlight does help and phototherapy is a legitimate treatment, and working with a dermatologist should result in a treatment that gives a goodly amount of relief even for bad cases.

 

@ IBF and/or End: My wife has never used Fluocinonide. Is it effective on the scalp? I see that it is a steroid. Have your doctors mentioned any of the same cautions for long term use that there would be for oral steroids such as Prednisone?

 

No warning per se.....just said use very sparingly. Truthfully a little is all you need. I would think it would work on the scalp just fine. It really stops my stuff quickly. I still see the patch for a couple of days, but the itching pretty much stops. They make different strenths I think....just off the top of my head...0.05 percent is what I think I have used, but I have a perscription that I never filled for 0.10 percent. I had three children after using it, so I don't know what other side effects to look for?...lol. I hasn't effected my looks, I just get more handsome every year.

[LivingLife]

Thanks End for the offer but I am in South Africa so I have a few topical remedies I can look into.

 

I am kind of relieved that this is more common than I thought. Weird that there seems to be no cure or no understanding what causes it. Probably folk do not talk about it b/c it seems to always be or originate in the genital region and may have an "STD stigma" attached to it.

 

Deterrents was the 1st suspect but that was not it, however they can aggravate it, after my stint in the sun yesterday, there was a relief for about 6 hours from itching, will do some more today. The local stuff will have to wait till Monday.

[CatBallou]

I've dealt with this shit since I was 4. I changed my diet last year (to http://www.self.com/fooddiet/2010/08/your-superfoods-meal-plan-slideshow#slide=1) and it seems most of it finally went away. I'm not 100% convinced it was diet, but if it was, I think it was eliminating a lot of starch from my diet, and become a little more "paleo." What I DO know works is water. I tried soaking in a bathtub with dead sea salts (usually available in any natural food place) and that worked. Dead sea salts are expensive, though, so I switched to epsom salts. That worked, too. Then last year, I did a lot of swimming (3x/week) which worked just as well. My skin looks pretty good now and I haven't done anything since swim last year. I still get the crud on my scalp and eyebrows. For that, I use Neutrogena T/Gel coal tar shampoo. The crud builds up a tolerance to that, though, so I use up 1 bottle of 6 oz. Neutrogena then switch to normal shampoo, use up that bottle, and go back. That's worked well for years, now. I hope this helps the rest of you dealing with the crud.

[LivingLife]

Thanks for that, just had another (naked this time) one hour session in the sun, my nads not itching and the sun does seem to help.

 

I eat a lot of brown bread - well 4- 6 slices a day so I cannot see that as being too much.

[I Broke Free]

IBF and/or End: My wife has never used Fluocinonide. Is it effective on the scalp? I see that it is a steroid. Have your doctors mentioned any of the same cautions for long term use that there would be for oral steroids such as Prednisone?

 

 

 

Fouocinonide is a steroid so you have to be careful not to overdo it. The more you use the product the less effective it can become. “The less I treat my psoriasis the better it treats me” has been my motto for decades. If I try very hard to eliminate all traces of my psoriasis and use the product liberally it quickly results in a worse relapse of the disease.

 

Fouocinonide would probably work just fine on your scalp if you were willing to shave your head first. It is a greasy and viscous medication that remains that way long after application. Any medication I get in my hair just looks like a blob of hair gel you forgot to work into your hair. The scalp is probably the most common area to have affected by the disease, and the hardest area to treat. I have used several coal-tar shampoo products but like others have mentioned they can be somewhat affective, but they lose their effectiveness if used every day. There is also the terrible side effect of smelling like a freshly asphalted road. The smell would drive me crazy all day. As for myself I have learned to live with the itch on my scalp and just use regular shampoo. In one way I am lucky, my hair is white so it makes the scales from scalp nearly invisible to others.

 

IBF

[I Broke Free]

Not just vitamin D, but D3. Make sure that "3" is attached.

 

 

I did not know that. Thank you Pitchu.

[ShackledNoMore]

From what my doctor told me, there are better treatments for the more extreme cases.

Some of the most aggressive treatments used when all else fails can be scary. My wife's dermatologist mentioned a drug under which there were risks of heart disease, cancer, liver problems, etc. Some of the risks were substantial enough so that she would have been put on weekly blood tests had she used the medicine. We both think she needs to check with another dermatologist: this one really hadn't had her try too much in the way of more conservative treatments before suggesting this.

 

No warning per se.....just said use very sparingly. Truthfully a little is all you need. I would think it would work on the scalp just fine.

 

...so I don't know what other side effects to look for?...lol. I hasn't effected my looks, I just get more handsome every year.

Based on some googling I've done since then, it seems that the steroid can be absorbed through the skin, but is less of an issue than systemic steroids taken orally. Long term side effects of steroids include a more rounded appearance of the face, a hump of fat at the neck, bone thinning, and some others. Fluocinonide, used according to doctor's instructions, looks like it could be good stuff indeed. I don't think you have anything to worry about with respect to your comely appearance. One thing I'll say for the steroid in the form of Prednisone, it was effective against the psoriasis.

 

I am kind of relieved that this is more common than I thought. Weird that there seems to be no cure or no understanding what causes it. Probably folk do not talk about it b/c it seems to always be or originate in the genital region and may have an "STD stigma" attached to it.

I am amazed how common this seems to be. For ex-c, it seems to be like the blight of hemorrhoids from the OT--maybe an offering of five golden patches of psoriasis?

 

As far as I know, psoriasis can afflict all sorts of areas of the scalp and skin, probably just bad luck if it strikes in the genital region (not that it's not bad luck to be afflicted at all). If there is an "STD stigma" it pisses me off: another example of stupidity and ignorance in action, making a stigma out of a skin condition that happens to people through no fault of their own and is not contagious.

 

Although the exact cause of psoriasis is unknown, heredity, the immune system, and the environment are thought to play a role.