Embarrassing Illnesses

I have had Psorias since I was 9 I'm now 53. The only time it went was when I was pregnant(not the answer to be always pregnant). I am under Prof Barker at Guys in London, I inject twice a week with Enbrel which is a tropical treatment as no other treatment has worked pills sun light etc. I have now been given Elcon cream which after bathing you put on then Duoderm Extra Thin Hyrocolloid Dressing. The dressing is impregnanted with a solution and is like a second skin. this stays on day and night for approx four days, will eventially come off when you bath or shower. So far after three months approx of this treatment it seems to be working. No scratching! Ask your doctor if you can try it I hope it does for you.

This is a bit long but i have to share my nightmare. Mine started about a year and a half ago i never had any problems or symptoms before then. It started in the palm of my hand & it was a tiny dry patch of skin. I wasnt concerned or worried as i work with water a lot & have to wear gloves. After a few months it started to spread out a little & i started to get yellow pussy spots under the skin, when the surface skin dried out & peeled the spot would leak a clear fluid & leave a tiny crater in my skin. This became very itchy and would bleed. I still carried on without seeing a professional until it started to spread to my other palm. Then it appeared on the sides & heels of my feet & the sole of my left foot. I went to see my doctor after almost a year & was treated for a fungal infection. Went away & used the creams, followed his advice to use latex free gloves. The creams didnt work very well & by this point the whole of both of my palms were covered,cracking & bleeding, constantly dry & itchy after the leaky spots were uncovered, i then started to lose my fingernails, one by one they were falling off & i had flaky skin under my nail bed and lost my cuticles, they just lifted off then started growing back at funny angles. I have lost every single nail but one. I went back to the doctor after over a year in despair & a handbag full of creams, demanded a second opinion. Got referred to a dermatologist & ive not looked back since. Ive had 2 three monthly appointments & was told i had a something something pustular psoriasis, its almost clear now. After a few different creams its great. My hands are almost clear & back to the natural feeling skin not hard & scaly anymore, even looking pink again, not angry red. All of my nails have grown back too. They did mention light treatment but i dont need it. This has been going on since february last year &b over 6 months of that is being treated for a fungal infection by my doctor. Be persistent & there are many different types of psoriasis.

wel hi ev1 where do i start im 31 i have had psoriasis as long as i can remember then 1 day at 16yrs ish it almost vanished after once a week heat treatments my whole life yippee i though but then devo it came back on my hands and feet it was so infected i had to wear 3 gloves on each hand i was also a hairdresser all my life not easy like having a bath in socks anyway i managed for a few years like that then i day i was driving along and my arm just started to ache really badly and a very large plum size lump appeared on my collar bone within about an hour the pain was s bad i cried al night well that was my life 4 4years after that day i was in so much pain it was unreal my body shook and i threw up just a taste of my life to come as it is arthritis so gutted its agony like torture for life i have muscle spasms and muscle pain and i cant move for weeks the med is limited as i havent had children yet mainly due to the pain i was in in the early stages held me back from starting a family at around 25 yrs my and my husbands plan but that wasnt to be i just want a famly and now i have hyper thyroidism and over producing prolactin in my pituitary gland because of meds i wonder whats next for me as this affects my fertility also if only the docs listened to me in the begining but they said ur to young to have all these probs and they wont let me have a helping hand to start a family now either now that im not fit to work as much and dont have the funds anymore but i used to run a very successful salon and i could have funded ivf etc if id known now we on 1 constant salary and one patchy i dont think i can ever fund treatment now but guys i would hate for ths 2 happen to any1 if u have severe psoriasis start a family early demand the docs listen to u dont let them fob u off i would be a great mum but feel this has been taken away along with my life and i dont have the most und fam friends either ive lost 2 best friends and my family just think im exag but im def not its hell not a life arthritis is crippling i also think i have fibromyalgia but doc says i prob havent they said same about my pain and feeling strange with my brain but i was right i felt it they cldnt pos know being perf and all rant ovr peace out guys

i fell so sorry for ye all, im a suffer to all my life, i am covered 80% of my bodie to, in the fine weather i have to cover my hole self wen my friends are in shortd, i need hepl so bad to clear it up, im usin cocsis cream to help with the flaking and dovobet as wel im aftering flaring up so bad now again i cant handle it no more, im sick and tried of it, i need new redemdies, plz thanks

I don't have very severe psoriasis but I have one very large patch on my leg and also between my bum cheeks, which does itch and skin peels off this area. I have seen a doctor about the spot on my leg and have cream for it but am too shy to see about the skin flaking between my butt. Is there any cream I could use for this sensitive area.

hi my husband had it really bad and went to Israil to the dead sea and it worked wonders he wants to go back again soon, we also order in kilos of dead sea salt he baths in and this helps also.

I have been told I have psoriasis but am not convinced that this is correct. Has anyone else got similar symptoms - I have areas which develop around my buttocks, initially as reddened patches which become itchy and burn. Pussy spots then appear. I have never had the flaky silver/grey plaques and the skin does not appear dry. When it has been very severe I have had hard lumps under the the skin particularly which follow the seams of my trousers. When it is severe it is very difficult to find comfortable clothes to wear particularly when it is cold. I have been given moisturising creams, steroids and antibiotics. The antibiotics did seem to help which is why I am not convinced about psoriasis but this is what the biopsy showed.

Hi I am 48 yrs and have had psoriasis since I was seven. When I turned 14, my entire body was covered in it together with infected ears which only seemed to exacerbate the situation. I have been hospitalised on many occasions and for two weeks it's been fine, but then starts to rear it's ugly head again. This disease together with the arthritis since 14 has hindered and affected my life so badly I cannot even begin to size it in my own head. I am on methotrexate, as I have a family, not recommended for those that don't as it can affect fertility and cause liver damage together with Enbrel injections - there is a huge improvement, but the damage in my head has already been done. I still get it on my face, really hard for a woman to deal with! i have good days and bad. My immune system is seriously compromised by my medication and has put me in hospital on several occasions. I cannot reiterate how important it is to have a good family and friend network that do not think you are a leper!!! All of which led to bullying at school by the ignorant - sorry I'm ranting now - but I've had enough of it...