I went back for a 6 week check up today. He increased my methotrexate to 6 pills a week. Then come back in 6 weeks to see how I’m doing.
But, right now, since I’ve been on medication, my psoriasis is flared up in my scalp. My rheumatologist said I need to get in to see my dermatologist soon. I’m going to try a different dermatologist in Oxford, MS that I’ve heard very good things about.
What medication do some of you use for your psoriasis?
Otezla 30mg 2x daily helps a bit. The plaques no longer come off in sheets. Now their soft and fluffy. Strange description. But I would recommend it. For me it worked better than humira, enebrel, and topicals.
I hate treating my psoraisis plaques - every topical I got from a dermatologist always made me have rebound flares as soon as I stopped using it (even if I used it for a while after the plaque supposedly healed). However, since treating my PsA with biologics, my P has been almost completely in remission (at least until a few months ago). I’m starting to get it again in the scalp and torso, and it’s popping up on healing wounds again, which is super annoying. Got one on my injection site for my mtx a couple weeks ago that’s still sticking around. It was actually Enbrel that cleared me at first (unfortunately I failed it for the PsA so… boo) but the Humira kept it in check for almost a year, then I moved to Cimzia bc of continued joint pain and it started coming back.
Otherwise, I usually go the home-treat for P. My personal methods are sun exposure, if possible (when it was super bad I’d go to a tanning bed, but there’s the whole skin cancer risk so…) and watching the ingredients in my skin products. Apparently glycerin is a big no no for my P - it actually aggravates it (in fact, long ago in my last super awful flare where it was covering probably 80% of my skin, the first topical I was given was a glycerin based topical and it made me feel like I was bathing in acid - switched to cream based and was much better). Also no fragrances and dyes, or only P “approved” fragrances (some I seem to tolerate ok, others, like anything Tide, makes me want to peel my skin off with a carrot peeler). My derm also suggested at one point using mineral oil immediately after a bath/shower, before drying even, to help hydrate/lock in moisture. I did it, but I don’t know if it really helped me (though I’ve heard it help others). For hair - tea tree oil seems to help, if nothing else, sooth the burn that scalp P can get, and sulfate and phosphate free shampoo and conditioners seem to help too.
I hope you get some relief - I remember how awful it is when your skin flares, so you have my sympathy!
My psoriasis is minimal, in my opinion. I have psoriasis on my scalp, knees, hands and feet. I would say the hand and feet psoriasis is the worst since it splits and causes the most pain. I use Clobestasol cream on my skin and Clobestasol solution on my scalp. I also use a vitamin D ointment on my hands when they are peeling, as they are now. I have to use it every night and it takes around 20 minutes to soak in. Constantly using lotions and creams. I like Cerave cream. It’s very thick and soaks in the best. Also Aquaphor ointment as needed.
I used betamethasone for years and years. Still use it on my remaining psoriasis (my legs). But what worked the best for my scalp psoriasis, which was very persistent, was MG 217 medicated psoriasis shampoo. I washed my hair 3 x a week with it. I never had any itching or flaking while using it. For me it was the best treatment of all those I had tried.
Yes! I’ve tried to explain. That to my dermatology. I use the creams they look good then pop up right back afterwards. Bad rebound. I thought it was only me. They keep telling me use topicals. But they don’t work. So frustrating.
@A11 Yup, that’s always what happened to me. The best things I’ve found for plaque control are light therapy (as a poor college student this was a tanning bed) and biologics, though the MTX has helped as well. I’m lucky though, in that it’s generally not too bad. I’ve had one really bad p flare that was awful and lasted about a year or two, but otherwise I’ve been able to manage it with changing my products (shampoo, detergent, etc) and stuff. I refuse all offers of topicals from my Rheum bc they just don’t seem to work.
I should add that I also refuse to go to dermatologists; I know there are good ones but unfortunately the only ones I’ve found did not endear me to their profession. It’s fortunate that my current meds for the PsA seem to keep things in check enough that I haven’t needed to try a derm again.