Coconut water ..... after sauvignon blanc and fresh ground coffee my current favourite tipple.
I saw the most experienced Psoriasis doc today. He thinks all my patches are probably P, including the 'dodgy' looking thing which is definitely not cancer. Great relief! Though apparently that may yet have to be dug out, not sure why - that was the only explanation that was garbled amidst some really helpful answers to my many questions.
They think that as I have no pustular P it is unlikely that there's a connection with Humira. There's just one question mark hanging over the rash on my feet, they took scrapings to send to some lucky so & so in case it is fungal. In the unlikely event that it is I might have to stop Humira or it could get out of control. I cannot imagine what out of control Athlete's Foot involves so won't try.
I asked whether psoriasis causes fatigue and the answer was basically yes. That thought depressed me a bit before, but now that treatment is nigh - steroid cream & something else, haven't got it yet - I can start hoping that my increased fatigue will decrease.
Oh the salute to the sun business! To see these experienced medics sniggering away - give me strength! I assumed a school-marmish look, not easy in one's underwear, and they momentarily paid attention until someone mentioned not frightening the neighbours. But the upshot was ...... go for it, get the sun on yer bum!
Apparently I can stay with this luxurious clinic if I wish & I do! And they will see me monthly. I cannot believe there's any increased cost to the NHS as I was given the choice between the clinic and local hospital, but if it turns out it does cost more I'll change.
Thanks for all your great replies, thanks to you and the doctors I'm sorted!
Oh, Sybil--you're so amusing! I'm sure that doctor had a good laugh or two! Glad that weird patch is just a weird patch and nothing more. I should have told you I get a couple weird shiny pink spots on my leg that don't get scaly but they itch just like psoriasis. They last forever. I asked my daughter who is the dermy nurse and she said they're just psoriasis. And, eventually the betamethasone clears them up. They come and go, though.
So, try the sun on your bum-watch out so it doesn't burn. If you're like me that area's never been exposed--I even wore my underclothes in the sunlamp booth at the dermy and the tanning beds. Be careful not to put too much steroid cream in your crack or it can cause the skin to get worse because it's so concentrated in there.
:-)
Thank you Grandma J. I will be sure not to put too much steroid cream in my crack. Doc did say I have to be careful with steroid cream plus Humira but that it would be difficult to overdo it in the month before I see them next.
Basically any wound type things seem to last forever with Humira. Woke up on New Year's Day this year with a mystery wound on leg, 3 months later the damn thing eventually healed leaving no trace. I've had a few cuts etc. like that & the fact that when they go they do really go makes me think my immune system's okay, just slow. Slow is okay!
Must be very handy having a daughter who is a dermy nurse.
Grandma J said:
Oh, Sybil--you're so amusing! I'm sure that doctor had a good laugh or two! Glad that weird patch is just a weird patch and nothing more. I should have told you I get a couple weird shiny pink spots on my leg that don't get scaly but they itch just like psoriasis. They last forever. I asked my daughter who is the dermy nurse and she said they're just psoriasis. And, eventually the betamethasone clears them up. They come and go, though.
So, try the sun on your bum-watch out so it doesn't burn. If you're like me that area's never been exposed--I even wore my underclothes in the sunlamp booth at the dermy and the tanning beds. Be careful not to put too much steroid cream in your crack or it can cause the skin to get worse because it's so concentrated in there.
:-)
You know what, Sybil, to see those experienced medics sniggering away would have lifted my spirits. If they hadn’t sized you up as a well-held-together woman with a sense of humour, they would have been quite capable of pasting on a professional poker-face. (And collapsing in laughter in the staff room, of course.) You probably made their day, same as you made ours by telling the story.
Salute to the sun … I giggle every time.
They were so nice. I've had a fair bit of contact with medical types recently, none of it due to particularly serious stuff, but have been blown away by how skilled and personable they were. Sometimes we have to assert ourselves to get the best treatment but when that happens so easily I think they should know what a difference they make.
Seenie said:
You know what, Sybil, to see those experienced medics sniggering away would have lifted my spirits. If they hadn't sized you up as a well-held-together woman with a sense of humour, they would have been quite capable of pasting on a professional poker-face. (And collapsing in laughter in the staff room, of course.) You probably made their day, same as you made ours by telling the story.
Salute to the sun ... I giggle every time.
Got a bit stuck at 'Lunge'!
Jules G said:
I think the condition in question might best benefit from a revised sequence:
.... start in mountain (grateful you can stand) ......forward fold (hoping you don't get stuck like this) ...... downward dog (oh ****) ......... forward fold (thank goodness) ...... return to mountain (never been so pleased to be able to stand straight?) ...... and repeat for the benefit of 'the condition'.
Lol! There are so many things that need a little bit of tweaking!
Jules G said:
I think the condition in question might best benefit from a revised sequence:
.... start in mountain (grateful you can stand) ......forward fold (hoping you don't get stuck like this) ...... downward dog (oh ****) ......... forward fold (thank goodness) ...... return to mountain (never been so pleased to be able to stand straight?) ...... and repeat for the benefit of 'the condition'.
I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to stand back up if I did the forward fold or down dog--that lady's upward dog looks amazing-she must be more flexible than me haha!
Yes, Sybil, it's great my daughter's a dermy nurse. Last year when I got sores on my legs from bacteria on my razor (I assumed) she instructed me to combine antibiotic ointment with my betamethasone on the sores where there was also psoriasis. It continued to work great on my p and also cured the infection in a few days. My husband had an itchy spot on top of his head last year that was sore for weeks and driving him nuts. She told him to put a certain ointment on it and stop scratching. Of course, he didn't comply and wanted her dermatologist to look at it. Sure enough, the doctor said to put that same ointment on it (I think it was OTC hydrocortisone cream) and STOP scratching!!!! When he followed the doctor's orders, it finally cleared up! Daughter said, I told you so!!!! She uses the medical terminology for every skin ailment anybody gets and, of course, I'm so impressed. She had noticed these funny bumps on my face--sebaceous gland hyperplasia she calls them--(I swear they're microscopic because I can't see them) that are disgusting to her. Well, she's 30 and preggo now and she's noticing those same "bumps" on her forehead and it's really stressing her out! It's nice because sometimes we can avoid doctor visits. Like, 2 nights ago, Finley's knee got hot, swollen and red in about a 4" area, presumably from a mosquito bite. I texted a pic of it to Emma. She told me to apply some hydrocortisone cream and a cold washcloth over that for 10 minutes--and give her a dose of Claritin. By morning, all that was left was the tiny scab from the 'squito bite! So now we know a quick cure for Finley's bad reactions to bug bites, without having to pay for a doctor visit!
But, back to you, you're a natural comedienne! In your family's birth order are you the third child by chance? I tend to think birth order has a lot to do with certain personality traits, or strengths! You sure fit in with a lot of third children I know!
I hope your foot whatever it is, isn't fungal, because it wouldn't be good to go off Humira. Glad your doctors are giving you all the attention you deserve. Also, hoping they're right that the Humira isn't the cause of your psoriasis outbreak. Maybe patience is the key here. I'm sure we can have some reactions or resistance to our biologics sometimes--wondering if it's from different stress we've had, etc. I notice I feel like absolute crap after "overdoing" it physically-like now that I have PsA, it doesn't take much physical exertion to "overdue" it, which is frustrating. But, if I want to avoid bad flares like I had two days ago, I need to baby myself--and I absolutely HATE that!!!!
Sorry for the long reply! I got carried away. So, anyway, I hope things improve now that you're getting good care!
My psoriasis went away when I had chemo for Hodgkins disease. Maybe it was the huge amounts of prednisone? I had it on my palms, on my feet (pustular) on my face, but not as bad as some. This was before the days of biologics. It was so much gone that my eye doctor didn't know that I had ever had it, and when she found out, that explained my chronic eye problems, and now am on biologics and have never had any psoriasis again
Thanks for your replies Grandma J and jennyb.
Grandma J, you make me wish we had a medic in the family! It's generous of her to share her knowledge, some of the medics I've known banned friends and family from running their ailments by them. No, I'm not a third child, I'm the eldest of 4 or an only child depending on how you look at it. Coming from a rather complicated family, humour was definitely required. However my third son does make me laugh my socks off, so there may be something in what you say.
jennyb, I've just had a copy of a letter my rheumy sent to my GP. He said his first thought was that my psoriasis flare may have been due to Humira but that on reflection he thinks it is more likely due to the fact that I stopped Mtx back in January. And that therefore it could be worth re-starting it at a low dosage. Not sure what I think of that but I see him at the end of the month & appreciate the fact that he's on the case. Glad to hear your psoriasis got up and went! I look forward to the same, hopefully.