hello

[om1e5ga]

I'm mostly just wanting to introduce myself here and ask a few questions. I'm not sure how much I'll be posting here, but we'll see how it goes.

I'm 27 years old (well, I will be this Sunday anyway) and was just diagnosed with Psoriasis yesterday after more than a year of worrying about what the rashes on my legs were.

Browsing the WEB over the last few hours has left me more frustrated than enlightened on the... disease? disorder?

There seem to be a lot enviromental or lifestyle changes can help "some" people but none of them that work for "most" people. Are there any that work accross the board or for more than just a few people? I'd like to try those first if there are.

Because of my job (I bartend in a five star hotel) I'm usually asleep during most of the day and don't see much sunlight and tend to wear pants when I am out in the sun. Could this be causing my outbreaks or would adjusting my sleep schedual so I can be outside on sunny days help lessen outbreaks?

Thanks for any help anyone can offer and please forgive my ignorance. I'm not very trusting of doctors in general and prefer to hear what patients themselves have to say.

Matt

[wildflowerAnn]

Hi Matt,
Welcome to the forum. The light box treatments seem to help lots of people. There seems to be a consensus that good nutrition, adequate sleep and exercise improve our health, and help us deal with P, even if it doesn't reduce the severity. Sorry to hear the psoriasis is really flaring on your legs. Take care.
Ann

[swogoddess]

You might want to check out the alternative board if you are looking for non-prescription ways to treat this disease. There are lots of options and suggestions over there.

[RichJ]

hi matt,
sorry i can't help much but welcome to the p family. you have met some of the wonderful people on here and will find alot of great info. welcome and nice to meet you,

have a good night all

richard

[sergecosta]

Hey Matt

It could be a mixture of things. Getting yourself all worked up about finding THE cause is only going to exacerbate the problem. It certainly won't help. Now that the weather is getting warmer, perhaps you should definitely get some adequate amounts of sun and let the UV rays penetrate (so no sun block) for whatever your skin type tolerates. If you live close to the sea, salt water seems to help some people. It's all worth trying. Just monitor your skin and adjust your regimen accordingly. If your lesions are localized to your legs, you might also want to try a good old fashion tar creme. Tar preparations help slow down cell growth.

Good luck
sergio

[jennmkirby]

Hi Matt! Just wanted to say sorry for what you're going through. As far as the lifestyle/environmental changes, you should definitely come and visit over at the complementary/alternative medicine forum. There are probably 6-8 folk who post regularly over there who have seen significant improvements in their P and/or PA just from changing diet, taking supplements, etc. Unfortunately, it's a bit of a trial and error process to figure out what's going to work to clear up your P. And unfortunately, none of the changes work very quickly (that's what I'm going through right now... trying to figure out why I've eliminated some stuff but my back is still very angry looking. It's only been a month for me though so I'm not giving up.) But do come over there and get some advice... especially if you're leery of trusting doctors, so are a lot of us. Take care!

Jenn

[jennmkirby]

is quitting smoking, if you smoke. (I know, easier said than done.) Smoking is said to be universally bad news for anyone with psoriasis! Not sure about second-hand smoke, if you're a bartender probably no way to avoid that.... although you did say it's a five-star hotel, so maybe it's not so bad there.

[cereal]

Browsing the WEB over the last few hours has left me more frustrated than enlightened on the... disease? disorder?

There seem to be a lot enviromental or lifestyle changes can help "some" people but none of them that work for "most" people. Are there any that work accross the board or for more than just a few people? I'd like to try those first if there are.

Because of my job (I bartend in a five star hotel) I'm usually asleep during most of the day and don't see much sunlight and tend to wear pants when I am out in the sun. Could this be causing my outbreaks or would adjusting my sleep schedual so I can be outside on sunny days help lessen outbreaks?

Thanks for any help anyone can offer and please forgive my ignorance. I'm not very trusting of doctors in general and prefer to hear what patients themselves have to say.

Matt

HI Matt, welcome to the boards, glad you found us, sorry about the p diagnoisis. You asked about if there were treatments across the board? This is hard to answer cause everyone's p is different, it's mostly trial and error on what works best for you. As far as your question about you wearing pants could be causing your out breaks, pants wouldn't be "causing" the P, but if you can try to get some sun you may see an improvement, just be very careful not to sunburn, btdt and p and sunburn is not fun. It's very hard to find a derm that your comfortable with and one that is current on all the treatments for P. Many of us all have a derm horror story. I hope you find some relief soon, hang in there!! Don't be a stranger.

pat

[MikeK]

Hi Matt,

Welcome to the Board! :cool: Nice to meet you. I'm sorry to hear about your diagnosis. Happy Birthday in advance. :)

Getting some sun (as long as your careful not to burn -- as Pat said there is NOTHING worse then a burn on top of psoriasis) is usually a good idea. That being said, there are some people who've reported that they actually get worse during the summer months. Every one is different.

Some people find that going to a tanning salon helps their psoriasis. (Again, everyone is different.)

Other things that help me are to avoid antibacterial and deoderant soaps, because they tend to dry out and irritate my psoriasis. (Here's a link to a previous discussion about psoriasis and soap: http://www.psoriasis.org/forum/showthread.php?t=13629. I also find that it helps to use only "free and clear" laundry products because the dyes and fragrances in detergent and dryer sheets, etc. also tend to irritate my psoriasis. It also helps to -- in the words of my dermatologist -- to "moisturize, moisturize, moisturize". Which moisturzer you use is a matter of trial and error and personal preference. I find that it helps to use only those moisturizers that are labeled "fragrance free", "non-irritating" and/or "for sensitive skin".

There's a chiropractor named John Pagano who wrote a book called "Healing Psoriasis". (To say that his views are kind of controversial around here would be an understatment. You'll find a lot of aruguments -- whoops, I mean heated discussions -- whoops I mean debates about him and his recommendations here.) I haven't read his book (he also wrote a cookbook), but from what I understand, Dr. Pagano suggests that people with psoriasis should avoid fruits and vegetables from the nightshade family. Nightshades include tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, and eggplant. Tabbaco is also a nightshade. I've never noticed the things that I eat or drink having any impact on my psoriasis. Some people have posted here that their psoriasis has improved when they followed Dr. Pagano's recommendations.

Other people say thay they've improved by eliminating dairy, sugar, alcohol and gluten from their diets. The interesting thing about eliminating gluten is that there are several studies which suggest that there is a link between Celiac's disease and psoriasis in some people. People who have Celiac's disease can't eat gluten. Here's a link to a recent discussion on the subject: http://www.psoriasis.org/forum/showthread.php?p=221631&highlight=Celiac%27s+disease#post221631.

I hope this helps.

Good luck. Keep us posted. Let us know if you have any other questions and please don't be a stranger.

Mike