sumx4182
07-31-2006, 12:11 AM
Hey all. My name is Chris, I'm a 20 year old college student from the University of Akron. I was diagnosed with psoriasis shortly after birth. I was covered over 80% of my body. I'm actually in a medical book at a Pittsburgh hospital because my case is documented as being one of the worst cases of infantile psoriasis that the hospital has seen. Anyways, I'm lucky now that my psoriasis has increasingly decreased as I've aged. When I was around 7 or 8, my psoriasis was limited to under my arms, my scalp, elbows, and where my leg meets my groin. As I've gotten older, my psoriasis has changed to being on my scalp and on my face (around my nose, in my sideburn area, and a small patch above my right eyebrow). Far and away, the psoriasis on my scalp is the worst. I itch all day. It's hard to wear dark clothing...well, you all know the drill. In my lifetime, we've spent a ROUGH estimate of over 10,000 dollars on prescriptions, skin doctors, over the counter treatments, shampoos...the whole nine. We don't have a real dollar amount, be we know it's over 10g's considering I saw a skin doctor bi-weekly for more than 5 years.
Recently, I've all but given up on prescription drugs, psoriasis/dandruff shampoos and creames. I've grown to accept my psoriasis as an inevitability rather than something that I can change. Maybe this isn't the best thing to do, but I guess I'm tired of blowing money on crap that doesn't work. I've started taking fish oil supplements, partly because of their rumored psoriasis effectiveness and partially for the heart benefits (bad family history). I've noticed that my spots on my face seem to be thinner, less built up than normal. If I stop taking them for a few days, they get thick and dry again. None-the-less, they haven't completely gone away and the scalp remains as strong as ever...
Luckily, I've found a the perfect girl who helps me with all of my psoriasis problems. She's the first person who never really criticized me or had anything negative to say. Hell, I, like many people here probably, was always teased as being "dirty" and stuff like that because people thought I had dandruff. But she's extremely supportive and I'm lucky to have her in my life. We're engaged to be married in a few years and she never hesitates to put some cremes on my scalp or wash and massage my hair. I consider myself truly lucky to have found someone so understanding.
But on to my questions! My mom (a nurse), and about 5 other people, have kept telling me about the Listerine treatment for psoriasis, and I'm considering trying it to see if it works. I figure it's a cheap thing to do. But I don't hold out much hope for improvement. Has anyone had ANY benefit from this? I hate getting my hopes up over and over again just to be let down! lol.
Also, does anyone know if there is any credible active research going on for a cure to this condition? I mean, I know we're not up on the list with cancer and AIDS, but it would be nice to know there might be a chance of a cure in my lifetime. I, like many people, would be SO happy to experience just one day without an itch, a funny look when there's red marks on my face, or having to dust flakes of my suit jacket. In fact, if I had only one wish, you could all guess what it would be. I guess I'm just curious as to new research going on because since I've not known a single day without it, I'm hoping that one day in the future, there might be that day that I've prayed for from time to time.
Sorry for being so long winded. This is my first psoriasis board. I've told my story to many people. And I never hesitate explaining my condition to curious people, as long as they are taking the time to know what's wrong with me, rather than making fun of it. I've even given a college speech about my condition to educate people in my class. I hope others do the same, and maybe, if my kids have the unfortunate task of dealing with this condition, the world might be a little more knowledgeable about it and they won't have to go through what many of us have gone through. Thanks for reading. Feel free to answer my questions or just provide a general reply. I look forward to hearing from you all and though I'd love to be around here for awhile, I'm hoping that at some point, we'll have no need for a forum like this!
Chris Campbell, aKa Sumx4182
Recently, I've all but given up on prescription drugs, psoriasis/dandruff shampoos and creames. I've grown to accept my psoriasis as an inevitability rather than something that I can change. Maybe this isn't the best thing to do, but I guess I'm tired of blowing money on crap that doesn't work. I've started taking fish oil supplements, partly because of their rumored psoriasis effectiveness and partially for the heart benefits (bad family history). I've noticed that my spots on my face seem to be thinner, less built up than normal. If I stop taking them for a few days, they get thick and dry again. None-the-less, they haven't completely gone away and the scalp remains as strong as ever...
Luckily, I've found a the perfect girl who helps me with all of my psoriasis problems. She's the first person who never really criticized me or had anything negative to say. Hell, I, like many people here probably, was always teased as being "dirty" and stuff like that because people thought I had dandruff. But she's extremely supportive and I'm lucky to have her in my life. We're engaged to be married in a few years and she never hesitates to put some cremes on my scalp or wash and massage my hair. I consider myself truly lucky to have found someone so understanding.
But on to my questions! My mom (a nurse), and about 5 other people, have kept telling me about the Listerine treatment for psoriasis, and I'm considering trying it to see if it works. I figure it's a cheap thing to do. But I don't hold out much hope for improvement. Has anyone had ANY benefit from this? I hate getting my hopes up over and over again just to be let down! lol.
Also, does anyone know if there is any credible active research going on for a cure to this condition? I mean, I know we're not up on the list with cancer and AIDS, but it would be nice to know there might be a chance of a cure in my lifetime. I, like many people, would be SO happy to experience just one day without an itch, a funny look when there's red marks on my face, or having to dust flakes of my suit jacket. In fact, if I had only one wish, you could all guess what it would be. I guess I'm just curious as to new research going on because since I've not known a single day without it, I'm hoping that one day in the future, there might be that day that I've prayed for from time to time.
Sorry for being so long winded. This is my first psoriasis board. I've told my story to many people. And I never hesitate explaining my condition to curious people, as long as they are taking the time to know what's wrong with me, rather than making fun of it. I've even given a college speech about my condition to educate people in my class. I hope others do the same, and maybe, if my kids have the unfortunate task of dealing with this condition, the world might be a little more knowledgeable about it and they won't have to go through what many of us have gone through. Thanks for reading. Feel free to answer my questions or just provide a general reply. I look forward to hearing from you all and though I'd love to be around here for awhile, I'm hoping that at some point, we'll have no need for a forum like this!
Chris Campbell, aKa Sumx4182