It's spreading

[barbaraboelk]

Well, I thought with my creams and solution for my head that my p was getting better, but now it appears to be spreading and I'm getting really teed off at this stupid disease. I know I haven't had this as long as many of you have, but it's really ANNOYING! I just want a little respite. I want to make love to my dh again and I don't because I'm so self-conscious. I want my head to stop itching. Last night was the worst night for me so far. I think potatoes must be one of my triggers because we had tater tots with dinner and afterwards (about an hour later) was was itching and scratching to beat hell. I soaked in a tub and slathered a bunch of cream on. Then I took Benadryl and finally it stopped and I was able to sleep. It's spread over my back and the plaques on my legs aren't getting any better. I've even tried the lavendar Suave naturals conditioner tip I saw on here. I have a derm appointment the Monday after Thanksgiving and I'm going to talk to him about light therapy. I'm also scrapping up the money to get the name brand meds like Dovonex (sp?) because maybe something a little more aggressive will help.

I'm just having a mope on me day. Here's what my leg looks like. (That's my cat crawling under me.) The legs are the worst, but I can see that my back is not far behind.

[Resist]

I'd really push for UVB Narrow Band. It has done wonders for me.

[Jillian1507]

This condition is so hard to predict....some days are great (well, as great as they are going to get!), while others just stink. But it makes us all stronger for being able to cope with it. Wishing you luck for your next derm appointment, hopefully you'll find something that works. I'd even say stay away from those potatoes too.....keep us posted!

Wishing you a itch free night!

[mom2IS]

It looks like you have some guttate psoriasis as well as plaque, your legs look like mine. If you can get your insurance to cover some of the other meds or light therapy it might really help. I just completed my third week of UVB, the prescription creams haven'tw orked in a while. The other thing that worked well for me was Masada Dead Sea salts I bought on Amazon.com. Different things work for different people though. I found some of the sea salts in a natural pharmacy place but they were scented and did NOT work.

Good luck!

[Danceswithcats]

That looks very much like what I have on my legs, too, except my knees are more raised spots, like the elbows and scalp. But back to the legs, I KNOW how painful that can be. I'm using the Dovonex right now and it does give some relief, and doesn't seem to be spreading in new spots as much as it was. I hope you get prescribed something that really helps.

DANCER

[twinieten]

Have you asked the dermatologist for samples? At my derm (my son goes to a different one) I didn't have to buy a couple of the ointments and creams she prescribed right away. She'd send me home with a prescription in one hand and a baggie full of samples the other. Probably, you're right. Something stronger would help. Have you tried just plain ol' OTC hydrocorizone cream until you can get something stronger?

[jbrickman]

you are right about potatoes - they are on the inflammatory black list. fried foods like tater tots are on the black list as well. you should check out some of the posts about anti-inflammatory diet for a full read out of what you should be steering clear of.

if you just got psoriasis - you probably have a while to wait until you discover the extent of your case. also, there is no quick fix for psoriasis (some people have found radical super treatments that curb the symptoms in 10 days, but that is a rare and expensive case).

i second the UVB(NB) suggestion, i have been using the treatment with fantastic results.

i'm sorry that you're having psoriasis flare up. they are no fun.

best wishes for clear skin,
jbrickman

[partial]

Nice legs!

Don't worry about the psoriasis, you are still you.

I also am waiting and waiting for the UVB derm stuff and went the tanning salon route until I can get in. It has helped some and gives me some encouragement.

[dbhill]

We're living parallel lives. I started my first gp outbreak for 4 weeks and three days ago (but who's counting :-) When my "dots", as my daughter likes to call them, first appeared I felt so lucky that it wasn't as bad as some of the pictures I saw on-line. Then the spots started to increase in number, get redder, and get larger. Ugh! My husband tells me that it doesn't bother him, but I'm not feeling too sexy right now.

I have my first appointment with a dermologist the Wednesday after Thanksgiving.

I too went to a tanning salon today. If nothing else, I'm hoping that they might blend in a little better.

Hope you're feeling better today.

Daria

[Kimbercat]

Hi and welcome, Barbara. :)

I don't believe we've met. You've gotten some good information, and I hope you can get some relief soon. One thing that I didn't see anyone else mention is that guttate (which yours certainly appears to be) is often triggered by a strep infection, even if you have no symptoms of strep. I would suggest that when you get in to see your doctor, you discuss this with him or her, and request a strep culture. You will need to get the more involved strep test, and not the quick test that can be read very quickly. The form that causes problems for some of us often doesn't show up on the quick test. Good luck, and I hope you can enjoy your Thanksgiving despite your current flare, and that you can get it under control very soon.

[barbaraboelk]

Thanks to everyone who wrote. I was just having a really bad day and your words of encouragement have helped get me out of the dumps. Thanks!

I did have strep, actually.

My story (briefly):
What happened was I had a small scaly patch on the front of my right leg (which you can see now is quite large). I just let it go because I figured it was just some dry skin or a scratch or something that would go away on its own. That was in July.
When I took my son to the doctor for his 15-month check up in September, I asked the doc about it and she said she thought it was some eczema; which would make sense because I had bouts of eczema from childhood up through college. So I treated at home per her instructions.
Not only did the lesion not go away, it got bigger. So I made an appointment especially for me and showed her the larger spot and the three subsequent spots that had appeared on me. (About two weeks prior, I woke up feeling terrible and just knew I had strep, which I got religiously when I was younger. Had the 24-hour culture done and yup, positive.). She said it looked like psoriasis and referred me to a derm.
I finished my penicillin and about two days after that (also two days after the doc check-up) all the guttate came out.
(I'm hoping this makes sense. Everything sorta overlapped.)
So the next day I had my first derm appointment and by that time, the plaques had grown AND I was covered with guttate and scalp.
What a mess.
THEN, my mom tells me that I've had problems with dry skin since I was a baby. Of course, all this took hiatus when I was in high school (thank God) and I just thought I'd never had "problem skin." She tells me my feet, hands and backs of knees would get dry and scaly and so hard to keep moisturized! I'm thinking: "Mom, I've probably had this in my childhood and noone knew!"

So in the past several weeks, I've had a lot thrown at me. Needless to say, my stress level hasn't reduced much, but since my dh is home from training, and he stays at home with ds, it should get better.

I am going to the tanning bed today. If anything it might boost my confidence a little more until Monday when I will have light therapy as #1 on my list of questions.

I also am starting an elimination diet for myself. Since discovering potatoes are a trigger for me (oh, SO sad about that), I figure I might want to find out what other foods might trigger me. At the very least, I'm looking forward to losing my last few baby pounds!

I am so appreciative to all of you for your kind words. We should start a "newbie" thread here for all of us that are taking up the "veteran's" time with our frustrations :)

I hope all of you have a wonderful Thanksgiving and we'll chat again really soon!

[evergreen]

To all you beautiful and wonderful ladies out there, make love to your husband's, they will appreciate it!!! ;~) Their love for you is more than skin deep...

barbaraboelk, the tanning bed may help...stress can trigger flares too, so try to relax and just take every step to fight this thing that you can.

Take care and try to be thankful for something this week!

[ct69646]

poor thing =O(.... good luck with it. i haaaaate spreading!