1WeekAtATime
09-09-2007, 08:07 PM
Hey fellow P's and PA's. I'm fairly new here, but have really learned a lot so far about P and PA thanks to the message boards.
I'm a 21 year old P and PA sufferer who has been diagnosed with P caused by the drug Lithium. Certain drugs do in fact bring on P, but they are also sometimes drugs which cannot be stopped or which do not have an easy sustitute.
Seeing by sister, who is also bipolar, struggle with the other mood stabilizers on the market today, I have continued taking Lithium because it works for me, decreases the chances of having manic episodes long term, and nips suicidal tendencies in the bud. I've been on 900 mg daily for 8 years now, have had growing P symptoms for 8 years, and have just been diagnosed with PA, too. There's a slim chance that my P/PA and also my hypothyroidism could be from anything else, but like I said, Lithium works for me.
Last night, after doing an Ask.com search for "Lithium and Psoriasis", I kept finding this lab test that was done in 2004. It proved that the reason that Lithium-takers get psoriasis is because of an Inositol deficiency because a group of 13 of 15 lithium/P patients reacted well to 6g of Inositol supplements a day, while it didn't do anything at all for P patients who didn't take lithium.
Personally, I'm a little skiddish about taking methotrexate, and would gladly give this a shot. They sell Inositol (which I think is vitamin B8?) at Whole Foods and The Vitamin Shoppe, and online at other retailers. I just picked up a bottle of Inositol crystals at Whole Foods, and am giving it a try. It probably won't reverse the PA, but maybe it'll help slow the P plaque buildup. I'll keep you updated.
Summary: TRY INOSITOL if you take lithium.
P.S. I think I got the numbers right, but feel free to do an Ask.com search for "Lithium and psoriasis Inositol" to double-check. There's tons of sites supporting this, from a very scientific standpoint!
I'm a 21 year old P and PA sufferer who has been diagnosed with P caused by the drug Lithium. Certain drugs do in fact bring on P, but they are also sometimes drugs which cannot be stopped or which do not have an easy sustitute.
Seeing by sister, who is also bipolar, struggle with the other mood stabilizers on the market today, I have continued taking Lithium because it works for me, decreases the chances of having manic episodes long term, and nips suicidal tendencies in the bud. I've been on 900 mg daily for 8 years now, have had growing P symptoms for 8 years, and have just been diagnosed with PA, too. There's a slim chance that my P/PA and also my hypothyroidism could be from anything else, but like I said, Lithium works for me.
Last night, after doing an Ask.com search for "Lithium and Psoriasis", I kept finding this lab test that was done in 2004. It proved that the reason that Lithium-takers get psoriasis is because of an Inositol deficiency because a group of 13 of 15 lithium/P patients reacted well to 6g of Inositol supplements a day, while it didn't do anything at all for P patients who didn't take lithium.
Personally, I'm a little skiddish about taking methotrexate, and would gladly give this a shot. They sell Inositol (which I think is vitamin B8?) at Whole Foods and The Vitamin Shoppe, and online at other retailers. I just picked up a bottle of Inositol crystals at Whole Foods, and am giving it a try. It probably won't reverse the PA, but maybe it'll help slow the P plaque buildup. I'll keep you updated.
Summary: TRY INOSITOL if you take lithium.
P.S. I think I got the numbers right, but feel free to do an Ask.com search for "Lithium and psoriasis Inositol" to double-check. There's tons of sites supporting this, from a very scientific standpoint!