Kaminari's treatment 2017

[kaminari]

So I have just joined the forum and I'm starting this tread with updates on my current treatment in the hope that it can assist someone else in the future. 

Brief intro and background: I'm 34 and I have had moderate guttate p since '97. Arms, legs, belly, back, scalp, nails, buttocks, basically everywhere but never on palms nor feet. My p is very active and I have never been fully clear since the first episode in '97, with the spots that are always present in all parts of the body and quickly enlarge in a few days and regularly develop into larger patches. They can go completely away in a few weeks with or without local medication but at the same time there are always new spots appearing somewhere else. Having said that, summer helps me a lot and usually a few days of sunbathing and seas bring the p down to a level where I'm not clear completely but I feel comfortable going back in the office. I would say sufficiently clear. Doctors always told me I'm "moderate" even though I recall 3-4 moments where I was severely covered in red patches, particularly in the face and legs. 

(One thing that has always surprised me is the symmetrical aspect of the p. There's a large patch under the right armpit? I knew that in a couple days there would be a large patch under the left one, very similar in shape). 

First of all, I had many many many local medications in the past but I took systemic medication only once in 1997, it was methotrexate. After that, it has been betamethasone and calcipotriol most of the time, UV, and that's basically it. I have never done thermal treatments either, even though it seems they are very popular here in northern Italy and you can do up to 12 treatments for free if prescribed by the doctor. I don't know why they haven't let me do that yet but oh well. 

Now I'm experiencing diffuse p over the entire body after a long period of stress and my dermatologist has prescribed:

- Dovobet    (which I started on February 6)
- Neotigason (10mg once a day  - which I started on February 13th so it will be 3 days today)

This is the first time I am taking these. I had never heard them before but I admit I've never looked around for new drugs. 

Dovobet so far (10 days) has been really great. I noticed an initial worsening but now the larger patches are almost gone. The small spots are a bit of an issue because there's too many and its difficult to put a small drop of product exactly on the spot and keep it there.

Neotigason, it's still too early to comment on it and I have been told I need to wait at least 4 weeks which seems to be confirmed by other users here. I'm a bit worred about the side effects and I really hope this drowsiness I'm feeling today is not due to the medication: my eyes are all fuzzy. We'll see tomorrow.

[Fred]

Good luck with your treatment and well done on sharing your journey.

Interesting you mention symmetrical. We have asked that question in Psoriasis Club Polls and 72% say symmetrical.
How symmetrical is your psoriasis?

Dovobet can work well, but make sure you know the rules. Dovobet And Dovonex (What's the difference ?)

[kaminari]

Thanks, I didn't notice the poll. I have submitted my vote now, mostly symmetrical. The largest patches I have now and have had in the past were all almost perfectly symmetrical.

[Fred]

Thanks, I didn't notice the poll. I have submitted my vote now, mostly symmetrical. The largest patches I have now and have had in the past were all almost perfectly symmetrical.

Don't worry we can always point you to relevant threads, so don't hesitate to ask. We're approaching 100,000 posts so we don't expect everyone to read them all.

[jiml]

Great reading your journey so far I will follow with great interest  
As fred said if you have any questions or are looking for anything specific just shout someone will rush to help
Or you can use the search facility Search. to point you at posts, just put the word or treatment you want (put in Acetretin for Neotigason )

[Kat]

Or even better put in Acitretin (with an "i" after the c) otherwise, Jim's directions for finding those posts is great!

Thanks for sharing your info as it does help others. Hopefully your drowsiness and fuzzy eyes will clear soon.

[jiml]

Or even better put in Acitretin  (with an "i" after the c)  otherwise, Jim's directions for finding those posts is great!  

Thanks for sharing your info as it does help others.  Hopefully your drowsiness and fuzzy eyes will clear soon.

thanks Kat spelling is not my strong point

[kaminari]

Dovobet can work well, but make sure you know the rules. Dovobet And Dovonex (What's the difference ?)

Yeah, I know Dovonex pretty well. It's called Daivonex here, used it quite a bit mostly because it was free (fully paid for by the Italian NHS) but unfortunately I remember some horrible results. Dovobet so far is much better.

[kaminari]

One thing I might add is the cost of this treatment, which thankfully is very low:

- Dovobet: fully paid by the NHS, you need to have a medical prescription and it's one bottle per prescription. I can estimate one bottle will last for 15-20 days. 

- Neotigason: partially paid by the NHS, I have a co-pay of approx. € 6.90 for one box of 30 pills, 1 pill is 10mg and my treatment is 1 pill a day currently. 

I have just learnt that a generic version is available, called Zorias. Zorias is fully paid by the NHS so I might switch to that for the next box.

[jiml]

Thank you for that information it's interesting to hear how your health service operates in Italy and good to see that you can get prescription drugs free as well
I think if you can get a generic version of acitretin prescribed free.its a sensible way to go as this is likely to be a long term treatment