Hi there from Marcus

[JohnB]

Hi all,

Thanks for the warm welcome and advice - as for the private prescription, it’s because the GP was very resistant to referring me to an NHS dermatologist - this was despite having a moderate body covering and a near 100% scalp covering - so I took it through the private route due to some insurance I have from work. The problem here is that it does not cover prescriptions at all.

My dermatologist has told me that going through the nhs is an option, although it would be unlikely that I would be assigned to him due to the size of the practice at the hospital he works at (quite a lot of dermatologists). He also mentioned that before Skilarence would be prescribed that I would need to go through light therapy (which hasn’t worked very effectively in the past, and I also couldn’t be now commit to with my job which requires regular travel), followed by methotrexate and cyclosporine, Botha of which I wasn’t keen to avoid which was why i tried acitretin.

Marcus

That's a shame that they will make you go through all the hoops to get an effective drug
. But I don't know another way to get effective treatment ...I would refuse uv treatment and explain that it doesn't work and you fear skin cancer ....go on Methotrexate  and after a week or two tell them you are constantly nauseous although it might be working by then ... and tell them you are worried about the side effects of other drugs but would happily go on skilarence which is cheaper than biological drugs  

Do remember if you are able to get psorinovo without a prescription you may be breaking the law importing it and if you take it and there are complications the NHS might not be happy treating you

I can understand the concern on the second, but surely if the NHS is happy treating hard drug abuse, they’re not going to turn somebody away for having used a differently branded version of a similar medication?

Hi Marcus
I beleive the only way you will get a blood test done is through a Doctor of some description. I can understand you wanting to keep your Dermy, finding a good one can be a trial and yes you will have to jump through the NHS hoops until you get to something that works. I can understand your reluctance to try Methotrexate, I am due to start imminently. It wasn't my first choice of medication, but it has helped quite a few people Dave on this Forum had quite a few years on it. UV will only ever be a stop gap. If you have already tried it or you don't get any relief in normal sunshine then it's not for you and would be able to present a good argument against it.
As for importing medicines, there are a lot of dodgy suppliers out there - tread with caution.
JohnB