This forum active? My introduction LONG

[Caroline]

Thank you all for the replies, Turnedlight, Kat, Raxyl, Caroline, jiml, Fred, I very much appreciate it!

What do you all do to control psoriasis? I'll do more reading on the forum here but just curious, do most people use and have success with biologics? Ive just always been against big medicine and very skeptical but im starting to feel more like seriously considering it. I don't want to give up on a natural solution but its gotten difficult, im already very strict and disciplined and have been for years now. Im not sure I want to start trying really obscure diets, cleanses and treatments honestly.

Don't know other people with psoriasis, it was always pretty mild until it got severe and it just makes me wonder what its like for others who suffer. How psoriasis progressed or regressed for them and just generally their experiences.

There are times when I feel like I understand psoriasis but mostly I dont, lol. Its just a strange thing. Is it mostly genetic in terms of how it manifests and the severity? How much of an influence is environment, diet, exposure to chemicals/irritants/other factors.

I know I always had sensitive skin. Ive had what I now know was psoriasis, at many times growing up but it cleared up with cream or vaseline or change of season. Thinking back it started as it has become now, after i had pneumonia and went through 2 or 3 weeks of antibiotics when I was 18. Shortly after then is when I noticed it on my elbows. Makes me wonder if its a gut thing like you see many naturpath people claim. Or if its a genetic thing and gut and immune issues at one point triggered it.

Over here we all use different medication, some biologics, some pills, some light (very few), some creams, some alcohol (), some natural, some no treatment at all, some humour.
It really is a search what is working for you, at this moment it is not possible to define what will work for you. The project Next Generation Immuno Dermatology is going to try to make this possible, but it is a long running project.

They have found genetic elements that may make it a family-inheritance and will make you more vulnerable, but over here in this forum, we overall think that literally everyone can get it.
Triggers for getting it are widely known, things like stress are very important, trauma, streptococcus and staphylococcus, are the among the most serious.
Also smoking, alcohol, environment, BMI, etc. Are seen to have an influence.

Psoriasis of course is no skin-disease the problem is much deeper in our bodies, but exactly where….?? Well no dermatologist can tell you that.
So… most of the known medications are all suppressors of the problem. We know that the problem is in our immunesystem, so suppressing certain parts of the immunesystem (what biologics do) does work. But why the immunesystem reacts, that is not clear.
It is not an auto-immune disease as it lacks the definition of an autoimmune disease, which are antibodies… Psoriasis has no anti-bodies.

It does have comorbidities…. That is that you can get other problems, that you are more vulnarable for e.g. Crohns, or heart problems, or… well to many to want to know. Except for Psoriatic Arthritis, where you should be very alert for.
Why? Well they think that the permanent inflammation activity in our bodies can cause that.

I very much doubt that the problem is in the gut. I have never heard a dermatologist talk about a leaky gut or so, things that are popular in alternative medicine.
That the Microbiome can play a role, that is very much possible, as e.g. Alan, with his total change of diet, and more like him, do reach success.

Myself I think the problem is deep in the centre of our cells. In our cells all kinds of chemical reactions are executed and if such a reaction has a problem, it can cause waste of that faulty reaction to kick off the immune system and so cause our problems. This hypothesis has already been described, but has not yet been investigated.

Myself I am one of the DMF-gang  , as Fred always tends to say. There is enough written about it here on the board if you would do a search. It is rather common in Europe, but probably not available at your side.

As Fred says, any questions, just pose them


Caroline