Acitretin Anxiety

[jiml]

Oy...Acitretin anxiety.  How 'bout plan old "every stinkin' psoriasis medication" anxiety?  I worked for 10 years at a place that had the most amazing drug benefit plan.  I got to try (at last count) some 30+ different topical combinations for the psoriasis on my hands and feet.  The psoriasis was so bad at times that I couldn't walk without "swaddling" my feet in bandages and gauze, and then two pair of socks, and then a size shoe two times bigger than what I normally wore.  All so I could walk.  

I can relate to the anxiety of taking a new drug.  Somehow, every single new topical would give me hope, and believe me, I tried them all for anywhere from 30 days to up to 6 months, with most of them only giving a bit of mild relief.  I did not want to take any kind of biologic drug for fear of what the long term effects might be.  But after nine years of painful hands and feet, with my hands always bleeding and having to wear gloves to hide the cuts, my dermatologist prescribed Acitretin.  I have to admit that it did significantly lessen the psoriasis and fairly quickly, at that.  However, I was one of those rare individuals that experienced almost immediate loss of hair, and after six months of it literally falling out, I decided to stop the Acitretin and try Apremilast.  

I have now been on the Apremilast for over six months, and I think I am going to have to call it quits as well.  The peeling, itching, and pain of my feet continues, and some nights I wake up bleeding because I have scratched at them so badly.  I keep my nails cut as short as possible, and even wear gloves to bed to deter the scratching, but I can't remember EVER scratching/itching/clawing at my feet like this before this drug.

I am now considering Stelara, and once again, am back to feeling anxious about whether to go on with yet another biologic (and expensive) drug.  If I didn't want to walk so badly, I might just give up, but I kinda like getting around in this world.

Oh, and my hair loss totally reversed itself, and my hair that I lost has definitely started growing back in!

May we all live to see the day that our symptoms are not just tolerable, but ABSENT!!!

Yes Kersty you have summed it up well telling of your history of topicals, acetretin and now Apremilast. Which is causing you bad itching as well as the psoriasis
I think maybe it is time to switch to the next step like stelara ...

I hope you get some relief soon and it's long lasting .... I think as time goes on that they are getting closer and closer not to a cure, but an effective long term control.