Hi there from Marcus

[MarcusScone]

Hi there,

Been a lurker for sometime now. I’m in my mid twenties and have had psoriasis since I was 12. I’ve gone through the motions with various topicals, with only Enstilar and the protopic ointments being of any use. I only got my hands on these earlier last year, but they’re only help marginally with comfort, but the clearance hasn’t really happened.

Last year I also tried acitretin but this didn’t give much clearance either, so now have been suggested to try Skilarence. The private script I’ve been given however seems to cost around £1300 for a 14 weeks at one of the well known high street pharmacists which is pretty darn steep. 

I was wondering if any other UK users of Skilarence had had any luck with getting it cheaper anywhere else?

Marcus

[Fred]

Hello Marcus   to Psoriasis Club.

Pleased you have decided to join in after lurking. You will find more boards available to you now and I can recommend [Group Specific] if you want to get to know some of our members.

As for you buying Skilarence, can I ask why your are buying it when you live in the UK ? You should be able to get it on the NHS, and to be honest that is the only place you should be getting it from.

Regards.

Fred.

[JohnB]

Hi Marcus and a warm welcome to our club .

I'm afraid I can't help with sourcing cheaper Skilarence. I would have to ask why you need a private prescription for it? Would the NHS not cover it via a Dermatologist?

I too was on Acitretin and did get some good clearance but it was a long slog to see it. I had to give it up not so long a go as it was effecting my Liver.

Don't forget there is an active off topic section where there is nearly always some one lurking in the bar. We are a friendly bunch of fellow sufferers and will try our best to answer any questions where we can.

JohnB

[Kat]

Welcome Marcus!

Sorry I have no advice to offer since I'm in the US. Glad you decided to de-lurk (or would that be un-lurk? )

[Imapsomom]

Hi Marcus! Welcome!

[Caroline]

Hi Marcus,

Welcome to psoriasisclub.

I am one of the so-called DMF-gang... so I understand that you are going to use Skilarence. But like the others I don’t understand why you do want to pay for that yourself .

What you in that case, paying for it yourself, can do is order Psorinovo from the Netherlands. Twice as cheap and better because of the slow release.

Cheers and enjoy on psoriasisclub.
Caroline

[jiml]

H Marcus and welcome I'm glad you have come on board and what has already been said is true in the U.K. there is no need to pay more than a standard prescription charge for skilarence

I'm on Fumaderm ( same basic drug) on the NHS and have been offered to swap to skilarence if I want to as the form I am on isn't licences in the uk but is available through dermatologist
I would suggest you see an NHS Dermatologist and ask to have skilarence and there shouldn't be a problem as I think it's roughly the same price as acetretin to the NHS

If you do get it, then it  is a great drug and it has kept me clear for going on 7 years now ..so if you want tips on using it just shout

You shouldn't have to go to holland for psorinovo although that's an option you might find it hard to be monitored here if you're taking it

[MarcusScone]

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

[Fred]

Strange GP you have there, but I'm not so in touch with the UK these days so maybe that is the way things are done today.

It could be worth you starting another thread asking your question in Prescribed Treatments For Psoriasis to see if anyone else has a suggestion, but we don't allow the promotion of websites, chemists, clinics or dermatologists so answers would have to be via PM if there was a cheaper option.

Caroline and Jim have given you the only options I can think of unless you want to go Bill's way. Bill's pure dimethylfumarate thread

Good luck.

[Caroline]

Yes, Bill’s way beats everything.  

For me it makes sense that you want to prevent MTX and cyclosporine.
Light therapy only works until you reach your limit of UV radiation. After that you will always have to be careful in the sun and your risk on skin cancer has seriously increased.