My Journey to halt/end my psoriasis

[KatT]

I used to put shea butter....but I gave up .....I am not a person that uses creams, moisturizers, etc  I have full jars of various creams that I keep forgetting to put.  But shea butter worked relatively well for me as far as reducing the flaking and itching.

Benadryl before going to bed if it's a particularly itchy day helped.... I could deal with it during the day but not at night!!!

[Kat]

Taclonex (aka Enstilar) is the only thing I have found that helps me with the itch as I am currently not on any other medication for my psoriasis. Sadly it's a cortisone cream so not something to be used regularly over time. And of course being a topical, it only lasts for a little while but it has given me relief on bad days and nights. I have the cream right now but I prefer the oil as most of my issues are scalp related and the oil penetrates the hair and gets to the skin area better.

[Sheila]

I just wish it would help with the freaking itching!!!

Could try an Antihistamine

Or for a quick relieve of a small part a pack of frozen peas.

Thanks for the advice! 

[Sheila]

Taclonex (aka Enstilar) is the only thing I have found that helps me with the itch as I am currently not on any other medication for my psoriasis.  Sadly it's a cortisone cream so not something to be used regularly over time.  And of course being a topical, it only lasts for a little while but it has given me relief on bad days and nights.  I have the cream right now but I prefer the oil as most of my issues are scalp related and the oil penetrates the hair and gets to the skin area better.

After my experience using Dovobet, I am not keen on using anything that is steroid related. I don't like the side effects and knowing what I know now, I am going to avoid them as much as possible. Thanks for the helper though. That was kind of you.

[Sheila]

Scratch and pick. Scratch and bleed. Stop the bleeding. Put on cream. Put on ice on itchiness areas. Repeat. I AM GOING FREAKIN NUTS!  I wonder if it is me being psychosomatic in some way. 

I know that this is my journey, but I intend to make it not just about the medication and progress but my emotional journey. If I am overstepping my boundaries here, plz have an admin let me knowI will stop.

Cheers

Wintrman

[Caroline]

Scratch and pick. Scratch and bleed. Stop the bleeding. Put on cream. Put on ice on itchiness areas. Repeat. I AM GOING FREAKIN NUTS!  I wonder if it is me being psychosomatic in some way. 

I know that this is my journey, but I intend to make it not just about the medication and progress but my emotional journey. If I am overstepping my boundaries here, plz have an admin let me knowI will stop.

Cheers

Wintrman

Hi Wintrman,

The itching is terrible, I know partly by experience, and maybe indeed your mind is doing something to yourself. That is a good suggestion. Maybe it could make sense to have some psycho training on how to cope with it. I don’t really know if that exists, but who knows. It makes sense to research that. It is called Psychodermatology.
In an interview on a Dutch site the psychologist says: "The psychologist checks what is going on. Does the patient have feelings of depression, anxiety, stigma or difficulty accepting the condition? Or does someone have a lot of trouble dealing with itching? For example, anyone who thinks' this itching is driving me completely crazy and it will never end 'can learn to deal with it more relaxed by thinking' I now have itching, but that could be different in an hour and I will have some ointment lubricate or deal with it in another way. '"
Perhaps you can find something like that in your environment.

A friend of mine, former military, sometimes says: Pain is an emotion and emotions are suppressable.
Of course that is a joke, but there may be a bit of common sense underlying to that.

If you are overstepping your boundaries, we will stop you..    But for now we understand your psychological stress and need to throw it off you.
I know you don’t like it, but you could, just for a short bit of relief, try some Enstilar foam, it seems to be very good, and because of the foam you need less. And over here I also hear good words about Sorion cream, do you know that?

Cheers,
Caroline

[Kat]

Taclonex (aka Enstilar) is the only thing I have found that helps me with the itch as I am currently not on any other medication for my psoriasis.  Sadly it's a cortisone cream so not something to be used regularly over time.  And of course being a topical, it only lasts for a little while but it has given me relief on bad days and nights.  I have the cream right now but I prefer the oil as most of my issues are scalp related and the oil penetrates the hair and gets to the skin area better.

After my experience using Dovobet, I am not keen on using anything that is steroid related. I don't like the side effects and knowing what I know now, I am going to avoid them as much as possible. Thanks for the helper though. That was kind of you.

I totally understand. I rarely use the Taclonex as even though I have not had any side effects I don't want to overuse cortisone.

I do hope you get some relief! The good part about being here on the forum is that you're with a group of people that understands the frustration of having psoriasis.

[Sheila]

Scratch and pick. Scratch and bleed. Stop the bleeding. Put on cream. Put on ice on itchiness areas. Repeat. I AM GOING FREAKIN NUTS!  I wonder if it is me being psychosomatic in some way. 

I know that this is my journey, but I intend to make it not just about the medication and progress but my emotional journey. If I am overstepping my boundaries here, plz have an admin let me knowI will stop.

Cheers

Wintrman

Hi Wintrman,

The itching is terrible, I know partly by experience, and maybe indeed your mind is doing something to yourself. That is a good suggestion. Maybe it could make sense to have some psycho training on how to cope with it. I don’t really know if that exists, but who knows. It makes sense to research that. It is called Psychodermatology.
In an interview on a Dutch site the psychologist says: "The psychologist checks what is going on. Does the patient have feelings of depression, anxiety, stigma or difficulty accepting the condition? Or does someone have a lot of trouble dealing with itching? For example, anyone who thinks' this itching is driving me completely crazy and it will never end 'can learn to deal with it more relaxed by thinking' I now have itching, but that could be different in an hour and I will have some ointment lubricate or deal with it in another way. '"
Perhaps you can find something like that in your environment.

A friend of mine, former military, sometimes says: Pain is an emotion and emotions are suppressable.
Of course that is a joke, but there may be a bit of common sense underlying to that.

If you are overstepping your boundaries, we will stop you..    But for now we understand your psychological stress and need to throw it off you.
I know you don’t like it, but you could, just for a short bit of relief, try some Enstilar foam, it seems to be very good, and because of the foam you need less. And over here I also hear good words about Sorion cream, do you know that?

Cheers,
Caroline

I will talk to my pharmacist about both those things.  See what hee has to say about it. It might be my saving grace. This itching is most distracting. And when I scratch... OMG the scales I leave behind. Yesterday I was having a meeting with my boss. His chairs in his office were black so when I sat there, I left behind a massive amount of dead skin and I wasn't even scratching. I had leaned forward over his desk and when I sat back I had left behind a pile of dead skin. I quickly swept it off his desk., much to my embarrassment. I could feel the heat rise in my face. Being that I am bald, I must have looked like a tomato with ears.

Anyways. Ttyl.
Wintrman

[Fred]

First off no one here will ever complain about our members "overstepping boundaries" we are all here to offer support and the only time anyone will be overstepping is to post spam or scam, but they will soon be booted out the door.

We are after all a support group, we know how you feel. Some of us enjoy helping others, some like to rant away and get things off their chest, some like to lurk in the background just reading but all genuine people are welcome. So if it's helping you, then you carry on.

I would say most of us have felt we are going nuts with psoriasis, it is a life changer and can effect us all in different ways. The trick is to first learn to live with it and accept it's now there for life, the second is to go on a journey to try and control it. Both are not easy to do, but it can be done.

I have read your posts and fully understand your reluctance to using another steroid, but I have to agree with what has been said and try some Enstilar for now to help get it down till you find out what treatment you will be using.

Psoriasis is a very emotional journey, so rant on if it helps.

[Sheila]

Y'all are truly amazing. I feel like I am a caveman coming into the 21st century. I have learned soooo much in the last month about psoriasis than I ever thought possible. Sadly I will have to relearn alot of it again as my retention is pretty piss poor. 

As for Enstilar, is it available in Canada? OTC or prescribed? Thoughts???