My Journey to halt/end my psoriasis

[Sheila]

So a couple things....first,  derm says estrogen shouldn't affect my psoriasis.

Second...derm is going straight from MTX to skyrizzi. So in a month I will get my first injection. I am so looking forward to this!

Lastly...if the arthritis that I have has anything to do with PsA, skyrizzi will have an effect on it. My old GP said it was rheumatoid arthritis. So we shall see!

Well …. If you have psoriasis and you get arthritis, then the most logical it is that it will be Psoriatic Arthritis, as this is a common comorbidity of psoriasis, about 30% of us get it.
Did the GP measure the rheum antibodies in your blood? That is the way to be sure that it is rheumatic arthritis or not.
If you have Psoriatic Arthritis then there are no antibodies of course. But I bet that your GP did not measure that, and thus probably made a common mistake calling it rheumatic arthritis.

Did the MTX help against your arthritis ?
If not it is even more likely that it is Psoriatic Arthritis, as MTX doesnt help against that, there is a reference to an article about that in a post called Methotrexate no better than Placebo for Psoriatic Arhtritis.

Good chance that Skyrizi will do the perfect job for you. That would be great!! Good luck in advance.

Thanks Caroline! I appreciate the support and yes, I do hope Skyrizi is the answer to my issues. I was pleasantly surprised that the Derm went straight into biologics as I was fully expecting to have to sample other tablets. I would take 100 needles at a time if it meant that psoriasis would disappear. I will make sure my GP (who is my new GP) tests for the rheumatoid antibodies. I need to make sure on this one as you pointed out. My new GP shakes her head at me when it comes to meds and solutions my previous GP had subjected me to. She has helped me resolve some of the minor issues, health wise, and still managed to have go off an additional 2 meds. Seriously, I am still a walking pharmacy, but less so now. Since my "cure" for PTSD, I am off of 7 meds. I still take, estrogen, t-blocker, gabapentin for arthritis pain, duloxetine for nerve pain, furosemide for edema in my right leg, Ozempic, metformin for diabetes, coversyl for high blood pressure, which is likely going to be done away with shortly, Quetiapine for sleep and as a PRN and Turmeric/B12/calcium as supplements for various reasons. Although now that I am coming off of MTX, I will be able to do away with  the B12 as MTX was causing my B12 to bottom out.

 Thanks once again for sharing and caring!

[Sheila]

Well, Methyltrexate is history! Skyrizi is my next step. Got the bloidwork set up. Now to do my TB test and then the date for the first injections. First it's 2 injections of 75 units. Nurse told me they are working on a new injection device that gives you 1 injection of 150 units. Either way, I am excited.

[Forest Walker]

Good news, Sheila!

[Sheila]

First steps are done. Approval for funding for Skyrizi is in place. Appointments for TB tests are in place. Now to do the blood work for it and get it done. I am pumped and ready. Been told that most people have side effects for only a couple days after the injection. The one that I am not looking forward to is the itching. The headache, stomach upset, diarrhea are all tolerable to me and are only expected to last a few days. Anything more than that and I am supposed to call my nurse at AbbVie and let them know what's going on. So as far as I can see, in spite of the itching part, I think everything is quite tolerable. And....who knows?? I may only experience only mild symptoms or none at all....except the itching, which I am told is common.

That is all good news to me. On that note, folks, y'all have a great day! Lots of love to you all!

Sheila

[KatT]

Did you enquire about vaccines you need prior to starting a biologic?

[Sheila]

None needed apparently.

[KatT]

Odd!  I had to take the pneumonia vaccine.

[Sheila]

Well, folks. Here is the latest in my journey. Today I go for the tuberculosis test. Thursday I get the results. So stay tuned for the results. Gonna go out on a limb here and say it will be negative, but just in case. I guess it's better to be safe than sorry.

So, on top of things, I get a letter from the Province of Manitoba saying it will cover the cost of the Skyrizi, EXCEPT I have to pay the provincial deductible first. I was down in the dumps for the weekend because I thought for sure I couldn't do the Skyrizi thing because, guess, what? I don't have $4k kicking around as spare cash. I got a call from the skin clinic nurse telling me that my health care plan will cover the cost of the Skyrizi up to 80%. So, until I pay that $4k, I don't get the injection. With the help of the health insurance plan, if you do the math, I have to pay $800 for the first injection. Guess who doesn't have $800 kicking around. So, I am stressed. I sit here and wondering how I am going to pay out $800. I cannot afford even that. I have roughly, after I pay my bills, about $200 left over after I pay my bills, gas to go to work, food and meds. From that I have to pay for clothes, items for my new apartment, makeup, and my once a pay period expenditure of about $20 for eating out. Question is, will I find a benefactor for that $800. I am going to go to the bank to talk to them because AbbvVie says they will refund me the money, but it's having that cash to lay out in the first place. So I hope the bank will help out....I pray it will help out. Otherwise, it's on to a more affordable med that isn't $20K a year cost.

[KatT]

Hope you can get a loan    

If not, try with another biologic not Abbvie

[Forest Walker]

That's distressing news, Sheila.  If you take the documentation from AbbiVie into the bank, maybe it will help get the loan.  OR . . . will the person billing for the medicine put you on a small payment plan?   

I sure hope you can get this medicine.  One day at a time.  One breath at a time.  Somehow, it will work out.  The injectible Methotrexate has been a lot easier for me to tolerate than the oral tablets.  And it has helped me a lot, now that I'm coming into the fourth month of using it.  It's really cheap, too.