I went to the doctors yesterday and was diagnosed with psoriasis,
i have it on my scalp and other parts of my body but the scalp is worse,
i feel very fedup today, the docter gave me a prescription for shampoo and cream, the pharmacy said they didnt have any and she thought that the one the doctor has prescibed is no longer available and asked me to phone this afternoon and she would know for sure,
i phoned and it has been discontinued, so i have had to phone the doctors to find out if they can give me somthing else called Exorex im waiting for them to call me back,
sorry to have a moan but my head is itching terribly, hopefully they will leave me a new presciption to pick up later fingers crossed,
I have always had a dry scalp but didnt realise it was psoriasis but it has recently got worse, apparently psoriasis runs in familys and i know my mother suffers from it,
Does anyone know if there is a mineral/vitamin i can take to help the condition? Tohme i bet you know :)

Heidi

http://www.psoriasis-help.org.uk/
http://www.patient.co.uk/illness/p/psoriasis.htm

Thankyou Tohme knew i could count on you.

Heidi

Thanks Tohme they sent me info through the post.

Heidi

Hi Heidleberg,
I also have psoriasis, I haven't actually been diagnosed with it, but I know as my dad has it very bad.
Out of us 5 kids, only me and my sister have it (only slight compared to my dad)
My dad has it all over his body, which is sometimes white and flaky, and other times red raw. I would say all down his shins is the worst, but he tends to scratch there the most.
He has had lots of different treatment, from loads of ointment to being in hospital covered in what I remember as being clingfilm.
I obviously have a different type, I have like you scalp psoriasis which is bad, also I get it on my knees and elbows. It comes and goes, I've always had a certain amount on my knees, but my elbows are clear at the moment, and have been for years. As a child my elbows were the worst. I have never been to the Dr about it, I've never used any creams or ointments, apart from the odd bit of dry skin cream when it looks especially dry. It has never bothered me at all. I haven't had it that bad that it is very noticable. And apart from itching my head as if I've got nits lol :) Im not aware of it. Occasionally I get an extra sore bit on my scalp. When my partner has looked in my hair, he said it looks really really bad. Good job most women don't go bald. My sister has it about the same as me, but she tends to get a bit on her eyebrows and in her ears.
Does it affect you very much, is it only on your scalp. Ive only ever used normal shampoo, but my dad alway had special stuff, it must of been coal tar as it stunk.
Hope your feeling better soon.

Michelle.

I have had psoriasis for the past 10 years. I have it on my left lower leg, right knee, both elbows and it has begun on the back of my left hand now :) My father used to have it very badly . including on his head and my oldest son gets it when he is stressed. I am unable to wear skirts because of the state of my leg and I can't go swimming ..the looks my poor leg gets is just too embrassing LOL

Keep on at the doctor ..there are loads of creams to try and not all of them work for everyone. I have to say that mine has never gone since the week it appeared, but I do have good weeks and bad ;)

There are several very good UK based Psoriasis forums which can help , just search on google.

Hello

I've had it for years and the only thing that works for my skin is locoid lipocream but dermatologists are reluctant to give it.  For your head, it is quite difficult to shift but the sun is brilliant for it and I find that if I cut out wheat and dairy it virtually clears up too.  It also cleared up each time I was pregnant although I wouldn't recommend that as a course of treatment!  If it get really bad you can have PUVA treatment which I have once but our dermatologists will only let you have it every few years so if it comes back quickly you've had it.  Luckily mine hasn't been that bad since I had PUVA so I just get on with it.

Was the cream your doctor prescribed psorodrate?  It was the only thing that cleared my head but they haven't made it for a while. I used to use Dithranol years ago and the chemist made it too strong and I got really burned but luckily that sort of stuff is long gone!  Don't worry about it, something like 15% of the population have it in one shape or another and the itching does go away eventually.

Andi

Hi all and thankyou for your replys,
The doctor left me a new prescription, she gave me Nizoral shampoo for my scalp and Dovonex cream for the rest of my body,
the only problem is i get it on my eyebrows a bit on my forehead and ears and the cream says not to use it on your face so i shall have to go back to the doctors, luckly my face isnt bad at the moment its my scalp thats really itching badly infact so badly this afternoon i thought i would go mad, but since i washed it with the shampoo it feels so much better.

Heidi

Why i was at the chemist i bought some Aqueous cream, thought it may be best to use that to wash with,

Heidi

Dovonex is excellent and only came on the market a few years ago :)

seems good so far, have some on the top of my back and neck and its stopped the itching so far :)
must admit my scalp seems a bit itchy again now, im trying to ignore it.

Heidi

i suffer from a form of psoriasis on the sole of my feet  but am waiting for doctors to comeup with what i have

I have  what they thought as pustular psoriasis but with a slight twist - i lose all the skin on my feet except for the  heels of my feet complete with the blistering and pus filled spots .  it leaves me unable to walk far   and care for my children.   i am unfourtentely like this at the moment but am able to walk a short distance  and walk my babies. I have been like this 4 the last 3 months and i dont seem to be getting any better. stress is a major problem in causing it to get worse but when you cant move you get very stressed and
when im like this I basiclly have to relly on every one else, which i hate- i can sympathise with every one who says it is itcy its very itchy especially in hot weather.

Hi Tracey
that must be terribly painful, i hope the doctors find something to ease it soon, good luck

Heidi

yeah it is but you do get used to it .stress doent help and you cant live life with out stress1

ive had it many times before  but you learn to survive and manage

My partner has bad psoriasis on his scalp, little over the rest of his body.
He says the trouble with the shampoos is that you get immune to them and they stop working.
He's had loads of different ones over the years and although when he changes them the new one works for a while it always stops working.
He goes backward and forward between different shampoos.
I bought him T-Gel for psoriasis and that one works indefinitely. Unfortunately the doctor doesn't prescribe it.

On the other hand he uses Dovonex and that's excellent.

He also has Betnovate occassionally, or other Steroid creams, but that is just when the psoriasis gets really bad.

I have fine natural blonde hair but lately it seems finer than usual, im now wondering if its because of the psoriasis,

Heidi

Ive had it for over 20 years and been on everything steroids, creams , wraps, it is worse in wet weather and normally before things like major holidays,and xmas due to stress, but for about 12 months now i have none on my head, arms have cleared up and my body is starting to clear, the knees are getting less and less every week,
but i have made radicall changes in my diet and it has taken over 2 years to see the improvements,
i became a veggie, as red meat can cause a reaction, i also don't have any dairy products at all, my kids know when i have had something i should not of eaten as my nose breaks out in psorasis with in 24 hours of eating it, and the biggest change was no alcholo, this was the worse bit, sounds awful doesn't it, but i stopped drinking for about 6 months and then had a drink and within 24 hours redness and itching started and the first flakes of skin started to rise, so i thought well all this horrible horrible skin for a drink no way, it has taken 2 years for my body to start being back to normal, and it has not been easy the amount of times i wanted a drink, or a piece of red leicester cheese, but i don't want the psoriasis back, i am not saying it works but the reason i tried it was, you know the lady married to paul mcartney Heather, she lost her leg and the wound was not healing and someone told her to cut out red meat, and dairy and she would see the difference within a week and she did, and the redness of her wound went down, and the pain started to ease and the wound started to heal and i thought if that can work for her i will give it a go and i am so pleased i did, the other horrible factor of psorasis is arthiritis, i have got this due to the psorasis .
Carol

Hi Carol
snap im also a veggie have been for 6 months now and im never going to eat meat again i prefer the food i know eat, i do eat a little dairy but very little, if i have milk its soya milk,
I could quite easily cut out dairy i have done it before but i do like a drink, i tend to drink red wine more than anything, now that i would find hard to cut out :D
glad its working for you :)  i could give it a try if i cant cut out the wine then maybe i could just cut it right down,

must say i used the shampoo for the first time yesterday it has helped but im still itching but then its early days yet

Heidi

cut out the red wine, drink non alcholic stuff if you can, i found the shampoo awful the only thing that stopped the itching for me on my scalf was Betnovate scalp application 0.1% when you put it on your scalp it cools your head instantly and creates a feeling of tightness on your head like someone putting on a swimming cap and the itching stops, i also have my hair short and let the sun get at it as much as possible. i used to be that bad  i used to be sent for PUVA treatment, it used to work but only for about 3 months, and then have to wait about 15 months for another load of treatment,
you can by soya yogurts, milk,icecream loads of stuff, including soya spread like butter , hope everything goes well for you i have never felt so good in my self since i became a veggie, daughter says i am more like a vegan, but as long as i feel good i don't care.
Carol

Thanks Carol,
Yes i have soya milk and yogurts and dont mind them,
i also use Pure spread which is a dairy free spread, i only eat very little cheese so i will cut that out, and i eat very little wheat because i have an allergy to it, instead i eat oat cakes and Ryvita,
i do eat a very healthy diet but theres always room for improvement and its worth trying.

Heidi

even if you cut out things for about 4 months and then have them again and see what your skin feels like you will no the difference, like i said it has taken about 2 years for real improvement in my skin.
Carol
you say your are alergic to wheat are you a ceoliac?

No but i do have candida, so i have to try and stay away from yeast and sugar,
i shouldnt drink wine either  :o

Heidi

Yesterday got up and what a nightmare, i have broken out on my face and neck, my neck is terrible big red blotchers everywhere, my nose is red and flaking, the problem is the cream the doctor gave me says i cant use it on my face, so i am phoning the docs this morning to get a appointment.

Heidi

Poor you heidleberg, a friend of mine had and has psoriasis and alot of hers was brought on by stress.Over here in Germany our doctors told her to use a low voltage sunbed which actually helped her condition.I know sunbeds are not good for you but it did help clear her skin..She had all the creams and bath stuff you can get which only helped abit, and like you say you have got to find the right one as alot of them she was allergic too...Good luck and destress as you might find this is actually making the psoriasis worse.(I know it is easy for me to say as I don't have your problem)..

Jane...

Think it maybe stress,
hubby has started a new job and does'nt like it, he likes the people but the money is awful, and when you have children a dog and a mortgage to pay its quite worrying, so he is going for another interview later today, fingers crossed,
the doctor has given me another cream for my face so fingers crossed it will work,

Heidi

Fingers crossed to you both and hope all your stressful days will be behind you soon.

Jane...

The doctors given me another cream for my face and neck, Dovobet ointment, has anyone tried this,if so is it any good,
They say to moisturize your skin, which i do but my face and neck hurt when i moisturize at the moment, it feels almost like sun burn,

Heidi

Hi
I feel so miserable this morning, woke up this morning and its all flared up on my face and neck again,
my face and neck were full of white flakes and red blotches, it was looking better until this morning, i have exfoliated and put moisturiser on and it looks a little bit better now,
should the cream not have worked by now? being on my face and neck is horrible and makes me want to stay in the house,
when i put moisturiser or the cream onto my neck/face it hurts like a burning is this normal?

Heidi

Moisturise often makes mine sting too. Some creams can take quite a while to work, check the info contained on the leaflet you got with the cream

Also...as I said, mine has never gone ...sometimes it doesn't vanish, it just gets to a stage where you cope. Plus ..if youa re still suffering the same stress, the P is going to remain ...

Don't know if you are aware that P is a result of the skin producing an excess of skin cells ...so whilst moisturising can ease it...the skin will continue to over produce whilst you are having a flare up

Join the forum mentioned by tohme...I am a member, they are very helpful there and there is much intresting reading :)

I have had psorisis for the last 43 years, came out ofter a school christmas party and they thought it was some kind of food allery, I used to end up in Newcastle RVI hospital  every year for coaltar baths and wraps, the sunray treatment , it has got better over the years but it is bad in my scalp at the moment and joints always seem to be the worst places I still use coaltar soap and Diprabase that is used for exaima, and coaltar shampoo is helpfull and sun ray treatment, it used to be worse in winter when the cold got into the back of legs as it would crack and get infected, but over the years it has got a lot better, I am now 51 and only get bad in the winter, but I usually stick to trousers .

DOULEBASE is etter than diprobase i find!
dont know what it is but it just feels alot nicer!!!

Crikey!  I had eczema as a teenager - after a few years it seemed to clear up.  In the last few years, I have had a scaley oval shaped breakout on my elbows - if you rub it, silvery flakes come off and it gets sore and itchy.  It's gradually getting bigger on my right arm.  Thinking about it and having read the websites mentioned above, it's not precisely the same as when I had eczema.  Perhaps a trip to the doctors is called for.  I had just assumed it was the eczema returning.
I'm told that my grandmother was seriously agoraphobic (never left the house for the last few years of her life).  Just going to the end of the drive used to make her break out in some sort of rash.  I wonder if that is a family link.

If you get silvery flakes it is psoriasis and not excema ;) I have the elbows ...unlike most people, mine gets worse in the Summer and better in the colder weather ;)

I could not sleep last night so at 4 a.m. I gave up trying and started to read, "Peoples Friend" magazine just by chance the Doctor Question in there was about, Makers of natural green toiletries for over 200 years, that had been produced by an Israeli family that has recently added a new dead sea mineral conditioner to there range, there is no chemicals in it, it is a blend of 3 natural oils, olive,coconut and palm, that acts as a mosturiser on dry flakey scalps it has dead sea natural minerals that benefit conditions like eczema, acne and psoriasis, there is also a shampoo available at boots chemist. Could be worth a try if all else fails