Re: (was MTX, now Dermatology)

[Guest guest]

Thanks for your input. I will keep your responses in mind. I have

tried several ointments and antibiotics the dermatologist recommended and

nothing worked.

The psoriasis is currently limited to my extremities, so I don't have the

scalp to contend with yet. The places on my arms are what he froze. They

looked so bad that I was wearing long sleeves even in warm weather. When the

ointments failed, I was ready to try anything. Now I am wondering if these

areas were really psoriasis. My rheumy told me that trauma only makes

psoriasis worse and that to freeze the area is to traumatize the area. So, I

probably should have gotten another opinion. Fortunately, I am on a PPO, so

I can select my own specialist without a referral. (Will never be on an HMO

again!) The bad news is that I did not exercise this option before agreeing

to the freeze. I must say the areas look worse than before. (sigh)

Thanks to everyone for their responses. This is a great group!

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

The freezing treatment does sound a bit aggressive and my own

dermatologist seems to be against anything that " overdoes " the job,

explaining that it only sets you up for more and more untreatable

symptoms. I guess the real questions here are, how out of control is

your psoriasis?, and what has already been tried?

My own is moderate and the treatments I'm getting are new for me. They

seem to be quite effective. They are:

Derma-Smoothe/FS (Fluocinolone Acetonide) in 0.01% topical oil for the

scalp. It is made by Hill Dermaceuticals, Inc. in Sanford, Florida

(that is the right spelling). The oil is peanut and mineral so you need

to know that if you have allergies. I rub it into my scalp three times

a week and cover it with a shower cap. It has to stay on for at least

six hours so I do it at bedtime. You wash it out in the morning with

ordinary shampoo (I use Neutrogena anti-residue shampoo so it gets all

the oil out of the hair without irritating the scalp). I also have to

alternate shampoos with Polytar AF. It is surprising less odorous that

the ordinary tar shampoos. I used Denorex for awhile and it's good, but

this is better.

On my back, arms and legs, I have to use Dovonex (calcipotriol cream 50

ug/g) ointment at night and cream in the morning. The brand name might

be a Canadian one because it comes out of Leo Pharma Inc. in Ontario. I

do know, though, that there is a US product exactly the same. You will

need to ask about that if you are interested. It works great, but you

have to stick to the regimen religiously (something I'm not great at).

My nails were getting bad and I was given 2.5% Hydrocortisone, 10% Urea

in Dovonex. It's fantastic! Just two weeks and my nails are looking

healthy again.

My face turns out to have seborrhea and not psoriasis as my GP thought.

For that I was given Nizoral/Hydrocortisone 1% AA. The jury's still out

on that one, but I'm hoping.

Having given you all that information, I think it's important for us all

to realize that what works for one doesn't mean it will work for

everyone. This is mine and it seems good. I wouldn't necessarily throw

out your dermatologist's advice, but I would get a second opinion if I

were you (easy for me to say, I know, because here in Canada we don't

have the HMO's and their insurance companies dictating what they will or

won't do).

Good luck.