Hi to everyone, response to 's itching

January 14, 2000

My name is Nan, I am 50 yrs old.

I have had P for years, minimally and w/o tx till about 6 yrs ago. Then

it bagan developing/ incr in new places over my legs and I started going to a

derm and tried a sequence of different steroid and other oint's---help a

little, then flare, steadilly spreading. 1 1/2 yrs ago, we relocated from

southeastern PA to southeastern WI and built our " dream house " - full 3

stories on a lake.

Within 2 weeks I started having swelling and pain in my R wrist and L

big toe along with constant ache/ pain in my L hip; picked a nearby clinic

out of the hat and fortunately, saw a f/p who noticed the psoriasis and added

1+1= 2 . Put me on NSAIDS and told me to see a rheum right away (which took

another 3 weeks to get into). Dx= PA. Referred me to a derm, whose

suggestions have been the most useful so far for the P.

He injected the wrist and toe and sent me home to decide about MTX. Of

course, the only thing that hurt for a few weeks after that was the hip.

After it started up again , I decided to try the MTX. Been on it (15-10mg/

wk) + ketoprophen (oruvail/ orudis) since. No major flares w/ swelling etc,

but steady pain w/ walking/ stairs (oh joy) and wrist/ fingers. By 7 pm I

am done for and usually in bed by 8-9, which I hate. I seem to get REALLY

exhausted on the MTX day, but other wise tolerate it well.

Finally, with regard to the P, itching/ scratching has always been a big

problem. Of course the MTX has helped a lot, but the derm gave me atarax to

take at night, which is a godsend with itching and also helps me sleep better

and not have to get up by 2-3 AM and roam/ surf the web for 2 hrs till I can

get comfortable enough laying down again. I use micanol cream ( on 1/2 hr

then shower) , cutar emulsion on the P after rinsing in the shower, never use

regular soap ( just cetaphil bar cleanser- don't even let shampoo rinse down

over the P- lean way over to rinse it) and slather cetaphil CREAM on the P

twice a day. Cortisone oint only on the really nasty areas. For about 6

months, it has generally improved, but mostly stays moist enough that it

dosen't crack, and the itching is much MUCH improved.

If anyone has any helpful suggestions re the fatigue generally, or with

the mtx, please let me know. It seems like I only have a 6 day week anymore

..

I know I have rambled, but once I got started, it felt great to vent. It

is really great finding all of you!

Nan

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