Hi,
I'm new to this forum, suffered from P since I was 12 or 13, I'm now 48, as per many people on this forum my P has waxed and waned over the years, sometimes covering most of my body, other times fairly mild.
As per most I have been through the (largely unpleasant) experience of treatments offered by the good old NHS. Mostly with very little success I have to say. In my experience the system is not really geared up to the treatment of a long term condition such as psoriasis, and I have experienced a similar level of care as other people here, ranging from the totally disinterested GP who seems to be more concerned with 'fobbing' you off with some (very) expensive steroid based ointment that has been sold to the NHS by a drug company who is more interested in 'palliative care' than finding a 'cure' for the condition (rant over!!), to members of the medical profession, be they doctors, consultants or nurses, who also suffer from P and have an intimate understanding of the complexities of living with the condition.
I have tried the full range of creams and ointments, betnovate, dovinex, coal tar etc, and have found that most, for me at least, offer little improvement of my condition, the best of them offering some relief for only a short period.
Although I have had very little success personally with conventional treatments, I have had periods when I have been P free.
I think in common with most, P has affected me in my everyday life, especially when I was in my teens, however I have never given into it, and although it has sometimes made things more difficult I have generally managed to do the things that I always wanted to do (eventually) I lived on my own in London in my early twenties and had a great circle of friends and very active social life!!, I lived with a very attractive lady for 8 years and married another (who I am now separated from, but that is another story!), 18 years ago, I have had three beautiful children, have always been active, qualified as a scuba diving instructor, ride motorcycles and am attempting to learn the electric guitar at the moment. I guess what I am trying to say is that although P has given me some dark moments in my life, in my heart of hearts it has not ultimately stopped me from living my life. If I had any advice for someone who has been diagnosed with P recently I suppose it's that your life is not over just because you have P, sure it's a b***h, but life has to go on!
I have a Sunlamp which I use regularly (not too regularly before the anti-sunlamp police start!) which seems to help with my P considerably, in fact the time that my P was at it's best was when I was spending time regularly diving, a combination of the sunshine (yes it shines in the UK sometimes!) and the salt water, and doing something that I loved! For me at least this combination works best. I have also found that for me zinc based shampoos (zp11) and creams (Dermarest from the States in particular) seems to work as well. And of course the Dead Sea range of soaps, bath salts, mud etc work really well at keeping it from flaring up, although the cost can be prohibitive sometimes! Perhaps the NHS should prescribe these instead of the muck that they currently foist upon poor sufferers!!
I currently live in Cornwall and would welcome contact with anyone local who wants to chew the fat or swap stories.
Hope to hear from anyone soon.
Regards,
Richard
