HI again,
my diagnosis was from my toe nails. I didn't know i had skin psoriasis. I was told as a child I had eczema but grew up thinking I had dry skin. I've always been into lotions and potions and thought everybody moisturised daily. My feet however were like something else. I had really dry skin, occasionally would get red scaly patches. My dad said it was the eczema and i believed him. I went to the Dr at one point and he said use a pumice stone and moisturise. I used all the loofahs and cracked feet cream.. There was an advert about having really itchy feet and needing some cream for athletes foot. I tried that. I've always bitten my fingernails so theres not much to see but my toenails were awful. Again I thought it was a fungal infection. I bought all the stuff for that. Nothing made them any better.
When i went for that rheumy appt, I thought I was going for a chat, didn't bother taking the old nail varnish off (what was left of it!) no matching underwear on. I was mortified when he told me to take all my clothes off. Anyway he started rooting thru my hair, Ahh youhave problems with dry scalp? Oh yeah I'd spent a fortune on shampoos and everything too.
He looked behind my ears, ahh u have dry skin here too - do I?
He asked me too sit forward he flicked my knickers back, no problems here (thankgod for that!)
He bent over double to examine my bellybutton all the while i was expecting him to lift my knickers at the front - thankgod he didn't!
Eventually got down to my feet. He pointed out my nails I said I'd tried everything for them but nothing had worked. Then he said hmmm psoriasis. My mouth dropped no one had ever said that that word has only been mentioned to me when talking about patients at work. Then when I was finally dressed he explained that some of my symptoms could be fibromyalgia but with my ear plaques and the toe plaques he thought it was pa and was gonna treat me for that to see where we went.
So thats where we are. When he gave me the leaflets to read there was so much that ran true like the pleuritic pain, the tendinitis, the stiffness, pain in my buttocks and back, the nails and just how hard I tried to keep my skin feeling anywhere decent. As I had above, my skin is better. Last time I saw the nurse she thought I might need the methotrexate increasing due to still having pain but its just mild in my hands, not everywhere else. As for the toenails, very slight improvement in my big toe but still ain't gonna be doing any foot modelling yet!
As long as you're comfortable at the mo and yo're receiving treatment thats the important thing. And Smose, I agree. I don't think one is worse than the other it just bloody hurts when bad.
