I’ve been suffering from psoriasis for 16 years. All these years, the affected area of the skin has been gradually increasing. Every time I got a flare-up, alongside with the old, well known patches, there was always one or two new affected spots on my body. One day I got a severe flare-up (due to unknown reasons), and together with my doctor we tried to apply different strategies to control it, combining different medicines. Unfortunately, the treatment did not have any effect. I did not respond to topical treatment, and all available systemic drugs had severe adverse effects on me (as example, I’ve got stomach ulcer because of methotrexate, damaged my nervous system because of Neotigason and so on) and biologics did not have desired effect so we have to discontinue the treatment. I tried to take the situation under control, and I have managed to stop further flare-up and even achieved a remission. Here I would like to share my strategy.
I do not claim that performing all the steps described below you get rid of your disease, but for sure, you will better understand yourself and your body. It will become clearer for you the interconnection between multiple factors and how they influence your life. Furthermore, you will feel that you have control over the condition and finally it will allow you to find your own path to the remission.
The disease is very individual, and different people react in different ways, so find your own way how to cope with your chronic state.
Here we go.
1. First of all, know your triggers. Do you know what causes your flare-ups? Did you notice some correlation between your flare-up and previous events? Start to write your journal. It can be online (like Google sheets) or on paper. Typical parameters to note are
a. Food: do you get worse after a specific food? Do you notice that you react negative on some dishes or ingredients? Start to write down what you eat and how you feel, both skin, but also guts and your mental state. Just as an example I can name some of mine triggers: chili and hot, spicy food in general, wheat bread, buns, all possible sweet creams, cakes, chocolate.
b. Stress: do you get worse after a stressful situation at work or at home? How do you react in such situations? Are you calm, feel insulted, or become furious? Write down such situations and track changes in your skin and guts.
c. Alcohol, cigarettes: it is well known that alcohol has a negative impact on your skin. For example I get extremely dry skin just minutes after I drink champagne. See how you react on alcohol. It is better to cut consumption of alcohol at all.
2. Check your general mental state. How do you feel? Are you anxious, depressed? Do you hate your disease? The research shows that mental state and psoriasis are linked. You can find a lot of research on this topic by your own, I just name couple of examples https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2928071/
So the mental state is crucial in coping with psoriasis. I found myself fighting with the disease, hated my state, feel ashamed. This of course just contributes to worsening of your health. But one day I have realized that this is my body, that deserves love and needs my help. So now, when I am applying a cream, I am not fighting with the disease, but I am helping my body to heal. I learned that I need to love my body and show it respect and provide all the help it requires. This change in my mindset gave me huge release and significantly reduces anxiety. So do not fight with your body, start to love your body, listen to it and try to understand what it wants.
Further, investigate yourself. Are you tense in your body? Do you have trapped emotions from the childhood? I have discovered, that in the areas most affected by psoriasis I had constant tension in the body. Using relaxation techniques, I have achieved release of tension in my body, and as a consequence, less pain in patches, decrease in their area and amount. Furthermore, I notice that I become more responsive to medical treatment.
3. Medications: are you on other drugs? Do you notice that these medicines can trigger flare-ups? Do you really need this type of medicine? Is there any possibility to change to other type of medicine having similar effect?
4. Physical state: Exercise is crucial for psoriasis. You have to be active; you have to lose weight and maintain it on healthy level. So start to do sports! Go the a gym, or start to swim, play football or basket, start jogging or walking. I know, it feels shameful and embarrassing, when other watch you in gym. No problem, use long sleeves, and long pants. I’ve been doing combat sports for several years, wearing rash guard and long pants. It was fantastic feeling to be able to train what you really like. Please note, that sweat can cause for someone a flare up. The solution here is to shower as soon as you can after the exercise. If you have good routines for hygiene, the sweat should not be a problem. On the other hand, you can always reduce activity level so that you do not sweat a lot.
It is important that you build gradually self-discipline. Do regular exercises, build a habit of mindful eating, regularly do meditation and relaxation exercises, build a sense of self-mastering, sense of being in charge, sense of ownership of your life. Reduce your weight and maintain it healthy. Consider fasting. Further, connect with your body, listen to it. Do you really do what your body expects from you? Do you supply it with right nutrition, right amount of physical movement? Do you sleep enough? Are you optimistic and self-content?
Please, do your own research. Your doctor might be a fantastic person, but he/she doesn’t care about you as much as you do. Find out what kind of medicine is available, see what kind of methods can be beneficial: salt baths, mud wrapping, warm climate, supplement of Omega-3, vitamin D.
Remember, you are the owner of your life, and you can do a lot to improve your health.
Please, do not hesitate to contact me if you have some questions. I will be happy to share my experience with you.
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