Psoriatic Arthritis

Recently I have been suffering with joint pain mainly in my right hand, it seems to be worse in the morning and there is some swelling so on a trip to my dermatologist I mentioned it. He explained that 1 in 5 people with Psoriasis also suffer with Psoriatic Arthritis, my dermatologist has referred me to a Rheumatologist.


Obviously being me I have researched it heavily, I am now pretty confident I have it and have already being looking at treatments. Methotrexate seems to come up in discussion a lot as an effective treatment so I presume I will just continue to use it to treat both my Psoriasis and arthritis, pain killers are often prescribed but to be honest I don't particularly struggle with the pain, it is more frustrating than anything.


The main problem I have is waiting 8 weeks to see a specialist through the NHS as my private health insurance will not cover so called 'chronic' conditions. I hate being in the dark about things and not knowing is stressing me out.


Suppose we will have to wait and see how it goes!

its been a while!

6 weeks ago I started taking methotrexate,  im currently taking 6 tablets a week which is 15mg! I went away to Greece for a holiday so I think I need to catch up on some blogging. I will be starting with all about methotrexate and what side effects I have had and how my skin is reacting!

Speak soon!

So I bit the bullet!

Ok I decided to bite the bullet and go to see a specialist privately, the £150 was a bit excessive but being able to see a dermatologist within days was well worth it!

We discussed my current condition including my current medications, moisturizers and my diet. After this the doctor confirmed my thoughts that my psoriasis had become resistant to the topical steroids I am currently using and seen as Dovobet is regarded as the one of the best steroidal medications available he thought that a different approach may be appropriate.

We discussed using Methotrexate, an immune suppressant. Methotrexate works by attacking the rapidly-dividing cells that are involved in causing psoriasis, it can be very effective however it has a long list of side effects and can be very liver toxic. 

Even though I have gone private for my consultation, I will be treated as an NHS patient and not have to pay for further consultations however I will have to be referred again by my GP but it has cut about 8 weeks waiting time!


I will soon be starting a Methotrexate diary! So will be soon getting some before photos to see how I get on and can track my progress.

10 weeks to see a dermatologist?!?!

I am right in the middle of a flare up, a large portion of my back is covered as well as my arms, the 'itch' is unbearable at the moment and its driving me insane, it is starting to become a real issue and my quality of life is going down the drain again. I have been on Dovobet now for 6 years and unfortunately it is now getting to the point where it is starting to have little effect so I decided a trip to my GP was the best course of action.

I have never had much faith in my GP,  I often think that I know an awful lot more about my condition than him. After about ten minutes of him searching through text books and looking on google he confirmed this telling me that basically Dovobet is the best thing for it, with no solution to my flare up insight i ask for a referral to a dermatologist. To be honest I knew going to the GP wouldn't help but for some reason unbeknownst to me you have to get a referral from a GP to see a specialist.

Ten weeks?! You have to be joking right? Unfortunately he was serious, ten weeks is an awful long time especially when it is making everyday life so difficult. I left the GP with my referral letter and headed home wondering what to do. I decided to call a local private hospital, Spire Liverpool have three dermatologists and I could get an appointment in three days not bad at  all but there is a but! A consultation is £150! So here is my dilemma do I wait ten weeks, potentially take time off work and allow my skin to get even worse or do i fork out £150 and potentially struggle financially this month?

Psoriasis? Prepaid persciptions are saving me a fortune!

Obviously as you all know psoriasis isn't something that will just go away with a months course of tablets, it gets expensive paying for prescriptions especially if your like me having to pay for 3 or 4 different medicines at a time! A 12 month prepaid prescription certificate has a one off cost of £104, with this you can purchase as many prescriptions in that 12month period as you want at no extra cost!

I have also found that a lot of over the counter moisturizing products can be prescribed by a doctor therefore these can be collected using your prepaid prescription certificate saving even further money.

For more info got to http://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/1127.aspx

A bit about me and my Psoriasis

Thanks for taking a look at my blog, my names Michael and I am a long term sufferer of psoriasis.



For as long as I can remember I have have suffered with psoriasis in varying degrees of severity, from a few tablet sized plaques on my elbow to a large portion of my back covered in it but only now at the age of 22 have I been diagnosed with servere psoriasis. I currently have psoriasis on every part of my body however I do see myself as lucky, apart from a small amount on my forehead my face seems to stay relatively clear.



I plan to use this blog to tell my story of dealing with psoriasis on a day to day basis. I will be discussing issues I come across, treatments im using and I will keep you up to date with photos of how its progressing.