Psoriasis affects the mind, body and spirit. There is no cure, but healing and even remission are possible. The road to remission can be rocky with lots of stops and starts. It’s a journey. And like any other, there is more than one route to get there.
So three women made peace with their illness and themselves.
Nadine Ferranti
Teacher
Dallas
In 2008, I had a flaky scalp that I thought was dandruff. After about a year it started to spread and I was diagnosed with psoriasis.
In the worst case, my body was completely covered. My face, my ears, legs, my back – no space was spared. I was itching terribly and when I scratched my skin it was bleeding.
For 10 years I tried all kinds of shampoos and skin creams. When I lived in Singapore, I attended the National Skin Clinic and started on UVB treatments which helped a lot. The problem is that as soon as I stopped my psoriasis came back.
When it came time to raise a family, I wanted to avoid heavy medication during pregnancy. I just handled it the way I could.
We moved to New York and I went to a dermatologist for relief. Eventually I found Dr. Saakshi Khattri at Mount Sinai Hospital, who also diagnosed me with psoriatic arthritis. I thought I was just having normal aches and pains when walking around chasing the kids. But dr. Khattri said if inflammation is that bad on your skin, it’s probably worse inside.
She recommended that I take a biologic. Biologics are new drugs that calm only the parts of the immune system that are responsible for psoriasis.
The treatment changed life.
I take secukinumab (Cosentyx) injections every month. Now I only have a quarter-size mark on my right ankle and my joints are great. I notice my joints and skin bother me a little when my next shot is due. But they’ll go away quickly when I get my next dose.
I said Dr. Khattri that for years I had to ask my husband to open bottles of water for me, which in her opinion was not normal. Now I can do it myself!
Foods like dairy products, carbohydrates, and alcohol caused flare-ups. But now I can eat and drink whatever I want without any problems.
For me, stress is 100% a trigger. We moved six times for my husband’s work, and my skin turned red every time, except when we recently moved from New York to Dallas.
My advice to anyone dealing with psoriatic disease is to try a biological drug if their doctor suggests and they can afford it.
Ask your doctor or pharmacist if the insurance does not cover the costs or even if co-payments are not possible. Patient support programs or co-pay cards from pharmaceutical companies can help. Your doctor may be able to find another medication that will work for you that insurance may cover.
Shelly Phegley
Co-founder, Cordial Organics
Beauty and wellness products
San Diego
I’m not a big fan of pharmaceuticals. A natural approach coupled with lifestyle changes eventually worked for me.
I first noticed a patch of psoriasis on my leg and was misdiagnosed with ringworm 30 years ago at the age of 19. Eventually it spread to the outside of my joints, as well as my hips, scalp, and ears. In the worst case, it covered 40% of my skin.
I’ve tried cortisone injections, vitamin D creams, homeopathy, tanning beds, and more. Nothing worked and I gave up and just lived with it for many years.
Then I found that I could treat my psoriasis through a multi-faceted approach.
- Diet. I eat an anti-inflammatory diet that is high in fresh fruits and vegetables, with little to no sugar or processed foods. I enjoy alcohol in moderation, like a glass of wine in the evening.
- Exercise and stress management. Movement clears my head and offers a new perspective. I do yoga most days and run several times a week.
- Sun and sea water. I lived in Costa Rica for 2 years and found that the combination of sunlight and salt water cleanses my skin.
- Subjects. I use a psoriasis body cleanser with salicylic acid and a rich moisturizing balm that I developed.
Psoriasis actually got me to develop my skin care line because nothing worked for me and I wanted to help others too.
That’s what works for me. But here’s my advice to others with psoriasis: Try different things to find relief. Keep twisting the knobs to find the one that’s right for you.
Irene Pratalos
Naturopath and acupuncturist for Chinese and holistic medicine
Salubre Dermatology Clinic
Surrey Hills, Australia
I was 11 years old and visiting a family in Greece when my mother first noticed stains on my neck. When we got home, they had spread over my arms. I went to a doctor who said it was psoriasis. He gave me cortisone cream and said don’t worry, it will go away.
It didn’t.
I was bullied about my skin in my early teens. I was a social person but withdrew and wanted to be invisible. I couldn’t hide my psoriasis because it was on my face and hands.
When I was 16, psoriasis covered 90% of my body. I was hospitalized then and after my final exams during my senior year of high school at the age of 18.
It was incredibly painful and itchy – my whole body ached. My skin was stiff and the psoriasis made it lose its elasticity. I just couldn’t take it. Showering caused pain. The skin on my feet tore open as I walked and bled. Even the clothes hurt, so I wore my cotton pajamas all the time when I was home.
My legs had so much fluid retention that they resembled two-liter soda bottles. My mom drove me to school for my final exams because I couldn’t take the train and bus to get there. The day after I was hospitalized that year, my many dermatologists visited me and were shocked that I was actually sitting for my exams. I told them I couldn’t do this again. I needed it ready so I could focus on my health.
Fast forward to 1992. I was given methotrexate and it worked. I felt amazing. Without warning, it stopped working and the psoriasis came back. I was devastated. My mother called the doctor and he said there was nothing else he could do, so we had to “find something else”.
Next came a number of treatments including: UV treatments, tar baths, paraffin wax, colonic irrigation, and vitamin infusions, to name a few. Some things made the symptoms worse, some better – for a while. Nothing had a lasting effect.
Out of desperation, I decided to try Chinese medicine. Two months after taking herbs and acupuncture, my skin healed. Everything was normal and I was in shock. In order to better take care of my skin and understand this drug, I decided to study it. I studied human biology and Chinese medicine.
This was just the beginning of an ongoing journey to break down this disease bit by bit, to truly understand its complexity and how it affects so many other systems. Years later, I started my clinic, which is dedicated to the treatment of psoriasis and other skin diseases. I use telemedicine to connect with patients around the world.
Today I eat a clean diet and avoid sugar, dairy products, alcohol, gluten and red meat. I exercise, meditate and surround myself with my family and good friends and avoid contact with anyone that is causing drama and stress in my life. All I do is reduce or prevent inflammation in my body.
Yes, we can’t cure psoriasis, but there are so many things we can do to keep it in remission. When I get a boost, I take my Chinese herbs, meditate and consider why the flare happened, and make the necessary changes that I need to make.
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