 Re: Newbie Checking In
On Fri, 14 Jul 2006 02:16:14 -0700, Monkkey's Unkle
<MonkkeysUnkle@guess.where> wrote:
>Hi, gang,
>
>I am just checking in for the first time. This has not been my month --
>believe me. Wednesday of last week I found out that I have lung cancer
>and yesterday I found out that the horrible skin condition I have had for
>the last two weeks is one of the most severe cases of psoriasis my doctor
>has ever seen. I wonder if there is a connection.
>
>Anyway, I will be lurking and sometimes posting. What causes this yukky
>skin nightmare -- and how long before I get rid of it (the sooner the
>better, believe you me)? If it keeps up too long, suicide by lung cancer
>may be a temptation.
Oh my goodness, gracious - as my Grandma used to say.
"What causes psoriasis?" For all that I have ever heard of it and
about it the cause is genetic. It runs in families - sometimes. I am
sixty six and have had it to one degree or another all of my life. I
have plaque psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. I have kept my head
shaved since 1983 in order to get sunlight on my scalp. When I first
shaved my head out of desperation due to the constant itching,
scaling, weeping fluid and bleeding my entire scalp was covered with
plaques. That was when my family doctor recognized it for what it
really is and sent me to a good dermatologist.
"How long before I get rid of it?" The good news is that there are
medications and treatments that can control it for most of us. The
trick is to find the right one since what works well for one person
may not work at all for the next. Without treatment it may go into
submission or it may become worse. Be sure to check out the web site
at http://www.psoriasis.org/home/
They are there to help and devote almost al of their money to research
and helping people with this condition.
I developed psoriatic arthritis in both hands about five years ago, or
at least that is what we think. Don't know for sure since I already
had osteoarthritis in both of my hands and other joints.
My dermatologist currently has me on Methotrexate twice a day on
Mondays and Tuesdays. It has cleared over 90% of my plaque psoriasis.
He is not allowed to treat me psoriatic arthritis, but the medication
also has alleviated it.
My sister is seventy years old and she too has plaque psoriasis,
psoriatic arthritis and type 2 diabetes. We wondered if there was a
connection between the psoriasis and diabetes just as you have
wondered if there is a connection between the P and your cancer. We
found out that the percentage of people with P that are also T2
diabetics my be just a little higher than the general population, but
not enough to make a correlation. I suspect you may find that same
thing with your P and your cancer.
Psoriasis is nothing to become so depressed about to consider suicide.
Besides, stress has been shown to aggravate the condition.
In the past since I worked outside I wore shorts and sleeveless shirts
all summer long. If someone noticed my P on my arms, my legs, my
torso, my face or my scalp and if they had enough courage to ask me
what it was I thanked them for asking. Then I used it as an
opportunity to give that person, and anyone else close enough to hear,
a brief education in what P is and what it is not. A man that worked
where I did spouted off to some of our coworkers if the got psoriasis
from operating a piece of equipment that I had operated he was going
to sue our employer and me. He did not know that I had been told about
his remarks until one day when I called him aside about it. I took
about five minutes to explain what it is and that the only way he
could get it from me would be if he were my son. I told him I was very
happy that he not only was not my son, but that we were not related in
any manner whatever. I even asked him to touch the plaque so he could
see that it was just very thick skin. He refused. Imagine that.
Another time I was in a drug store/natural healing products store
where they sell many different kinds of creams, lotions, ointments,
etc. I noticed a clerk who was applying some to a customer in an
effort to sell some product to the person. I patiently waited until
they were done. I then asked the clerk if any of them were recommended
for psoriasis. She said, "Oh yes sir, this one is supposed to be very
good for psoriasis." (I had her just where I wanted her.) I then asked
her if she would please rub some of it into the psoriasis on the back
of my elbow. Her mouth dropped open; she turned scarlet; stepped back
a couple of steps and actually said, "I'm not touching that stuff!" I
laughed and told her it is just skin that happens to be very thick and
is not contagious or a carrier of infection. Then I told her if she
intended to keep going in her field she had best learn to accept
people and their skin conditions or find another line of work.
I even went so far as to have the web address of psoriasis.org printed
on a T-shirt and a baseball cap.
I wish you all the best. Stop worrying and you will already have a
pretty good start at controlling your P.
--
Grandpa Chuck
-τΏτ-
~
The following information is given with the utmost respect for the armed forces and civ
ilians who have died in the current war in Iraq. According to http://icasualties.o
rg/oif/
The number of Americans killed in Iraq as of July 12, 2006 is 2,546. America
ns wounded = more than 18,356 United Kingdom = 113 Other = 113
In January through March over 3800 Iraqi civilians were killed.Most of them
by the so-called insurgents.
Today, July 14, 2006 it has been 1170 days since Bush declared,"Mission Acco
mplished in Iraq." Why do some people still believe what he says?
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