Experience Sharing 1 - As An End Stage Psoriatic Patient, I Experienced An Unexpected Miracle In My Life

Archaeologists have found evidence of psoriasis on Egyptian mummies. Hippocrates, the “Father of Medicines” was the first known person who used scientific methods like tars to treat psoriasis. Before him, psoriasis was treated using the mixture of dog and cat dung, semen, sea salt and urine. Hippocrates’ method of treatment is still being used as part of the mainstream therapy of this disease today.

(Credit to https://www.psoriasis.org/advance/history-psoriasis)

The Myth of Psoriasis:

1. Psoriasis is contagious? It actually is not linked to the hygiene or cleanliness of the person. You can't get it if you get in contact (i.e share food, hug etc) with a person with psoriasis.
2. Psoriasis is just a skin condition? It is actually an auto-immune disease. Due to the malfunctioning of the immune system, the production of the skin is quicker than normal. The skin does not have enough time to shed leading to scale-like appearance on the psoriatic victim.
3. Psoriasis is not treatable? It may not be curable, but it can be treated and controlled with the right management. These people can live symptom-free like a normal person. The treatment goals are: 

• To pause the overactive skin cell reproduction.
• To soothe the itchiness and inflammation.
• To remove the excess dead skin.

1. All Psoriasis are the same? There are actually several types of Psoriasis. These include pustular, erythrodermic, inverse, guttate, and plaque.
2. Psoriasis symptoms are only skin deep? The patches of the skin becomes itchy and painful, they can crack and bleed, potentially become infected. Psoriasis might also cause psychological conditions like depression and anxiety, which can seriously affect the life and relationship of the psoriatic victim. It can also affect the joints and nails. And about 1/3 of people with psoriasis will develop psoriatic arthritis.
3. Psoriasis isn't linked to other physical medical conditions? People with psoriasis have a greater risk of getting type 2 diabetes, obesity and heart diseases.
4. Psoriasis doesn't affect children? Although psoriasis is not contagious, it is hereditary. If one or both of the parents, relatives or ancestors have it, the child might also have psoriasis in the genes. It just depends on if it will activate in their life or not. The most common type in childhood is called Guttate, or raindrop, psoriasis. It appears as small, red, scaly dots form on the skin. Usually, it is triggered in children and teens by the onset of a throat infection such as strep throat. 
5. Psoriasis can be prevented? It may be already in your gene but there are also some modifiable factors that we can look into for reducing your chance to get psoriasis. Don't take any throat infection or skin infection of your children lightly. Always seek for proper management shall the child has sore throat or broken skin to prevent possible infection which may turn on the genes. 

I am Sim and this is my psoriasis story.

        I have been suffering from psoriasis for more than 20 years. It is a very challenging disease as it not only affects my appearance, my health but also my self-esteem. I have been to many doctors in the past and has tried almost all of the suggested methods to control my disease but failed. It was frustrated that each time seeing a doctor, the first response was there is no cure for psoriasis. It may be true but as a patient, what I looked for was a hope, a solution or at least a comfort. Telling me the hard cold fact that I was incurable was just like a stone that was difficult to swallow and digest. Eventually, I gave up due to frustration. 

Before

Now

        Psoriasis is an autoimmune disease in which the skin is constantly attacked by the immune system causing the skin cells to overproduce and result in scaly red patches. My skin was extremely dry and scaly. It would flake like a snow. It was itchy and sometimes painful when it cracks. It has also affected my nails and joints. The condition was very unstable. When it came to the peak, it could affect almost 90% of my entire skin, from the scalp to the toes.

Before

Now

        The intense itchiness made the attempts to fall asleep and to maintain a good night sleep were very challenging for me. When I woke up, there was a lot of flaky skin on my bed. My lovely wife had to change the bed sheet daily for my comfort. I am a sales person. It made my life so difficult that I could not fully focus on anything including my work. Life was challenging.

Before

Now

Before

Now

        I knew Marina Pharmacy, Miri through one of my colleagues. She told me that her aunty has just opened a pharmacy in Miri and was quite experienced in dermatology. I did not know that there is a skin management programme offered for psoriatic patient like me. On 28th April 2018, I met her auntie, the chief pharmacist of Marina Pharmacy Miri, Miss Lee Ping, she was very friendly and young. Frankly speaking, at the first glance, i felt that her look and age did not match her wisdom and skills as what I heard. However, each time when I raised questions, she would answer them patiently and in details to clear my doubt. She assessed my condition in details. She asked for my past medical history, my medications/ supplement, and the current management methods that I was on. To my surprise, I found out that my blood pressure was high and my heart rate was abnormal after she checked my blood pressure. I felt comfortable to open up listening to someone’s advice again. After so many years of trying, I felt like there might be something different which perhaps could help with my situation. So I decided to join the personalized management programme for my condition.

Before

Now

        I currently stay in Bintulu, which is 3 hours away from the pharmacy. Since then I started to travel to my visits every fortnightly. Under the personalized management programme, my management plan needs to be adjusted according to my progression. Every time, the pharmacist would spend 30 minutes to 1 hour with me, checking my progression and discussing the management in details with me. The staff members would take photos of my skin on every visit as a comparison in the next visit. They would check the cause of it if it got worse compared to the last visit or any period when the progression did not meet the expectation. Almost all alternative medications in my management are herbal and natural. 

        I am still under the management. My itchiness, redness and scaliness have markedly reduced and I could sleep well at night now. Although my skin is about 70% better compared to before starting the programme, the improvement stopped there. A few months ago, the pharmacist did let me know that my current treatment was sufficient to control my disease, which meant my condition would not get worse as long as i adhered to the current treatment. In fact, i could see a very significant improvement. However, it has its limit due to the severity of my disease. Hence, we need to step up the treatment regime. I have considered about the treatment for 2 months. On 6th October 2018, i decided to give it a try. The pharmacist ordered a very potent herb called Antrodia Camphorata (Antroquinolol) for me hopefully I could see more improvement by further reducing the inflammation.

Before

Now

        Psoriasis is not contagious. Though, it could be passed to the next generation through gene. As a victim of this disease, I would like to urge the public and whoever read this article to not discriminate victims of this skin disease. Give them love and care. Treat us like a normal individual and indeed we are a normal individual despite our look. We have faced and gone through many challenges in our lives that you could never imagine. To psoriatic victims like me, I would like to share my inspiring story to you. Stay positive and hope for a better tomorrow. Lastly, I would like to thank my friends and family for supporting me throughout these years. My special thanks to my lovely wife who has been looking after me, by applying creams and preparing all the supplements for me every day. 

Marina Pharmacy Miri

All facts and pictures in this article have been approved by the patient