Psoriasis update
My psoriasis has been getting steadily worse all summer. Fortunately, I haven't had any arthritis flare-ups, but the flaking has been getting terrible and the affected patches of skin have been getting larger. I finally decided (with some urging from my wife) a month ago that it was time to find a dermatologist and start getting treatments again.
There are a number of treatment options available for psoriasis sufferers, including pills, injections, innumerable creams and ointments, and ultraviolet light exposure, also known as phototherapy. Phototherapy doesn't work for everyone, but I've been fortunate to respond very well to one form of it called narrowband UVB, so it is my treatment option of choice.
Now there is a new form of phototherapy that uses a targeted laser to provide a more intensified exposure. The extra intensity is supposed to clear the affected patches more quickly than regular narrowband, however there is also an increased risk of burning -- UVB is the wavelength of sunlight that causes sunburns (and AFAIK no one is really sure why it actually helps clear psoriasis).
So I found that a dermatologist in the area here uses the XTRAC laser for psoriasis treatments. I had an initial consultation and although I have a lot of psoriasis and would normally not be a good candidate for the laser, I have a history of responding very well so we decided to try it.
I got my first treatment 2 weeks ago. It went well. I only had some minor redness and soreness that went away within a day. I also noticed some immediate improvement in my psoriasis, with less plaques and flaking.
I had my second treatment 1 week ago. There is a treatment protocol that specifies what dosage to use, how to ramp up dosage levels, etc. based on skin types, amount and duration of redness and reaction to treatment, etc. They upped the dosage for this second treatment based on that protocol. By that afternoon, I knew there was a problem. The skin in my navel (one of the areas of treatment) was blistering badly. Some of the treated spots on my legs were blistering and seeping yellowish fluid. It wasn't very pleasant, but it really looked a LOT worse than it felt. It was uncomfortable, but not all that painful, really (although a burnt navel makes any action that causes you to bend at the waist *very* uncomfortable).
I went for my next treatment on Friday morning, still burnt and not sure what it would mean for my treatment. The doctor said we needed to wait until Monday (today) to even think about another treatment.
This morning, I still had burnt patches on my legs (which, because the laser burns a square patch and you don't want to overlap, look like a checkerboard) so we only treated my arms and dropped the dosage back down to the original level. I've once more got some mild redness and soreness on my arms, but it looks like the psoriasis is responding, on my arms, legs, and in the navel.
There are a number of treatment options available for psoriasis sufferers, including pills, injections, innumerable creams and ointments, and ultraviolet light exposure, also known as phototherapy. Phototherapy doesn't work for everyone, but I've been fortunate to respond very well to one form of it called narrowband UVB, so it is my treatment option of choice.
Now there is a new form of phototherapy that uses a targeted laser to provide a more intensified exposure. The extra intensity is supposed to clear the affected patches more quickly than regular narrowband, however there is also an increased risk of burning -- UVB is the wavelength of sunlight that causes sunburns (and AFAIK no one is really sure why it actually helps clear psoriasis).
So I found that a dermatologist in the area here uses the XTRAC laser for psoriasis treatments. I had an initial consultation and although I have a lot of psoriasis and would normally not be a good candidate for the laser, I have a history of responding very well so we decided to try it.
I got my first treatment 2 weeks ago. It went well. I only had some minor redness and soreness that went away within a day. I also noticed some immediate improvement in my psoriasis, with less plaques and flaking.
I had my second treatment 1 week ago. There is a treatment protocol that specifies what dosage to use, how to ramp up dosage levels, etc. based on skin types, amount and duration of redness and reaction to treatment, etc. They upped the dosage for this second treatment based on that protocol. By that afternoon, I knew there was a problem. The skin in my navel (one of the areas of treatment) was blistering badly. Some of the treated spots on my legs were blistering and seeping yellowish fluid. It wasn't very pleasant, but it really looked a LOT worse than it felt. It was uncomfortable, but not all that painful, really (although a burnt navel makes any action that causes you to bend at the waist *very* uncomfortable).
I went for my next treatment on Friday morning, still burnt and not sure what it would mean for my treatment. The doctor said we needed to wait until Monday (today) to even think about another treatment.
This morning, I still had burnt patches on my legs (which, because the laser burns a square patch and you don't want to overlap, look like a checkerboard) so we only treated my arms and dropped the dosage back down to the original level. I've once more got some mild redness and soreness on my arms, but it looks like the psoriasis is responding, on my arms, legs, and in the navel.