i've bitched a lot about my psoriasis...so here's why.
my 1st dermatologist thinks my spots started from the stress of '05 (dad dying and katrina) since they first started in december and got worse in jan, when i finally went to find out what it was.
i was on creams, foam, tape...you name it. i
've been slathered in $450 tubes of taclonex and had saran wrap wrapped over me...in the hot ass summer. try sleeping like that for 1 nite. then try it for 2 weeks. you don't sleep much without the fun sound of plastic squeaking.
2nd derm was UVB light therapy. that started to work and then i became preggo. thomas cleared up my spots....that was awesome! when you have spots and become knocked up, you can get cleared or get worse. i was nice and tan for the 1st time in my entire life! it's basically the same as a tanning bed, but the UVB rays instead of the lights at the tanning bed to make you orange.
after thomas came, my spots started coming back. slooowl
y. about 2 weeks after i had him, i was looking like i had the pox again. back to light therapy. that wasn't getting me anywhere. i was just getting the sunburn with no spots disappearing. i asked him for the humira. he said get the over the counter stuff for joints. derm #2 was more interested in cosmetic shit. *eye roll*
with no spots disappearing and being cranky cause i couldn't move...i thought that was just because i wasn't use to picking up a 10lb baby...but no, after looking online, figured it was psoriatic arthritis.
back to derm #1. he gave me more of the $450 taclonex...glad it only cost me $50...and told me to use that. then after a week when the spots were still there, i said i wanted humira. blood test followed and they then thought i had lupus. next day another blood test and over a week wait, no lupus but he wants to see me again. then i had to get the records from the horrible bone and joint clinic...NEVER go there...
after waiting another week for them to send my records...this is n
ow mid-june '09. i had been on the quest for humira since jan.
so the break thru...an email from abbot pharm...the makers of humira. they were holding a q&a in baton rouge to talk about it. there was a moderator, dr and a nurse all with humira experience. the dr......dr. ira thorla. he has spots too. he's been on everything and tried everything.
i'm thinking fuck yeah! somebody that FINALLY understands.
FINALLY!
i saw him the beginning of july and when he took 1 look at me, stamped his rx pad with a starter pack of humira and a regular rx for it. not even 5 minutes of meeting him, he handed it over. he's just wonderful!
humira hurt. take your fork and stab a piece of meat. HARD. i can't even begin to tell you how much i cried it hurt so much! i needed chocolate every time i had that shot. 1st injection was 2 shots. 40mg each. in the thigh. holy fucking hell that hurt. it made me really sleepy too. i slept all nite, pretty much the enti
re 9 hour drive to knoxville and that nite. i did pretty well going around dollywood for being unable to move for 5 months. i was pretty proud of that accomplishment!
then in sept, humira stopped working for the spots. it worked for the joints so i didn't care. but by then it hurt to sit, it hurt to stand, it hurt to lay down. i was pre
tty raw. my joints felt fine, but it stopped working for the spots. then the spots became unbearable, so i went back to my awesome dermatologist in baton rouge. yes, my derm is in baton rouge. he's wonderful, did i mention that? did i mention how he ALWAYS has a spot open on the day i want to see him? how he ALWAYS is seeing me before the appt time? love a dr. that is on time and doesn't make you wait!
and to tell you how dedicated i was taking my humira...my shot day fell in the middle of the week we were at disney world. it came along double bagged in a ziplock in the ice chest. and yes i had an awesome piece of chocolate (the giant non-pareil that i LOVE!) with my shot. yes i'm that way with the enbrel too...3 shots had to come with us in march on our trip to baltimore. sadly no yummy disney chocolate to take with it.
so here...these pics are from dec. '09. over 70% body coverage.
my back...
the side of my leg....
if you frequent my facebook, you can look at me and see my skin is clear now thanks to enbrel. i started it in mid-jan. i went from 2 40mg shots a month to 2 50mg shots a WEEK. i didn't believe boy did it right the 1st time with enbrel because it didn't hurt. i inspected the pen, the needle, the clear bubble where you can see the drug...i was shocked.
the wow it didn't hurt this time happens more frequently, but there are times he hits a more tender spot and i whine, cry and have a piece of chocolate.... because that's a lot of medicine and a needle shoving itself into my belly twice a week.
so...here's tonight weekly shot video....tonight was a wow, it didn't hurt at all nite.
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