On Sat, 08 Dec 2012 07:26:24 -0500, FromTheRafters
<
err...@nomail.afraid.org> wrote:
>The list he gave me:
>
>Soriatane
>Methotrexate
>Embrel
>Humira
>Stellara
>
>I believe he gave me this list so that I could educate myself prior to
>finding out that I may need to actually use these treatments.
>
>I would much rather not be suppressing my immune system, as I work with
>the public and likely get exposed to everything out there.
Interesting that they still even use the "tree" of treatments, from
steroids up to the biologicals. Because of cost, I guess, the
insurance companies will insist on it. I guess the bottom-line stuff,
steroids, still deserve to be tried. And there are some people who
get results from Soriatane and Methotrexate, even though they often
have awful side-effects. Methotrexate is much better managed now than
twenty years ago, smaller doses and no need for liver biopsy.
But it seems to me in most cases, as a patient, I'd want to jump up to
Enbrel pretty quick, it comes much closer to actually targeting the
condition instead of just wacking your metabolism with a stick and
hoping for the best, which is pretty much what the steroids,
Soriatane, and Methotrexate do.
As I understand it, Enbrel these days is used in an on and off manner,
you take it for several weeks and hopefully get good results, then go
off it for several months or as long as it takes for any symptoms to
return. Not only does this mean your immune system is pretty much
back to normal for most of the time, but they hope it means your body
does not develop a resistance to Enbrel and you can stay with the drug
for more years without losing effectiveness.
Enbrel clears from the body in a week or so, which is a GOOD thing if
you get sick! Some of the others take much longer, which is good
because it means fewer injections, but bad if you get sick. Just worth
thinking about.
But I *really* do recommend your trying the curcumin, fish-oil, and
vitamin C cocktail sooner rather than later. Like today, if the
steroids are not giving you quick clearing, which btw - are they?!??!
--
In fact, of all the dietary guidelines, the omega-6 and omega-3 (aka
n-6 and n-3) balance is probably the best. Most Americans eat way too
much red meat and salad oils, all omega-6. Ocean-caught fish contain
the most and the best types of omega-3 ... and also a lot of mercury,
unfortunately. You can Google for more info on omega-3s. Bottom line
is the fish oil capsules are pretty convenient. Improving your
balance of n-6 and n-3 may not clear you, but should help reduce
intensity and inflammation. Every little bit helps!
J.
ps - btw, I was interested to see if your list included
cyclosporin/neoral, an anti-rejection drug that turns off your entire
immune system instead of targeting the T1 cells that seem related to
psoriasis. Back in the day, neoral was often used for a week or two
to get a quick clearing, which then would either maintain by itself or
with other treatments. But that really invited infections, from colds
to cancer.
pps - I'm really serious about the curcumin etc, although I can only
vouch for it for plaque psoriasis, if you Google it you see it
apparently *also* targets the T1 cells and/or TNF metabolic paths,
just like the fancy biologicals but much less intensely. I've had no
problem with infections using curcumin for years now. That it's not
right at the top of any conventional doctor's "try this" tree, I think
is a travesty. And what it does for you, should be clear within
twelve to forty-eight hours, this isn't one of those, "trust me, take
it for six months" deals, that is any benefit should start being clear
within a day or so, though if it cured you on the spot (unlikely) a
full healing of everything would take some normal time, weeks I guess.
ppps - the biologicals cost is $10k - $20k+ per year, if you had to
pay cash, which may be the main reason they don't jump to them
quicker. the other reason is that they don't target JUST the
psoriasis but still do suppress rather larger parts of the immune
system, though they are not a sledge-hammer like neoral. so
complications can occur, and really, afaik the science is still out on
exactly which ones the suppression might be responsible for, certainly
the tuberculosis test they give you is one sign, and even the tv ads
mention fungal infections.