This is our patient, Rich, who recently shared with us his experience before and after treating plaque psoriasis. Rich has been battling plaque psoriasis since he was about 28 years old. Now he is 62 and says the last 15 years have been the worst — very irritating, severe plaque over 70% of his body with pain that easily surpasses the pain he felt with shingles!
Plaque psoriasis is an autoimmune disorder where the skin cells receive a signal to produce new skin cells too quickly. They build up and shed in scales and patches. This buildup of skin causes the red and silvery patches, as well as pain and irritation.
These are the legs of a patient with plaque psoriasis and the results after 3 injections of Ilumya- a biologic medicine.
How Psoriasis Affects Quality of Life
Like many psoriasis patients, the plaque psoriasis was affecting Rich’s day to day life. Sitting and driving was horribly painful. He never wore shorts. He rarely enjoyed swimming. Overall, it was demoralizing.
“My wife would always tell me, ‘Let’s go to the water park!’ which is not too far from here. And I said, ‘Oh I can’t. I just can’t.”
About the newest medicines for treating psoriasis
Fortunately, one of the best advances in dermatology in the last 20 years has been the advancement of medicine known as biologicals. Biologicals block specific steps in the immune pathway that cause the reaction, instead of working on the surface or suppressing the entire immune system.
“I thought to myself, I’ve dealt with this long enough. I’m 68 years old…If I end up going to my grave, I’ve gotta go there in comfort. I can’t die of stress,” explains Richard.
This is a picture of our patient before and after biologic medicines helped clear his plaque psoriasis.
When Richard was approved for a biologic medication, he was ecstatic. After just three injections over the course of 4 months, his skin cleared!
“I mean within four weeks of my first injection plaque was almost gone,” Rich explains. “And the redness after my second injection at the fourth week was really starting to fade. And now, well today is the 12th week and injection number three. Couldn’t be happier. Give it a chance. Go see Dr. Schwendiman or at least I don’t know of any about the other doctors here, but uh, he, this guy’s on the level.”
There are 11 biologic medications for psoriasis. Rich was approved for one called Ilumya ®.
Most biologics…
* come as an injection
* will often show most of the benefits within 12 weeks
* are very expensive, however, you may not pay all out of pocket depending on your insurance plan and/or patient assistance programs
Today, there are more options than ever before, and a dermatologist can help you find the right treatment — or combination of treatments — that meets your particular needs.
If you have plaque psoriasis and you’re ready to get help, contact your board certified dermatologist. You can schedule an appointment anytime online with one of our doctors even if you are a new patient at AdaWestDermatology.com
The plaque psoriasis on his arms cleared after 3 injections of Ilumya – a biologic medicine.
Rich saw Mark Schwendiman, DO, who sees patients at our Ten Mile Clinic. To learn more about Dr. Schwendiman, see an interview with him on our Youtube channel here.
