Psoriasis and weight loss

spongekitty

So, is there anyone else on MFP with moderate-severe psoriasis? I've read somewhere that sometimes, losing weight and getting under that "overweight" label can cause psoriasis to go away, or partially clear up. But it's a real bummer for me when I think about the reasons I'd like to lose weight (to be able to wear clothing that shows off more of my body, among other reasons) and realize that maybe my psoriasis (which is all over my body) may never go away forever or even significantly. There's really no way to know how it will behave.

I guess this goes for anyone else who has something unsightly that they might never get rid of... how do you all rationalize getting back on the treadmill when you know you'll never look good naked?

ijiiii

I had to look up Psoriasis to see what it is, doesn't seem like being slender would help treat the symptoms. However you shouldn't be discouraged from hopping on that treadmill. Being at a healthy weight is better than being over weight which is a stepping stone from becoming obese which will make your life worse.

Ejwelton

I too suffer with it. At present it's reasonably under control, however due to a stressful, family situation I've just had a patch appear on my eyelid.

I find when I'm eating healthier with less processed food my skin improves.

Do you use anything? I find exorex is one of the only things to help me. It's a coal tar based cream rather than steroid.

jukesy305

Just out of curiosity, how long have you been diagnosed with psoriasis? One thing that really, really helped me was a Vitamin D blood test that my doctor ordered. I had randomly developed some patches of psoriasis that had trouble healing so I went in to have it looked at. My dr said she had just recently read an article about the link between skin conditions - like hand dermatitis, psoriasis, EAC etc - and having very low vitamin D levels.

Once she ran the test, I figured out I was severely Vitamin D deficient. She had me on 10,0000 units of Vit D a week for 2 months and my skin conditions have nearly all cleared up but I have to take a daily Vit D for the rest of my life (I'm that deficient!).

It may be something you might wanna look into!

Qskim

I have moderate psoriasis...patches on my back, severe on bottom of one foot. Get it on elbows. I'm 43 now n I think I feel less worried about wat other people think bit I. Remember being worried at 18 about my boyfriend now husband seeing the patches and being put off by them but he wasn't. Once he understood the condition he didn't care. I throw on a tanktop now and often forget about the large patch on my back but I'm feeling good n I don't care anymore. People c u looking after yourself when you lose weight n that is wat impresses upon them the most.

There is alot of research about food and psoriasis and depending on how much u are overweight will govern how much the psoriasis improves. Some people put it down to better food choices and I would agree with that..it becomes easier to manage and I haven't had a new outbreak for a couple of years. People talk about stress and psoriasis in the sense of life stresses and that's true... It can flare up with this kind of stress. However another kind of stress is how your body is functioning and when you are overweight it is a stress on your body.

Interestingly too I discovered years ago that mentally I can bring on psoriasis and get rid of it (new patches). One day I saw a friends knees and he had patches on both and I thought that's one place I havnt had it n started to panic. Lo and behold 2mths later I had it there...so I visualized it going away and it hasn't been back since. Okay maybe it just luck but I hav repeated the exercise (patch start on face) n it went.

Don't b worried about the future of your psoriasis...trust me you'll get where u want to b weight wise n you will hav the confidence to tackle this down the line. There r so many benefits to losing weight. I look after myself more now Inc my psoriasis. Now that I've dropped I am considering tweaking my food even more to help my psoriasis.

Good luck. You are on your way. For now just focus on your goal to lose weight.

spongekitty

Really? I hadn't heard that bit about Vitamin D deficiencies. I have a dermatologist appointment coming up, I'll ask her! Coincidentally, this is the third dermatologist I've seen. I've been diagnosed for 4, going on 5 years now, and no one's thought it was related to anything else. But I didn't know about that, so, it's certainly worth an ask.

My psoriasis is to a level that my doctors have wanted to treat with Humira or any other biological (those weekly shots) since I have it all over my limbs and torso (my face... thankfully spared) so creams and all that have not been helping (it would take a whole tube of ointment to cover me, what a pain)

And thanks ijiiii, so far, that's what I've been telling myself!

snookumss

Being thin doesn't get rid of it... its the healthy eating.

My boyfriend is seeing a naturopath and homeopathic doctor who is helping him with it now....


A side effect of eating healthy is a good weight and clearer skin

Ejwelton

Have you had UVB or puva treatments?

I use a great forum and website where there is lots of help, advice and support. Including a very active section of people using alternative methods of treatment.....

http://www.psoriasis-help.org.uk/

I also met my husband here too!!!

KuroNyankoSensei

I don't know about being overweight connected to psoriasis, but I know what you eat is a huge factor in it.

When I eat horribly, my psoriasis tends to flair up, and when I eat clean, it tends to clear up. It's never fully gone away, I get it on my fingers and whatnot because of my xerosis, but it's definitely much better.

melissachipman123

I recently started only using lye all natrual soap. You can buy it on eBay "grandmas lye soap" it's like 4 bars with shipping for $8.00. It has helped so so much! And so many others that's why I tried it. I also started taken fish oil supplement 3 times a day so maybe it's the combo? Do you live where it's sunny? If not the vitamin d would probably help alot. When I lived in Alaska I would go to the tanning bed twice a week and it would help clear me up alot. Psorisis sucks but it will get better! You will find something that works to keep it under control. So many people deal with it. You are not alone.

melissachipman123

The root cause of psoriasis is found to be vitamin D deficiency in many patients. It has been observed that vitamin D supplements have improved the skin lesions of psoriasis, like scaling and patches on the skin, within a shorter duration.


Vitamin D Analogues for Psoriasis.
For psoriasis treatment, it is important to rule out vitamin D deficiency before beginning any other mode of treatment. Patients suffering from vitamin D deficiency should have regular exposure to the sun. The symptoms of vitamin D deficiency can be cured or even prevented by taking vitamin D supplements. One remedy that can help the patients of vitamin D deficiency or psoriasis is Dovonex. This drug was formed to fill in the need of a medicine that could suppress the rate of growth of skin cells without disturbing the normal calcium metabolism. Dovonex arrests or reduces the fast growth of skin cells in patients of psoriasis, just like vitamin D, without affecting the metabolism of calcium in the body. It has a valuable role in treating patients of psoriasis as it does not have any side effects like other medications used for psoriasis. Dovonex cream should be applied to the psoriasis-affected part, 2 times in a day. Patients can see an improvement in the lesions of psoriasis within 4-5 weeks of application of this cream. Dovonex is a very effective medicine in treating psoriasis as it acts just like vitamin D.

meerkat70

My partner has it. Healthier choices make a big difference. However, the biggest change for him has been since he gave up alcohol. From having it all over his body, he's down to one or two little patched.

Ejwelton

It's a weird condition. We are all so different. A treatment that works for one won't have any effect on another.

It really is trial and error to find what helps for you.

Unless mine is on my face or hands I generally try to ignore it. I've never seen a dermatologist and only see a doctor at them times it bothers me.

Hikaru37

Not psoriasis, but I have mod-severe eczema and eating healthier appears to appease that, espescially lots of oily fish

Another thing I started having is this smoothie for a snack and that's really seemed to have cleared my skin, I had a really sore scaly face and back that has gone down in days (flare up normally lasts a week or more)
Green tea
Handful of kale
One banana
125g blueberries
One kiwi
10 grapes
5-6 strawberries

Chop fruit, combine all in blender, blend blend blend, pour into large bottle and refrigerate. Swig whenever hungry for a snack. Mix and match with other green veg and different fruits but atm that's what I've been using

jukesy305

Really? I hadn't heard that bit about Vitamin D deficiencies. I have a dermatologist appointment coming up, I'll ask her! Coincidentally, this is the third dermatologist I've seen. I've been diagnosed for 4, going on 5 years now, and no one's thought it was related to anything else.

Mind if I ask what skin tone you have? I'm naturally tan and apparently darker skin has an even harder time absorbing Vitamin D from the sun. Weird, right? I actually thought it would be the complete opposite. I was so skeptical when my Dr. told me this that I went home and did my own research/googling - turns out she's a Dr. for a reason lol!

There are a lot of misconceptions about Vitamin D deficiencies because people are always like "why do you need medicine for that...just go outside!" or "I can't be deficient, I'm outside all the time." But unfortunately for some of us - regardless of the color of your skin - sometimes you just don't absorb what you need! And then this wreaks havoc in weird ways; psoriasis, eczema, dermatitis on hands/feet, insomnia, headaches and even your ability to lose weight.

Like someone else mentioned, it's important to find the balance that works for you because everyone is different...but I do hope your dermatologist will order you a test just to rule it out! And if he/she doesn't, your general practitioner will (:

bikinibeliever

Bump....will be back soon to read. I have psoriasis so I sure want to see what people have to say!

NoAdditives

My SIL has Crohn's disease, which has caused her to also have rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis. She's the skinniest person I know. In her case, all three issues would be improved if she would stop drinking alcohol and stop smoking cigarettes.

Katbaran

I had mild psoriasis for years--on my forearms and elbows and occasionally on my back just above the waist. I tried so many things to get rid of it. For my whole life I had a problem with my fingers cracking open in the winter time. It got so bad that sometimes I would have 10-15 bandaids on my fingers to cover them. I used liquid bandage to plug the cuts up and help them heal from the inside. Just as one would heal, a couple more would open. Then, when I was miserable enough with bleeding fingers, the psoriasis would flare up! It was horrible.

About 4 years ago, my doc said I was vit D deficient. She had me take 50,000unit pills once a week for 6 weeks and since then I take 4,000 units a day, every day. I had no clue it was going to help the psoriasis or the cracks in my fingers. I started the vit d in the spring and the following winter, I had ONE finger crack open all winter. I had NO psoriasis. I haven't had either one ever again since I started the vit d.

Talk to your doc! It can't hurt to try. I also read that overweight folks don't process the vit d we get from the sun as efficiently as thinner folks. It's not a miracle cure, but it can help.

jukesy305

She had me take 50,000unit pills once a week for 6 weeks and since then I take 4,000 units a day, every day.

Now that I think about it, I was on 50,000 unit pills once a week too! They were little green, clear gel caps. Initially I wrote 10,000 but now I remember having a conversation with my dad about how it was nearly 7,000 units a day.

I've actually gone through this process twice. Initially, the blood test after my first month of Vit D showed marginal improvement. The problem was that I didn't go get my blood test right away like I should have. I waited about 3 weeks and my levels fell once again. So my Dr. extended it one more month and this time I did a retest right when I was supposed to; and I was finally back into normal range.

And this is why I'm on a daily regimen. For some reason, my body just doesn't like Vitamin D from the sun *shrug* And when I forget or skip it, my skin gets pissed off like no other!

spongekitty

Really? I hadn't heard that bit about Vitamin D deficiencies. I have a dermatologist appointment coming up, I'll ask her! Coincidentally, this is the third dermatologist I've seen. I've been diagnosed for 4, going on 5 years now, and no one's thought it was related to anything else.

Mind if I ask what skin tone you have? I'm naturally tan and apparently darker skin has an even harder time absorbing Vitamin D from the sun. Weird, right? I actually thought it would be the complete opposite. I was so skeptical when my Dr. told me this that I went home and did my own research/googling - turns out she's a Dr. for a reason lol!

There are a lot of misconceptions about Vitamin D deficiencies because people are always like "why do you need medicine for that...just go outside!" or "I can't be deficient, I'm outside all the time." But unfortunately for some of us - regardless of the color of your skin - sometimes you just don't absorb what you need! And then this wreaks havoc in weird ways; psoriasis, eczema, dermatitis on hands/feet, insomnia, headaches and even your ability to lose weight.

Like someone else mentioned, it's important to find the balance that works for you because everyone is different...but I do hope your dermatologist will order you a test just to rule it out! And if he/she doesn't, your general practitioner will (:

I have very, very fair skin (My mother's a redhead) and I also never go outside (I'm studying engineering...) so my doctors have told me to go outside more, no doubt, but i've never been tested for a serious deficiency. And, well, they can recommend it as much as they like, but everything I have to do in life takes place indoors, so it takes going out of my way to see some sunlight.

In terms of alcohol, I only just started drinking (recently 21, and was fairly good about the law) and even now I don't drink in excess, so cutting it completely would not make it any better.

bethb03

I too have psoriasis, I have it on my scalp which is a big pain in the butt. It can drive me crazy and I'm sure most think I have a horrible case of dandruff. I use coal tar based shampoo (which stinks) and it does help some. I even have a lil bit of psoriasis in my ear and a very small patch on the front of one of my ankles. I've never heard about the Vit. D thing, I'm going to have to talk to my Dr. about that! I'm fair skinned and rarely get out in the sun so maybe that is a problem. Would be wonderful if weight loss would help.