I first developed Psoriasis when I was 17 years old. I remember it was Christmas and a thick patch appeared behind my ear. I thought nothing of it at the time, until it started to appear all over my body within a few short months. My doctor was baffled and I was then referred to a dermatologist. He knew straight away, it was Psoriasis.
This brings us to topical creams/ ointments. In 2005, I was prescribed Dovobet and Dovonex which were used in routine with each other. Dovobet ointment was a thicker consistency and contained steroids so is not recommended for prolonged use. Dovonex is a creamy consistency and not as harsh on the skin as Dovobet.
At the start it did find it helped. My plaques were thick, white patches and like many I had the urge to pick the scabs, I'm not going to lie. Upon doing so they would bleed, but they didn't need to be picked to bleed either. As I was still in school at the time, we had a school uniform, consisting of a skirt, tights, shirt, tie and jumper. There were many days where the tights would rub off my skin, causing irritation and cracking and not to sound too graphic, the tights sticking to the blood.
My scalp was also covered in what felt like one big thick helmet. My hair would not be the thickest anyway, so it was visible around the hairline. For that I tried others like Dovobet gel which did nothing for me, and coal tar which stunk so bad but did have a soothing effect.
Over the months of using the treatments I found it did and it didn't help. As I said, it helped with the thickness of the patches but it was never truly going away. Towards the end of 2005, I was told the option of Tonsillectomy (getting my tonsils removed). It seemed to make sense because I had always suffered with my throat growing up, sometimes missing school for weeks at a time because it would be so bad. I had consultations, and the date was set, January 9th 2006. At this stage I was in my final year of secondary school and state exams were looming in June of the same year, stress probably did play a factor in it all.
I was in hospital for 7.30am and brought to where I would rest up for the next few days. My operation was scheduled for around 9am and last thing I remember was the anesthesia injected into my hand and counting back from 10. After that, I woke up back in the room which I shared with two others, one of which was going through the same. My throat was quite sore, it was sore to talk and especially to eat. My doctor advised me that all went well and to keep hydrated and foods such as toast and crisps (yes, crisps!) were good as they helped to scrape the throat and help in the healing process.
I was in hospital for another day and a half, so I was home again come Wednesday afternoon. I was definitely glad to be back in my own bed again. I was out of school for two weeks in total. I was given a liquid to drink a few times a day to help with healing, and it did not taste nice at all, can still think of the taste of it today, yuck! But whatever helps! I was also given tablets for pain, which thankfully was minimal.
In the months after the tonsillectomy, I sat my state exams and enjoyed a good summer of sun including a two week holiday to Spain with friends. By August I had returned and my skin at almost completely cleared and then went on to proudly wear a dress to my debs for the first time in years.
In my eyes, I believe the tonsillectomy played a big part in my Psoriasis clear up back then. Even to this day, I don't get sore throats half as bad as I did when I was younger. I did use the topicals after my surgery but have felt the effects of them years on after stopping them. They tend to have an effect of thinning the skin and also find the hairs on my arms grew with this treatment. The advice I do have is if you do use these creams, use them very sparingly and not for long periods of time. If anyone was to ask me is a tonsillectomy a good step towards better skin, I would say absolutely, 100%.
If anyone wants to know any other details about my experience with either treatment, ask away.
Until next time....
Sarah x
I was in hospital for another day and a half, so I was home again come Wednesday afternoon. I was definitely glad to be back in my own bed again. I was out of school for two weeks in total. I was given a liquid to drink a few times a day to help with healing, and it did not taste nice at all, can still think of the taste of it today, yuck! But whatever helps! I was also given tablets for pain, which thankfully was minimal.
In the months after the tonsillectomy, I sat my state exams and enjoyed a good summer of sun including a two week holiday to Spain with friends. By August I had returned and my skin at almost completely cleared and then went on to proudly wear a dress to my debs for the first time in years.
In my eyes, I believe the tonsillectomy played a big part in my Psoriasis clear up back then. Even to this day, I don't get sore throats half as bad as I did when I was younger. I did use the topicals after my surgery but have felt the effects of them years on after stopping them. They tend to have an effect of thinning the skin and also find the hairs on my arms grew with this treatment. The advice I do have is if you do use these creams, use them very sparingly and not for long periods of time. If anyone was to ask me is a tonsillectomy a good step towards better skin, I would say absolutely, 100%.
If anyone wants to know any other details about my experience with either treatment, ask away.
Until next time....
Sarah x
No comments:
Post a Comment