Made it through Christmas

Well we made it through Christmas without too much turmoil. Everyone got what they wanted, for me, an IPod touch! Now when Im sitting at my own dr appointments or at my hubbys I can play a game or watch a movie or just listen to music. Its pretty cool, Im still excited over it. I hope everyone else had a decent holiday also.

Ok, for my hands, I have a few bumps here and there, only a couple of them painful on my left thumb. My fingertips just get that hard leathery skin over them and then peel off in big chunks. I hate it.

My feet... ugh, my feet. I wish I could get them to calm down. I have to wear socks all the time right now because my body thinks the purpose for feet is to act like velcro. the center bottoms of both feet are scaling, peeling, cracked. All around my toes I have blisters and peeling skin. The tips of my big toes have blisters and peeling skin all the way up to under the nail. Ive soaked them, slather them with vaseline, which normally softens the skin enough that I can sleep a day or two even without socks on but nothing is working lately. Ive tried to keep as stress free as possible too but sometimes this crap just has its own plan in store I guess.

Now Ive had a bad cold the last 3 days, sore throat, stuffy/runny nose, now a mild but irritating cough. Im wondering what my hands and feet will look like in a week.

Ok, well thats about all thats going on right now. Ill try to post next week again. Its hard with the heavy schedule of doctor appointments. Take care!

Brrrr

Its been so cold! The weather went form summer almost into winter. Its fall and its already spot out a few snow flurries. I'm having a really hard time with my P. Both my big toes are not only peeled off down to the soft tissue but there are more blisters now which means, yep, more peeling to come. I don't know if my skin can grow as fast as whats needed. I also have bad areas between my toes and around the base of them. The cent palm area of my feet are still peeling and now around the edges of both heels, blisters and peeling. My fingertips are also starting to show tiny blisters. Not as bad as my toes though thank goodness. My hands look fairly nice really. I cant complain about them. Just a few sore spots here and there with a blister here, peeling there.... I feel like I'm singing the 'Old Mac Donald' song lol I have one spot on my left thumb that is almost raw. Its the only place on my hands that is "bothering" me.

I have ointment I can put on my toes and feet. I just hate having to do that. I think sometimes it makes it worse. I put Vaseline on after showers and I do soaks about once a week with salts and oatmeal. I use Curel Ultra Healing lotion, omg I love this stuff. I keep socks on my feet all the time, including in bed although on occasion I'm able to not wear socks when my feet aren't grabbing the sheets and blankets constantly.

I had an EMG done on my feet and lower legs. Why didn't anyone tell me this is painful? lol Its not supposed to be. The Dr said that most people find it uncomfortable but that my nerves are more sensitive than most. He said that I have Small Fibro Neuropathy (I think that's what he said lol). Which is common with diabetics and is why I have constant burning and needle type pains in my feet. He also said that it amplifies the pain from my P so I'm getting a double whammy.

I started insulin. I was surprised how easy it is really. I get a little bit of stinging sometimes but giving myself the shots is much easier than I thought. You should have seen me the first time though lol it took me about 5 mins of holding the needle next to my skin before I actually pushed it in lol I'm a big chicken :) But I got over it and now its nothing at all. Been on it a couple of weeks and its bringing my numbers down slowly. Once they get my fasting numbers down they'll start trying to get my spikes down when I eat. Being a diabetic is rough. I wouldn't wish it on anyone.

Anyway, I got my husbands Christmas shopping done. I need to shop for thanksgiving dinner this week and then Ill be ready to put up lights this weekend on the house for Christmas. Lots of stuff to do and think of the next couple of months.

I hope everyone has a great week and a great Thanks Giving!

Hi, hello, how are ya?!

It's been a while, a very long while actually. Ok catching up here, we've moved, to mid Michigan, I'm not as stressed out now, I'm still having issues.

So for those who don't know, I'm diabetic and I have a few other health issues other than my PPPP. I also have neuropathy and thyroid disease, not to mention I'm plum crazy too *grin* So, the decision was made recently that I am going on insulin. Pills and diet, or lack of diet have failed me so this is the best choice now. I hadn't had any huge flares or breakouts in so long but recently my feet have been giving me problems. Well neuropathy and PPPP is just a horrible combination. My feet are peeling, but its my toes that are taking the brunt of the blisters this time. mostly the tips of my toes. I saw something somewhere that said this is a dangerous and rare type of PPPP but I cant find where I read it at and my derm is a moron and doesn't care long as she gets paid. Anyways, I'm trying to do soaks and then massage in Neosporin on the places its cracked or peeling to the meat, then I massage in Vaseline on the rest of my feet. I have one problematic spot on my right big toe. Its very raw and red but it doesn't hurt really on that spot. However, its one of those spots you know right away you have to keep an eye on it, especially with me being a diabetic.

I'm hoping that when I actually start my insulin that my body will be more in balance and my feet will calm down. I still get spots on my hands but its nothing like it was previously thank God. I get dime size or less spots of blisters that I only notice once they start turning brown or start peeling.

The cover to my camera took a dive, nice design over the batteries, latch broke from the stress of the battery springs. Oh joy, or I would take a pic of my toe.

All in all I say I'm not doing too bad. I keep my spirits up, try to not feel too down and I don't let this control my life. Happy happy joy joy! I hope you are all doing well and that this isn't keeping you down either!

Settling back in...

Sorry its been such a long time since my last post! It has been a very rough couple of months. We made it through Christmas, but then my mom had a stroke in mid January and I went to Texas to be with her. She is doing much better now and is at home, but she still has a long road ahead of her.

Well it only took a couple of days for my hands and feet to start flaring. At one point I had to go to the doctor about my feet because I had chunks of skin coming off and it was bleeding, blisters everywhere. I was walking, even though I had good shoes, all over the hospital, getting up every 5 minutes for my mom. I started becoming more depressed, its so disheartening to see your mom who you have known all your life and not know if you would ever get to have a conversation with her again. If she understood you even. Emotionally I was a huge mess. My father and I don't normally get along to begin with and going through this proved to make things even worse.

I have been home a bit more than a week now and I'm happy to say that my hands are beautiful! My feet are on the mend as well.I have only one tiny spot on a finger that is sore because a blister wants to pop up. My feet are not as good but they're not terribly bad. Where I had bled before the skin is scaly, scabby and sore. I do have a few blisters still doing their thing. But my hands... they haven't looked this good in a year! Anyone looking at my hands would think I was completely normal :) I'm so happy about them. I'm able to play the piano which I am learning right now and that makes me very happy too.

The only thing I can contribute my hands doing so well to is my medications. When I was in Texas it was very hard for me to remember to take care of myself while I was taking care of my mother. I missed doses of this and that and my system was thrown off. Now that I'm home I'm taking all my medications again and I'm clearing up well. Of course now that I have talked about how good my hands are Ill flare up lol Oh well, we all know this stupid condition has more hills than a roller coaster. But for right now, I'm enjoy being able to touch things, I'm going to "try" to do some baking this weekend. Make some cookies for the hubby and some fresh bread. My mouth is watering just thinking of homemade bread fresh out of the oven, a little butter and fresh honey YUM! Maybe Ill bake some tonight lol

Well here's to everyone having a great day! Take care and be good to yourselves!

Better or worse...

Some days its hard to tell if I'm getting better or worse or if its just simply changing getting better in some spots and worse in others. I'm very disappointed that I didn't get to continue the Keflex but I have other medical issues going on right now and it was necessary for stop so I could take other medications. What medical issues? Thyroid disease, diabetes, kidney issues, depression, anxiety. Nice little mix there isn't it? So I'm on Celexa and Ativan for the anxiety and depression, Amaryl for the diabetes, Synthroid for the thyroid disease and Lisinopril for my kidney issue. Yes Lisinopril is generally used for high blood pressure and to protect against heart attacks but it is also used to help protect the kidneys from protein. Or so my doctor says!

So here's my hands as of tonight...

They're just slightly peeling but not bad and just a few tiny spots where a blister tried to come up and just didn't quite make it. I have a couple spots you cant really see in the pictures where I picked a piece of skin off and it pulled good skin off and bled a tiny bit. Thats my fault, I'm a picker, I try not to but it seems to be so hard to not pick sometimes.

Now for my feet, which look rougher and I have been having pain with the last couple of weeks. Here's my left foot. Its the better one I think.

 

 

Now my right foot. This is the foot that's been giving me trouble. It hurts, half the time I don't want to walk on it but I'm doing the best I can to suck it up. I'm not going to complain about it, it is what it is. 

 

 

 

 So there you have it. Not the best of updates but who knows what the future holds.

Now its been suggested that if I quit smoking (I quit several months ago) that this would go away. It didn't. If anything it may be worse now than when I smoked. Also it has been suggested that I'm allergic to bugs and/or bug feces. I don't feel this is the case. I'm also on a medication for my allergies, but honestly, I cant see that this would be the case. My diet has changed and is changing again, doing this has not helped at all either. The Keflex was helping, but I needed to do the best thing for my body right now. So your guess is as good as mine, what caused this, what will heal this...

I just know that tomorrow is a new day and I hope everyone has a great one!

Better days

Well I thought I would go ahead and post today even though I wasnt going to until next week. Ive been doing pretty good and I feel like the Celexa has really kicked in. Im not so stressed out now and today I can really tell its working because I can say today that I am happy :)

Now since starting the Celexa I was taken off Keflex. I was really worried what might happen especially since some say Celexa caused their P or caused them to have flares. I was scared! Ive been on it now about 3 weeks give or take and I have to say, I think my skin is getting better. Ill post some pictures I took the other day. My feet arent the greatest. My right foot in particular is pretty rough. Its p[ainful too which doesnt help. I dont dare say anything on the NPF website because the last time I put pictures up there were a couple of people who said hurtful things to me so now Im afraid to. Anyway, heres some pictures from a few days ago.

Taken 9/8/09

 My hands are doing better but Ive been doing stuff today so theyre all red Ill take pictures tomorrow when I havent irritated them so you can see what they look like right now.

Alright, well thats all I have to say at the moment! I hope youre all doing well :)

My PPPP Story (PalmoPlantar Pustular Psoriasis)

Pustular (pronounced Pus-tew-ler) psoriasis is an uncommon, but potentially very serious type of psoriasis. There are two main types of Pustular Psoriasis: Generalized and Localized. If it widespread over the body it is referred to as Generalized Pustular Psoriasis; if it is limited to just one part of the body, it is referred to as Localized Pustular Psoriasis. There are two types of Localized Pustular Psoriasis: Acropustulosis, which occurs only on the tips of the fingers, and Palmo-plantar pustulosis, which only occurs on the palms of hands and/or the soles of feet.

Palmo-Plantar Pustular Psoriasis

In general, Palmo-Plantar Pustulosis is localized to the palms of hands and/or soles of feet. It normally occurs in people between 20 and 60 years old, may be triggered by infection and/or stress. It has also been found to affect females more than males. As with Generalized Pustular Psoriasis, Palmo-Plantar Pustulosis occurs in a cyclical pattern, with new pustules occurring after a period of low-to-no activity.

How is Palmo-Plantar Pustulosis treated?

Palmo-Plantar Pustulosis often proves stubborn to treat. Topical treatments, such as corticosteroids, are usually prescribed first. PUVA, acitretin (Soriatane), methotrexate or cyclosporine (Neoral) sometimes must be used to clear this form. Combination treatment with PUVA and Soriatane (called RePUVA) may also be effective.

Notice that doesn't say "Cured". It only says "treated" because there is not yet a cure. I believe one day there WILL be a cure but until then, thousands of sufferers can only treat their psoriasis. Some will get their psoriasis to go into remission. Others like myself, battle it on a day by day basis.


My psoriasis story.

About 5 years ago I noticed that I had half a dozen small red spots and peeling skin on the soles of both feet. I thought it had something to do with my diabetes to be honest and since it didn't really give me any trouble I just kept putting moisturizer on my feet and ignored it. Not really a smart thing to do not just because I'm a diabetic but because when anything is going on with your body you should have it checked out by your physician.

So after moving with my husband to northern Michigan from Louisiana I came down with the flu, then I had bronchitis followed by the flu again and finally I ended up in the ER room with a case of strep throat. I had been running a fever of about 101 for 3 days at the time. The doctor gave me a shot of penicillin and although they couldn't get my fever to come down they sent me on my way. I ran that fever for another 2 days before it finally broke. That's when my PPPP went wild. At the time I had no idea what it was.

Well maybe 3 days later I start having little blisters pop up on the palms of my feet and hands. I'm like well this is weird and kind of painful. So everyone in my family says oh yea that's hoof n mouth, I'm like the COW disease? lol ok yes they're country folk. Anyway I end up going to the ER Room again where they tell me they think its Coxsackie Virus, (also called hoof and mouth which made me laugh) gives me an anti itch pill because at this point its really starting to itch, I go home, take the pill, fall asleep, wake up, OMG its worse. Like these blisters overnight completely covered the palms of my hands. There were blisters on top of blisters, skin is getting thick, old blisters turning dark red and I am freaking out.... FREAKING OUT! To make things really bad the anti itch pill which was Atarax. The only thing that pill did was make me sleep constantly.

So I go to the dr, my insurance doesn't cover a dermatologist, and he says, "I don't think its Coxsackie or it would be getting better not worse, I think its such and such Eczema (sp?) I'm like ok dry skin you're kidding right? So he gives me some steroid pills to take, alike a 5 day treatment to get the swelling down because my fingers looked like they were going to pop and a medium duty anti itch cream for the itching. Well the swelling came down dramatically, I only occasionally itch, but then my skin was thick like leather, my hands looked like they were rotting, literally, and new blisters coming up on top of the leathery skin which already still had blisters.

Anyway, I start talking to my brother after someone says something stupid to me "Oh that looks like Leprosy" lol Talk about freaking me out... he gets to looking on the web and finds pictures that look exactly like whats on my hands and they are pictures of palmo-plantar pustular psoriasis. NOW I'm freaking out. I frantically search the web, all I can find out? It cannot be cured. You get it you get stuck with it and your life is slowly taken over and ruined by it.... niceeeee! Just wonderful!

For 4 days I couldn't even pick up a glass to take a drink using my hands and now I'm thinking I have to live this way? So I finally find a wonderful website, The National Psoriasis Foundation. What did I find there? I found that no one there is freaking out as much as I am, so it cant be the end of the world if this is what I have.

So I go to the doctor again. He looks at it and says "No thats not PPPP that's coxsackie I'm positive." He gives me a script for some steroid cream and sends me on my way. At this point this had been going on for almost a month. I'm no fool, I knew there was something else going on and not what this doctor was suggesting.

I end up a week later at Urgent Care. The doctor looks and says he thinks that this is eczema and gives me Presidone 60mg a day for 7 days and a medium duty steroid cream to slather on twice a day. I clear up. Completely. But about 6 days later the blisters start coming back. So I go back to Urgent Care because at least that doctor made me feel he wanted to help. Well he is there but not working so he talked to the doctor who was on duty and she turned out to be very nice, very caring. She tells me that it 'could be Coxsackie' but she thought it looked like possible psoriasis. She gives me a super potent steroid topical. This worked great, although I havent been clear since I took the Presidone. She also went beyond what she needed to do and found a dermatologist who accepted my insurance.

Well I went to the dermatologist. I don't like her. But she diagnosed me right away with PPPP. She gives me a script for Halobetasol ointment which is a super potent steroid and sends me home.

I can only use steroids for 2 weeks at a time due to problems that can occur from it getting into the bloodstream and into my liver and kidneys. Occasionally you'll find me ranting and raving about how I'm feeling. That's part of why I decided to blog here. Although the National Psoriasis Foundation is a wonderful site for information and socializing, its a bit heavy with censorship. You'll know when I post things on my blog that I can't post on NPF's site lol Other than censorship, they're a great place and I recommend you checking them out if you have psoriasis.

That's all for now, sleep well!