Thank you, Chris!

My dermatologist, who I had been seeing for the past five or six years, has retired as of last November, and he has passed me on to another dermatologist, with whom I have yet to get an appointment because of his patient backlog. I have held out seeing this new dermatologist because he has been highly recommended by my retired dermatologist who has been the best I’ve seen in all my years of skin problems.I figure if HE (who was Head of Dermatology in the hospital) has recommended this one, he must be good. Even my family physician called his office and was told about the backlog of patients and that they “will call” (I get the feeling my dermatologist has transferred all his patients to this one guy)! That was six weeks ago. Still waiting! Will call his office again on Monday.

Here, you can’t see a specialist without a referral from your doctor. It took me several years to find my last good dermatologist (two or three before him were no help to me) and now the one who was of some help has retired and I seem back at square one! I have even lost my ophthalmologist because he has cut back on his patients during the pandemic and is seeing only the most urgent cases - of which I am not one!

My itching mostly has been due to dry skin for years, and it’s all over my body, especially my back. It definitely gets worse during the “winter months” which can be from start of October to end of April. I have no rashes in my body, just my psoriasis patches which, aside from the nasty patch on the lower back of my head and nape of neck (THAT, is another itch that is even worse than my regular dry skin itching!) have been pretty much under control now such as it is - presumably because of the two 2.5mg weekly and the Stelara - except for the scalp and elbow.

I use no fragrances, use only fragrance free, sensitive skin detergent, don’t use any cosmetics other than lipstick which I rarely wear anyway - especially since the past year of masking. My clothing is all cotton against my skin (flannel nightgowns during winter; yes, I have wondered if the flannel is causing the itching but I itch during the day, too)! I know I cannot wear wool or lace, even as trim that could touch my skin, e.g., neckline, sewn into seams, etc. I slather myself with moisturizers a plenty and even use pure, organic coconut oil on my body - on my scalp too, before I shampoo. I only shampoo whatever little hair I have once a week because my hair and scalp is so dry.

In my experience trying various products and remedies, I discover something that works like a charm a couple of applications or so, stops working before long! Everything “good for you” doesn’t seem to be, for me! Someone once suggested I rinse my hair with apple cider vinegar (my scalp was clear of psoriasis at the time, but I have dry, frizzy hair). which I did, cautiously diluting it with some water, and nearly went through the roof because it burned my scalp! I cannot even take apple cider vinegar in any form internally - gives me major heartburn! And it - as well as lemon juice - are supposed to be alkalizing! 🤷🏻‍♀️

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