The Wind beneath my ……

I am connected to a couple of organizations for Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis. I was going through my emails tonight and there was a post that got my dander up…. And if you know anyone with Psoriasis, that is not a pleasant thing. They do not need help getting their dander up.

The article was talking about how there is a connection to the microbiome in our bodies and Psoriatic Arthritis (PsA). What this means is there is good bacterial in and on our bodies that do many things. When your system is sick, and you have a bacterial infection, you have too many of the bad ones. Other symptoms caused by bacteria out of whack are athlete’s feet and yeast infections, the plague of being a woman. Cellulitis is also a common and very prolific bacterial infection.

When people are often diagnosed for skin rashes, they think they are bacterial. Psoriasis is NOT bacterial. It is a reaction to the immune system being out of order and the skin over produces cells which build up plaques. That is what the rash is. I did not present “normally” with plaque but with little raised circular dotted configurations. It was several years before they figured out what my weird head to toe rash was.  (I was diagnosed with the PsA and they then connected the dots…so to speak.) They thought hives, and I was pretty sure that was it too. I have had hives off and on for my whole life. I was put on antibiotics. Guess what…that was the worst thing they could have done.

My immune system went absolutely haywire. I went through a series of strange symptoms that would show up in labs.  I would rush around being given all kinds of tests; all to find an anomaly, but then nothing would be done. I was tested for parathyroid issues, Hasimoto’s thyroid disease, saw all sort of endocrine doctors, saw nephrologists when my one kidney crashed, I became diabetic with an A1C of 13 from my normal 5. But no one could figure this skin thing. I would itch so much at night I would bleed. My sheets looked like I was attacked by a knife.

Finally, they tested for the RA markers and did a SED test. It was definite for PsA. Finally, (slap your head) the rash was figured out to be psoriasis. By that time, I had some hefty plaque on my scalp which confirmed it.

I have always had gut issues. I will try to not be too graphic. In my family, farting was an art. I was a Picasso. (Ok, I have to stop laughing at this) But in seriousness, this “ability” was not something I thought about much. I also have a loud gut. My bowel sounds do not need a stethoscope to be heard. Matter of fact, my dear friend wants to record them and make a record out of it. As I got older, my digestion became pretty erratic. I think it is one cause of my weight issues. Most often what comes in, goes out the same; no digestion. So…(in honor of the good Doc), I no longer practice my “art” for fear of a big oops, especially in public.

This article I was reading tonight shed light on something. The article talked about the gut having missing bacteria could be a factor in people having PsA. http://www.psoriasis.org/advance/features/microbiome-how-your-bacteria-affects-psoriasis-psoriatic-arthritis

I wanted to scream. NO SHIT!  Totally inappropriate, but truthful. I think about how my gut situation has steadily gotten worse over the years. Most times, I have to eat and have access to a facility pretty pronto. I have has some serious miscalculations (yes Doc, you are not alone) I will have a series of days like that and then just the opposite. Being blocked up is more painful I think. But I am 97% of the time in some form of discomfort all the time.

I was diagnosed with diverticulitis and was hospitalized for it five years ago. The course of meds included IV-antibiotics. My reaction was so bad, that they thought I had C-diff. It came back negative. But I was allergic to the Cipro and presented with real hives head to toe. I was also hospitalized with pancreatitis, hospitalized….given pain meds that locked me up tighter than Fort Knox. We had to blast. That was caused by an infected…. INFECTED gallbladder, which was removed and more drugs were given. Anyone catching on here????

So this article goes on about the investigation to the link of inflammation and the bacterial count in our system. It talks about probiotics.  On my GP’s recommendation, I went on probiotics. ONCE! My reaction was the worst case of almost not making it to the potty ever. Talk about a bowel cleansing. Yikes! I was sick as a dog for several days. I obviously stopped them. However, for the past two years, I have suffered from chronic issues that have ramped up to be like having Crohn’s. Last year, the Enbrel I had been on for eight years stopped working. My immune system had become “numb” to its affects. The result is my PsA is in full bloom and my gut is also blossoming and it ain’t pretty. I have days when the pain is so great and the reaction to food is so violent that it is amazing there is a bathroom left. You would think I would lose weight. But no; just the opposite. I put on thirteen pounds since last May. Fortunately, I have now lost 18 being on Weight Watchers. But it is extremely hard. For one thing, my ability to eat raw veggies is absolutely gone. I cannot tolerate carrots at all. Too many luncheons of salad and I am in extreme pain. I love veggies and I do not eat meat. But I cannot eat a lot of other things now. I also feel just terrible, tired, and irritable and gassy…. And not in that order.

But in the article at the end, it explains that the OTC, or everyday currently available probiotics are not the answer to the solving the connection with PsA. I will gladly volunteer to trial a product. The article leaves the possible cure for this terrible disease just hanging. It infuriates me. If they would spend one day with me in a small, warm room with no breeze…..that cure would be on the market pronto.