For 20 years Ravi Agarwal* battled with severe Psoriasis that changed his personality from an extrovert, confident person to a withdrawn, edgy individual. Read about his tormenting journey, his lifestyle modifications and his medicines that helped him control and, finally, clear those dreadful itchy, scaly, red patches in some parts of his body.
I was first diagnosed with Psoriasis in 1996. It started with a small white, scaly patch on my thigh. Initially, I dismissed it as a stray incidence of skin infection. I applied an ointment and tried to forget about it. But a few days later, it reappeared with much more scaling and inflammation. A similar patch appeared on my neck. My scalp too had developed several hard lesions that were itchy and full of dandruff-like flakes. Something was definitely wrong. I needed to visit a doctor urgently.
As I am from the pharma industry and acquainted with various diseases, I suspected my problem to be Psoriasis. But mentally I refused to believe it. How could I get Psoriasis? Nobody in the family has Psoriasis or any skin disorder. Besides, I was very health conscious and athletic.
When the doctor examined the patches, my most dreaded thoughts came true. I had Psoriasis with all the typical symptoms. The patches on my body were thick, red covered with silvery scales. The doctor informed me that psoriasis was a life-long skin disorder and there was no cure for it. All that I could do was to contain patches from getting worse and control trigger factors.
In a month’s time my Psoriasis spread and the white, scaly lesion-like patches appeared prominently all over my body, including my hands, elbows, neck, legs, scalp, ankles and back of the palm. There was no way I could cover them anymore.
I had enjoyed clear skin all my life and never thought twice about it. Now I had these unpleasant patches all over me. I was totally depressed. I became very self-conscious and embarrassed about my appearance. Besides the unpleasant lesions, I would feel very uncomfortable physically. There were days when there would be acute itching and pain.
At first, it was just my immediate friends, neighbours and close relatives who would look at me sympathetically and would gently ask questions. But, as the patches spread and became more pronounced, the level of curiosity and empathy spread amongst people in office, colleagues and other acquaintances.
Psoriasis had changed my personality and frame of mind drastically. I have always been a very social, extrovert person. I was fond of socialising and meeting people. But with Psoriasis, I became extremely conscious of the patches on my skin. Though my confidence was a bit shaken, yet my level of self-assurance was intact, and that kept me going
I altered my dress sense to cover my Psoriasis. There was a time when I used to love wearing T-shirts. In fact, on all my travels, the first thing I would usually pick up was fancy T-shirts. My cupboard was full of them. But no longer. With Psoriasis I switched to wearing full-sleeves shirts.
Temperamentally too I noticed a change. I had always been a calm, composed person. Now, I had become hot-tempered and edgy. Small issues would annoy and stress me severely. A few times, I had the tendency of losing my self-composure.
But, slowly I began to understand the disease and how best to control it. I became familiar with factors that would exacerbate the patches, and learnt how to manage them. I discovered what makes Psoriasis lesions flare-up and how to avoid such circumstances.
One of the biggest triggers of Psoriasis, I found later, was stress. I noticed that whenever I was stressed and tense, my Psoriasis would get worse. There would be more itching and inflammation and the lesions would reach a point of bleeding. To reduce stress, I joined yoga a year after I got psoriasis. I embraced yoga wholeheartedly. In the last 20 years, I have rarely missed any of my yoga sessions.
Now, I do more often than not the shoulder stand (sarvangasana) and I feel extremely good. There are many benefits of the shoulder stand. It improves blood circulation. It is good for the heart, eyes, endocrine glands, etc. It is particularly good for those with Psoriasis. I think it worked wonders for the psoriasis on my scalp. The shoulder stand helped to keep it in control. Sarvangasana doesn’t only direct enriched blood to the brain, but also the scalp. It is also a huge anxiety reliever.
I also started walking 5 kms every day. This again I follow religiously without too many breaks.
I have stopped alcohol totally. Alcohol is a taboo for those with psoriasis. Alcohol dehydrates the skin, and intensifies psoriasis. I have also become a vegetarian, and avoid spicy, pungent food. Now my diet has high fibre content and keeps my digestive system healthy.
With all these modifications, my psoriasis did not flare-up too often. It was kept more or less in check. Of course, I took medicines regularly.
When I was diagnosed with psoriasis in 1996, the doctor prescribed Methotrexate, the drug used to treat severe psoriasis. Methotrexate helped me manage my psoriasis well. In 2009, I was advised Infliximab. I felt a dramatic improvement with Infliximab. It was more effective and stopped the disease from progressing further. However, it was expensive. A course of four injections cost Rs 1-2 lakhs. Even so, I would recommend it to all those who can afford it.
For the last one year, the doctor put me on this magical medicine called Scapho. It is for the treatment of moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis in adult patients. Scapho was a God-send. Believe it or not, in a matter of 6 months, Scapho astonishingly cleared all my lesions. I don’t have any more patches on my body; not a single one. I wouldn’t call myself psoriasis-free, but I am free of all the symptoms. I know if I stop Scapho, I might erupt into patches once again. I know there is still no cure for psoriasis.
But it is a fantastic feeling. You don’t know how relieved I feel I feel to have my skin clear again, with no itchy patches. I feel confident all over again. I am back socializing and mixing with people happily and uninhibitedly. A healthy body also builds a productive mind. Oh... And the best part is that I’m back to wearing T-shirts again.
(* The name of the person has been changed to protect identity.)
