Psoriasis – Bless Your Heart

Every 4 weeks I inject myself in each thigh with 150 mgs of Cosentyx to control my psoriasis. Before Cosentyx I was SO self conscious about my psoriasis. Big, red, itchy splotches covered my arms, legs, torso, scalp, everywhere! It was especially problematic in the summer when I’d be forced to wear short sleeves because of the heat. The looks I would get! But now I’m 100% clear! No more worrying about showing my arms in the summer! No more itching! Life is GOOD my friends! Now, the main reason I wanted to share this with you is to tell you that Cosentyx is SUPER expensive if you don’t have insurance or if your insurance doesn’t cover it. Like hundreds of dollars a month. My insurance covers it (right now, that can change) but my co-pay is $100 a month. But I pay $0 a month because Novartis (who makes Cosentyx) covers my co-pay!!! And they will probably do the same for you! They have a program called Covered Until You’re Covered that I was in for a year when my insurance didn’t cover Cosentyx. Novartis just sent me the drug for free! And now that my insurance does cover it, Novartis pays the co-pay. It’s amazing! So if you’re suffering from psoriasis like I was, check out Cosentyx from Novartis!!! By the way, this is not an ad or sponsored post. I get no compensation from Novartis. I’m just a very satisfied customer!!!

A couple months ago I got an email about a psoriasis study. I was so excited! A potential treatment for my psoriasis AND I’d get paid each time I went to the dermatologist? Let’s go!

I didn’t know if I’d get the placebo ointment or the drug, which was a vitamin D derivative. Things were going well at first. Then a few weeks ago my skin started to really itch. I mean, viciously itch. I couldn’t stop scratching. And my skin turned all red. My dermatologist told me I’d been given the drug, so at least we knew why it was happening. Then things got really bad for my poor arms. The skin got really tight. And started to crack and bleed. I couldn’t sleep at night for the pain. I decided to drop out of the study. I went to my next appointment prepared to drop out. My doctor saw me and said “Take her out of the study right now”. There were only 2 more weeks of the study to go, but there were also only 2 more weeks before I’m to leave on a cruise with my family. Here’s what I looked like 2 weeks ago. No filter. My doctor prescribed me a cream and told me to come back the Monday after Christmas. Here’s what my left arm looks like now. Less red. No more pain, thank goodness. But I still look awful. I’m not looking forward to putting on short sleeves in less than a week!

I asked my doctor about getting the shot (Humira, etc) but he said even though my arms are covered I don’t have enough psoriasis all over my body for my insurance to cover the shots and they run about $15k each. YIKES. When I get back from the cruise we’ll explore more options. I’m just hoping for some more fading up until Monday morning when I board the ship in short sleeves! I can’t go to the Caribbean in long sleeves! I’ll just keep telling myself I don’t know those people and have myself a grand time!