Wednesday Confessional

#2 - I have Psoriasis

Some of you already know this, but there's probably a lot who don't. Psoriasis.org describes the condition as "a chronic, autoimmune disease that appears on the skin. It occurs when the immune system sends out faulty signals that speed up the growth cycle of skin cells. Psoriasis is not contagious."

I often get asked the same question: "What happened to your arm?" Because of its appearance and location near my elbow, it can look like I took a spill and got some road rash. Sometimes when I was younger, I would be embarrassed and reply "I fell", brushing it off really quickly. It may seem like a little thing, but it has such a huge impact on my everyday life. I unconciously will plan outfits around covering it, rarely wear my hair back in ponytails (which I love) because I'm afraid it will expose patches around my ears/neckline and wearing a swimsuit becomes dreadsome. It can affect your entire personality and confidence when you are so self-conscious of it. It doesn't bother me as much now, and being married to someone that accepts it and isn't bothered by it makes a huge difference. I was always stressed about what people would think while I was dating.



If you look closely at the left picture you can see it on my left elbow and upper right arm

Before getting pregnant with Emmett, I gave myself Enbrel shots once a week that cleared my skin of it. I stopped during pregnancy to protect Emmett, and as a result it is pretty much back as bad as it's ever been. I am in the process of trying to start back up on the Enbrel. I have always considered Psoriasis to be my "curse", but a few weeks ago Jared's Aunt said something that made me see it in a whole new perspective. She said, "That Psoriasis was the thing that saved your life, right?" She was right. I am part of a study they are doing on Psoriasis up at the University of Utah, and the day before I was admitted to the hospital, I had a Psoriasis study follow-up in Salt Lake. While doing the routine vital checks, they noticed my blood pressure was slightly high. That caused my to keep a close watch on my pressures for the next 24 hours, and I was able to miraculously catch the Pre-Eclampsia setting in. Because there are no real symptoms, chances are we wouldn't have known something was wrong until I either went into a seizure or stroked.  Although I still hate it, and can't wait for it to clear up.... I can now look at Psoriasis as my blessing.

*I have talked to Doctors and Psoriasis specialists, and my Pre-eclampsia had no correlation to Psoriasis (just in case anyone was wondering)