Say Goodbye to Psoriasis
Monthly Pnewsletter
Welcome to the November issue of the Say Goodbye to Psoriasis Pnewsletter! This is a free newsletter that we publish monthly. The newsletter will include new treatment tips and advice, updates which have been made to the ebook, along with other information that hopefully you will find interesting and entertaining!
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Volume 1 - Number 2 November & December 2003 SGTP Newsletter
Biologics - Are They for You?
Most of the chatter lately in the forums has been discussing the new biologics that are now available for the treatment of psoriasis. There are currently 4 different drugs available, Enbrel, Amevive, Raptiva, and Remicade. These are all prescription injections available only from your doctor.
The idea behind the biologics is to target an area in the immune system that is dysfunctioning and causing psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis. Amevive and Raptiva have recently won FDA approval for psoriasis. Enbrel and Remicade are approved for other treatments, but are used in treating psoriasis.
The drugs are all a little different. Amevive and Raptiva both interfere with the harmful T-cells. Amevive causes the T cells to die which requires a weekly shot for 3 months. Approximately 30% of patients report dramatic clearing. The intramuscular shot is given in the doctor's office. Biogen is the manufacturer.
Raptiva works differently in that it keeps the harmful immune cells from getting into and inflaming the skin. Raptiva is self-injected, weekly, under the skin shot. Patients must continue to take Raptiva indefinitely. It is manufactured by Genetech, Inc. and Xoma Ltd. Sales are to begin by Thanksgiving, 2003.
Some health insurance policies do not include at-home drugs so you may want to investigate further if you are considering Raptiva treatments.
Instead of targeting T cells, Enbrel and Remicade inhibit a protein, TNF, that's critical to inflammation. Both these drugs are already FDA approved for treating certain types of arthritis, like rhematoid arthritis. A number of doctors are already using the drug(s) to treat psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. Enbrel is injected at the doctor's office and Remicade is administered intravenously, at the doctors office.
All of these treatments are extremely expensive! You are looking at a minimum of $1,000. a month, and you may have to continue the treatment for the rest of your life! As these drugs are new, and many people who have health insurance, are having trouble getting the treatments approved.
But, do you really want to go this route, even if your insurance will cover it, for awhile that is. Besides the cost, how effective are the treatments? How safe are they? None of these biologics "cure" psoriasis. All they do is provide a long term cash machine for your doctor and the drug manufacturer! They might "control" your psoriasis to some degree providing you stay on the program, but what happens if you go off? And side effects? These have plenty!
Scientists have called these four treatments largely safe but acknowledge that tinkering with the immune system over a period of years could cause infections, cancer, or some mutant disease! There's no "history" to these drugs so you are basically a guinneau pig in using any of them.
I am so happy I made my "amazing discovery". I would strongly recommend anyone considering the biologics to try my method FIRST! With all the questions regarding these biologics, they should only be considered by the worst patients, who have tried EVERYTHING else.
Speaking of my "amazing discovery" ........... I conducted an experiment with my method, to see what happens when you stop the treatments. Basically, after using the method for 4 months, I stopped. At that point I was 98-99% clear. I had a few small plaques remaining in different areas that were shrinking and around half the size of a dime. It is now 2 months later, with no treatments. Did I make it to 100%? Did I stay the same? Did I get worse?
You'll have to tune in next (January) month to find out the answer!
Kwik Tip #4 - Drink lots of water, at least six, 8 ounce servings. Seven to ten servings even better.
Gender of Computer
A French teacher was explaining to her class that in French, unlike English, nouns are designated as either masculine or feminine. "House" is feminine: "la Maison." "Pencil," is masculine: "le crayon."
A student asked, "What gender is computer?" Instead of giving the answer, the teacher split the class into two groups - male and female - and asked them to decide for themselves whether "computer" should be a masculine or a feminine noun. Each group was asked to give four reasons for their recommendation.
The men's group decided that "computer" should definitely be of the feminine gender ("la computer"), because:
1. No one but their creator understands their internal logic;
2. The native language they use to communicate with other computers is incomprehensible to everyone else;
3. Even the smallest mistakes are stored in long term memory for possible later review; and
4. As soon as you make a commitment to one, you find yourself spending half your salary on accessories for it.
The women's group, however, concluded that computers should be masculine("le computer") because:
1. In order to do anything with them, you have to turn them on;
2. They have a lot of data but still can't think for themselves;
3. They are supposed to help you solve problems, but half the time they ARE the problem; and
4. As soon as you commit to one, you realize that if you had waited a little longer, you could have gotten a better model.
The women won!
Kwik Tip #5 - Try using Petroleum Jelly, or White Petrolatum. Also known as Vaseline. (Active ingredient in a number of over the counter psoriasis products, that sell for 10 times as much!)
That's it for this month. Happy Holidays everyone!
Jim Longnecker
Author - Say Goodbye to Psoriasis
Copyright 2003 - All Rights Reserved! Valley Oaks Drive Corp
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