Patient perspectives: psoriasis treatment

They're always coming out with new stuff. It's like the iPhone, you know? There's always one that's better.

[MUSIC PLAYING] I'm Dr. Doris Day. I'm a board-certified dermatologist in New York City. And I'm here with Deidra, Apolonia, and Christopher.

And we're talking about how to find the right psoriasis treatment for you. The journey to finding the right treatment

can sometimes be very circuitous, and it can take a while before you find the right fit for you. So I'd love to hear from each of you.

Let's start with Christopher on this one on what you've tried for psoriasis and what your experience was with what you've used.

I'm currently on my fourth biologic. And so I've been on this one for probably close to a year now, and it's worked really well.

So my experience has been mostly positive. I haven't had any really bad side effects.

I've always paid really close attention, and I've always had really good doctors. So it's been good. When I was a dermatology resident,

they had this protocol called the Goeckerman protocol, where we would just cover them with this tar formula that smelled like tar.

And they'd kind of bathe and soak in that for a while, and then we'd rinse it off and try to get their skin clear. And this is-- we're only talking 20 years ago.

We didn't have biologics back then, so it was a matter of trying to find all these other ways to try to control the skin condition.

And, Apolonia, I don't think you ever did the Goeckerman formula for tar treatments. But what has been your experience and your journey

with different treatments for your psoriasis? So I started off with using ointments and creams.

As my psoriasis began to become severe, I went to UV therapy. But it just didn't fit with my schedule

because you have to go, like, very consistently. You can't-- like, when you skip-- And almost start over, yeah.

And, yes, and almost start over. So right now, I'm actually taking supplements, and it's been working very well for me, actually.

That's awesome. What about you, Deidra? So for me, it was a topical, and there was an oral. I did that for the length of the prescription.

And I also made sure to alter my diet because the more I researched, I learned that it was directly

related to inflammation. We know that you're 100% right. It's a pro-inflammatory condition.

And all of the things that we do for psoriasis, whether it's a topical steroid or a biologic, is

suppressing one or many components of the immune system, right? So UV light and the topical steroids

will suppress the immune system in the skin. A biologic will suppress a pathway that's causing psoriasis.

But diet does have those antioxidative properties that has been shown for some people, at least for some time,

to help with it as well. So I think it's a really, really, really important component. So what's the one piece of advice you would have?

Let's just go around-- Deidra, Apolonia, and then Christopher. What's the one piece of advice you'd have for someone who's looking for a treatment of how to find

the right treatment for them? Yes. So the one piece of advice I would give for someone that's looking for the right treatment is to have an open mind

and just know that all treatments are not the same. Just keep at it. Don't give up. Give yourself a chance to report to work.

Apolonia? Even though someone says that treatment didn't work for them, know that everyone's body is different

and that it could be different for you. Christopher? I'm not even going to work hard at being original. I'm just going to say, I'm going to piggyback on that because those are great answers.

You know, you're going to be searching for a little while. It took me a while, and everybody's different, though. Some people get on the first one,

and, yeah, it works for a long time. But the most important thing is to not lose hope. I love that. And my advice is to find a board-certified dermatologist

to get a proper diagnosis, evaluation, understand what you're dealing with with your psoriasis,

and to discuss all your treatment options to find the right one for you. [MUSIC PLAYING]