Advice needed GP Useless

Posted , 2 users are following.

Really hoping someone can clear up a few questions I have as my GP has been utterly useless and just told me to not come in to see them about my psoriasis but just to phone them and ask for a repeat prescription. All I actually want is some advice about the creams they keep prescribing not just more of the same!

Long story short. For around 15 years every winter I get what I thought was simple Eczema, essentially very dry itchy skin on the back of my calves, arms, torso and around the hairline on my face. Went to my GP many times over the years and they never gave me an actual diagnosis and kept saying "come back when it's really bad and we'll take a look". The problem was that it never got visibly bad but it would itch like hell and then I would scratch so much that I'd damage the skin. Eventually they prescribed a steroid cream and whilst it didn't cure it, it would make it go away for several days and the skin would return to looking like 'normal' and wasn't dry and flaky.

Then around 2 months ago I started getting red patches appear on my skin. At first I thought it was the Eczema but then it got worse and it would start to flake badly and then crack and bleed. In other areas it would present as raised shiny patches of skin which after several days would then crust over. Off to the GP who said it was a fungal infection, several weeks of anti fungal treatment and it was no better, in fact worse. They then prescribed a mild steroid and that helped but the skin never returned to normal looking and shortly after stopping the cream, it would return. Back to the GP who referred me to a dermatologist who within 1 minute said "oh that Psoriasis". He then prescribed me Eumovate Ointment but said he'd give me another cream to use as well but that he couldn't prescribe that only my GP could??? When I saw the GP she couldn't understand why they couldn't prescribe this other cream and they hadn't received a letter from the Dermatologist so just sent me home with more Eumovate.

The trouble is that the Eumovate Ointment is a tiny tube and what was originally meant to last at least 2 weeks, ran out after less than a week and that was after being very careful with the dosage. I have it literally head to toe in patches on all sides of my body so a 30g tube is never going to cover those areas twice a day for 2 weeks!

The good news is that the Eumovate did help, all the flaky skin stopped and the red patches grew much fainter but nowhere does the skin look 'normal' i.e. you can still see red patches but they aren't raw looking just a pinker than the skin around it. There is one area, the area that had the 'shiny raised red skin patches' that whilst now the skin isn't raised and isn't red, it is now a lighter colour than the skin around it.

The question I wanted to ask my GP is simply, whilst I know Psoriasis isn't curable, should the skin return to 'normal' looking in between flare ups i.e. when do I stop using the creams? I've been told to only use the cream for 2 weeks in any month as it's a steroid which I totally understand but if the skin hasn't returned to 'normal' does that mean the strength of the steroid isn't sufficient or that after giving it a 2 week break I should use it again for 2 weeks or that I shouldn't use it unless it starts to flake/crack/bleed/spread again?

The other question is there a link between Eczema/Dry Skin and Psoriasis? I've never understood how or why I suddenly started getting really itchy skin every winter.

0 likes, 2 replies

2 Replies

  • Posted

    http://www.bad.org.uk

    Have you had a look at the British Assn of Dermatologists website? There is a lot of information there, which might help you

    The British Skin Foundation is another place to look. There is a link on the BAD website.

    Good luck

  • Posted

    I didn't think they would want to moderate my reply.

    Look up the British association of dermatologists

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