Liz - Nail psoriasis
Liz shares her experiences of nail psoriasis, having lived with nail symptoms for the past two and a half years and tried a number of different treatments.
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Hi! My name is Elizabeth but most call me Liz. I’m a 45 year old mum of two amazing sons. My boys and my husband are my world, I’ve only ever wanted to be a mum.
I have been suffering with psoriasis of the nails for around 2.5 years although it wasn’t officially diagnosed until earlier this year.
My psoriasis started on one nail on one hand, my nail had become discoloured and at first I thought maybe I had left my gel polish on too long or even naughtier picked it off and maybe I’d taken a few layers of my nail with it. So, I left it (as you do!) and on went another gel colour.
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The changing of my nails was quite slow at first, then I noticed a few nails on
my other hand had gone the same way, with the discolouration and slight
lifting, so I made a doctor’s appointment. She checked them and said it was
most likely to be my gel-polish and the UV lamp and I was to rest my nails
which I did for a few months. Sadly, this didn’t have any affect.
Not being able to put on a nail colour has knocked my confidence, I used to
enjoy making my hands and feet look nice.
After months of back and forth to various doctors and differing treatments like
steroid creams and foam sprays, I was eventually referred to a dermatologist
who prescribed Methotrexate.
Since being on Methotrexate, I have started to see a slight improvement to some
of my nails.
Some of the tasks I find difficult with my nails are simple things like getting
dressed, making the beds or even just washing my hair. My nails catch on things
which can be quite painful.
I have discovered that if I can file down the nails that have lifted the most,
I can reduce the risk of them catching.
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I can often spot people looking at my nails, it used to bother me but not now as I know it’s totally natural to look, I do on the other hand (no pun intended) get quite upset if people are mean or rude. Whilst packing away my shopping one time I noticed the cashier looking at my nails, she pulls a face and says “ok if I leave your change here?” placing it down on the side of the till where I’m packing my things away. In my head I kept thinking “you can’t catch it you know!!!”
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