Employment

Wondering if/how psoriasis affects other sufferers' working life... After four years of being largely clear of psoriasis, I'm now in the middle of another severe flare-up. It started in early June 2017 and has been spreading rapidly ever since. My entire torso is now one giant plaque of psoriasis which is constantly sore, painful, flaky and itchy and has the bonus of depriving me of sleep. Although topical treatment (Enstilar) has controlled my arms and legs, I'm unable to control my torso with topical treatments because it's so sensitive to them, so I'm just moisturising (E45 Itch Relief Cream + Zerocream) 5-6 times daily which soothes it to a limited degree. Thankfully I'll be starting UVB phototherapy via the NHS at the end of September 2017 (after a 3.5 month wait since my initial GP referral), which I'd expect from previous experience to improve my condition significantly within 6 weeks, and clear it after 3 months. I work in a very busy office environment, dealing with often impatient customers face-to-face, over the phone and via email and I'm pulled in multiple directions at the same time, for much of the day. The extreme discomfort and fatigue, only made worse by the stress, has meant that I reached a point a couple of weeks ago when I told my employer that although I'm capable of work, I will need to work from home until there is significant improvement. This has been supported by a note from my GP. It has taken a couple of weeks to convince my HR department (who suggested I do a combination of working from home and annual leave at one stage), but they have now reluctantly agreed, until the end of September initially. I do feel guilty that I will be letting my colleagues down at the busiest time of the year, but at the same time I have offered to work from home rather than taken long-term sick leave. What are other sufferers' experiences of how psoriasis has affected working life?