Improvements to psoriasis after appendectomy and antibiotics

Hello Jack and Ly So interesting finding this thread.. It's the only thing on the internet i could find.... My appendix was removed almost 3 weeks ago. I had some antibiotics around and after the operation and ofcourse painkillers like diclofenac and paracetamol.. I always had some small spots of psoriasis left after almost all was gone last year...I could not get rid of it not matter what i tried.. Also a nasty eczema on my left leg plagued me for months before the operation. The first couple of days after the operation i noticed the spots of psoriasis and eczema were fading and not itchy anymore..very bizarre... I must say i am a bit ashamed as my job is an analyst in molecular biology and biochemistry i already had a huge base of knowledge in microbiome immunology interactions but this auto-immune connection between appendix and skin issues like psoriasis and eczema never was apparent to me as there is no literature on this phenomenon... Curious how this works out coming months...I will report back and try to understand and explain some of the underlying biology.. Best Regards Herbert Aberson

I had to come on to this site to share with you my thoughts on this. I experienced a similar reaction after a wisdom tooth removal. I have long wondered why this happened. I have recently given this a lot of thought and researched as much as I could on the internet. I did find another forum on reddit where this happened. And also another mention elsewhere after appendix removal. I believed what is happening is the vagus nerve is stimulated. And this can initiate remission. There has been some studies online looking at vagus nerve stimulation for psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis but it appears to be in its infancy in research. It has been proven as a method of reducing inflammation for rheumatoid arthritis though. One study I read said that it can initiate remission for 20% of rheumatoid arthritis cases. I have become a bit fascinated by this and convinced this could be a treatment Avenue for psoriasis. There are some studies saying the appendix can cause Parkinson’s and when i read the article it does say the appendix and the brain are connected by the vagus nerve. Also if you look at diagrams of the vagus nerve it does appear to have “branches” that go in to the jaw around the back of the mouth. Indeed some of the studies looking at vagus nerve stimulation have proposed using a connection close to the ear- I think they use electric stimulation of this area to stimulate the nerve. If you research vagus nerve and autoimmune conditions online there are many discussions and scientific studies on this.

Thanks Tulip for your response As for the Vagus Nervus connection i think you have a point there. Last couple of years i also worked in molecular parkinson research and it came up there too...literature is quite extensive last couple of years. Problem in this is to pinpoint the organ or tissue that feeds the negative expression that is relayed to the Vagus Nervus into immune expression in tissues like the epithelium of the skin(psoriasis) or brain/neurons (parkinson) It sure is fascinating and there's other factor like diet, stress and sleep too.. To be continued...thanks to all for their input and let's keep this discussion alive with our experiences and knowledge

Thanks for replying Herbert. This is a new area of research so I am hopeful that it may give us new treatments. Biological treatments have obviously have been a great progress in the last 20 years. But a further different treatment tool that didn’t have these side affects would be so great.

I suppose the exciting thing would be if it was possible to treat the cause rather than just the symptoms of the disease.

Yes the diet and stress play a part too. Perhaps there is a link somewhere along it all. The gut microbiome could send signals via the vagus nerve to the brain.

Thanks Tulip for your reply.. It is a very multifacetted field of biology but anecdotal stories like this give great clues.. I learn a lot from it.. Even i am surprised in this having 30 years of molecular biochemistry and biology knowledge.. I'll try and update now and then.. Obviously the traditional treatments like steroids and biologicals only affect part of biology and usually do not have lasting efficacy and a lot of side effects too.. My group has been working on endogenous molecules in neurodegenerative disease that signal through the Vagus Nervus through mainly the splenic a7 receptor.. Exciting stuff.. Let's update now and then Best Regards

Yes please do update if there are any further information comes to light. I joined the sit when I saw your post as I hoped that my experience may be useful.

Hey Herbert & Tulip, thank you for replying, i will check this vagus nervus, as i do not have that biological knowledge at all, i'm an architect. I stopped cortisone about 7 years ago. Concerning the diet, i've notice that if i have enough omega 3 every day in my food or supplements, as well as vitamine E, and exercice, no sugar, my skin is really better. Last fact, i did an hydric fasting last summer of more than 30 days ( it is a lot) and my psoriasis almost left completly. As soon as i eat again, even really healthy, it is coming back, so for each crisis, a week of fasting is the key i found. So for me, there is a link between my digestive system and my pso, an inflammation of my gastrointestinal tract is my new clue. Thank you both again. for the updates! A bientot!

Hello Ly Thanks for your reply Although it's complex you don't have to be an expert in biology to make smart decisions regarding psoriasis. Like 2 years ago i watched a scientific lecture on psoriasis and systemic disease, in the Q&A the lecturer mentioned that long fasts were the only real effective thing but he could not explain the mechanisms. So it's so interesting you do extensive fasts that help your skin...respect it's very hard and takes discipline. Me myself do intermittend fasting and the occasional 3 day..it helped to reduce most psoriasis except the few last spots mentioned. Must say i combined it with a ketogenic diet which i enjoy but that's really something personal. It's so hard pinpointing the factor that initiates psoriasis and it can be different in everyone. As you elude to systemic health is most important..eating clean and mindfull helps.. So funny that you mentioned the omega 3, our scientific work involves the metabolites of immune cells that have omega 3 and 6 as substrate for signaling molecules that end inflammation..it's called resolution physiology and the molecules immunoresolvents. In the future we hope to develop stable molecules to radically help neurodegenerative diseases. But there's applications in diverse other disease including skin related. Must say wide introduction will be years away unfortunately...science is slow. So you are spot on with the omega 3. Best Regards

Hey Herbert, merci for your feedback on the omega 3, it would be utterly incomplete for me to say that only. fasting and omega are good, i mean physicals remedies. I mentionned earlier that my analyse was very much improving my pso condition, going to some "dark corners" to put light back is until now showing how less stressed i can manage to lead my life. My mum got myasthenia, about 6 years ago, she had medecine to lower her immune system. A short therapy, out of back and forth to hospitals, we decided both to try to stop thos medecine, and it worked, that's about 4 years she is full of life and she is now 80. Medecine and science tend to separate too often our bodies and minds, connecting them is, for me, crucial. 🙏🏽🤞🏽

Hello Ly Myasthenia is quite serious... It's as auto immune as disease can get.. Like i mentioned in a previous thread its systemic so you connect a lot of dots on diet, stres, sleep relations it will make a big impact.. Compliments on the insight..A lot of people suffer more then necesary never realizing endogenous potential.. It takes discipline though.... Once you reach middle age( 49) it's all about beating the curve of symptomatic disease... Best Regards

Thank you all so much for taking such interest in this thread. I'm delighted to see it has raised such an interesting line of conversation and that there actually was a potential link between my appendix and my PSO – I feel vindicated now! For what it's worth, my general health improved considerably post-appendectomy. I never considered myself to be an IBS sufferer, but the overall well-being of my gut definitely improved. In terms of my PSO journey, around this time last year, I began to see symptoms on my face – no plaques, just large red patches. I have a very public-facing job, with lots of video presenting work and, to say the least, this change really affected me. I would characterise myself as very confident and unselfconscious, but I felt emotionally floored by the condition, mild as it was. I took a far more proactive role in managing my condition and have has really good results with Curatoderm and a generic emollient. I'm very fortunate that my condition has responded well to this and hope it stays that way.

Thank you for responding Jack it is great to hear you are still doing well

Hello Jack Thanks for your reply.. You really did first pinpoint this connection although it is very complex and diverse in expression.. Looks like the malignant expression of microbiomes like in the appendix or anywhere the Vagus Nerve connects determines a lot of auto immune issues.. I see it all over in pathologies i research but the appendix never was apparent to me before it was removed... Great to read you are still doing good.. Like we discussed with all you participants in this thread..there's really more to it like diet, sleep, stress, relations but you really opened a pandora's box with your Psoriasis-appendix connection Best Regards

I have recently taken co-amoxiclav for 7 days regarding a water infection, and found that psoriasis on my arms and lower back greatly improved. After the course finished, the psoriasis started to return. Could the antibiotic effect on the gut be the cause?

Hallo Billy_Banjo If you read this thread carefully it's all about manipulating the behavior of the gut microbiome bacteria.. If it's through surgery losing my appendix, antibiotics killing of bad bacteria or (intermittent) fasting letting the bad bacteria starve and good bacteria thrive... So your observation is correct.. Me myself thrive on an animal based ketogenic diet with almost no vegetables or fruit right now....no psoriasis in over a year..i combine this with intermittend fasting 16-20 hours a day...drinking only water and 1 or 2 cups of tea in the evening.. So glad i left my psoriasis behind me.. Hope there's some good ideas there for you. Best Regards

I'm a bit late to the party but hopefully my observations might be of some use to others that are trying to connect pieces of their own understandings of these types of skin conditions. I found this thread by making some connections and then searching online to see what others are saying. My message will be on the long side with too much information at times What I was able to find online until now : There seems to be a correlation between appendix removal surgeries and : triggering of autoimmune diseases, which can then trigger skin problems and/or arthritis and or digestive issues, including irritable bowel syndrome, rectal inflammation, possibly colon cancer or milder affections of the colon. The appendix seems to be like a buffer or reservoir of healthy gut bacteria which the body can rely on when they get depleted or running low. I find it very interesting that some of you noticed skin improvements after the surgery, my experience is more on the opposite A bit of background, I am 35 years old and English is not my first language so excuse my errors if they occur. I have been dealing with skin issues since I entered my teen years (I am 35 now) but I noticed they got worse at around 15 years of age, after my appendix removal surgery. After the surgery I didn't realize that my body needed a different diet to accommodate the changes so I suffered from severe constipation for a couple of years until I learned that I need to include much more fiber in my diet. A couple of things that occurred a few weeks/months after surgery : gums retracted, developed hemorrhoid's, started having much more itching and flaking on scalp, ears, nose, eyebrows, face and hips area, and increased sebum production (can also be associated with puberty). But it is now clear to me that my skin balance isn't as able to self regulate as well as before the surgery. The excess oils, dead skin cells and acids are seen by the immune system as foreigners and it is a chain reaction where it then produces even more oils and skin to try and protect from itself, which tends to form a sort of thick buildup on my scalp What I have tried along the years : all the possible diet combinations : vegetarian with dairy and eggs, vegetarian without dairy and eggs, vegan, raw vegan, fruits only (as a detox for couple of weeks - worst results ever), keto diet (better results), carnivore diet, no sugar, no gluten, water fasting, enemas, lot of different shampoos, shaving my head, and I am sure the list of things I have tried out of desperation might be bigger if I could remembered everything Nothing has worked completely, but some of the things improve the condition to a certain degree, while others make it worse. What helped me alleviate the condition : shampoos made entirely out of natural ingredients, proper hydration, sleep, exercise, avoid stress and overthinking as much as possible, warm weather, keto diet, bone broth. Carnivore diet also helped but can't sustain it for long term as I don't enjoy eating that much meat and also seems to lead to constipation. Fasting helped, and it is amazing, but can't sustain it for more than 24 hours as I am of a thin constitution with very little fat deposits. After 24 hours I start feeling very weak and can't perform at work properly. Since an overly reactive immune system sees threats everywhere my theory is that it tends to be more active where the body has contact with the outside world : that means skin and digestive system and maybe that's why diet seems to have an impact, and also, maybe that's why fasting seems to work since during the fast you are not presenting anymore foreign material to your system, but obviously it can't be a permanent solution Other things that helped: ketoconazole and head & shoulders shampoo somewhat worked for a while, until it started working less and less, then when I stopped it, the condition came in much worse than ever. Scalp brushes helped a little bit but not much. Shaving my head, and exfoliating my scalp and face after soaking in warm water does wonders in keeping the condition at bay although not a true fix, it definitely is welcome, but there is the added social discomfort of being bald, which I am learning to live with until a better solution Whenever I had to take antibiotics and anti inflammatory drugs, I felt much better for a few days, but when I stopped taking them the condition came back worse than before I am taking supplements like d3, zinc, selenium, magnesium, cod liver oil, b12, and all the basic good stuff we should be getting but can't say I notice any improvement other than the mental comfort that at least I am not deficient What things made it worse : Sugar, bread, wheat, gluten, alcohol, smoking, excess carbohydrates, stress, commercial shampoos with lots of chemical ingredients, winter weather, coffee, lack of sleep Since the appendix acts as a storage for healthy gut bacteria, my thought process is, that if I replace them manually with added probiotics in my diet, I should be able to reverse the problems, at least to a certain extent. And there is information out there that seems to confirm that adding healthy bacteria aids a lot in decreasing inflammation. Another thing worth mentioning is that probiotic supplement seem to work only while taking them but do not help repopulate the gut. So my plan is to eat daily fermented foods like kefir, kombucha, pickles in brine, sauerkraut and see how it goes. Will report back after a while Also have heard of good results from people taking a CBD prescription and might give it a shot Last couple of years have noticed some signs of joint discomfort which is in line with my statistical findings that the appendix removal is related with autoimmune disease and arthritis