How long till Acitretin leaves the system

Its the diprosalic ointment they gave me but i very rarely had any on my scalp. I think i will definitely buy a lamp as its really only on my hands and feet. Fingers crossed. It really infuriated me my dermos tried to play the hairloss down even asked what other meds i am on . I think in 27 years they have tried very little. When i got private appointment i was put to top of list but i was looking at 3 years wait on nhs to see a dermo. Can you not get light therapy on nhs ? A friend used to get it here but it was stopped .

Hi Bev, sorry for the late reply! 3 years what??!! The rule usually is first of getting an appointment with your dermo which with the NHS takes months, it’s ridiculous how long it takes, I was about 7-8 months in total I think, I got to the stage I assumed I missed the appointment! Once your in tho your dermo will book you in for an appointment every 3 months, I’ve been on a long road since my first appointment, started off with several different creams/lotions every few months, no joy! Only success is Enstillar but I don’t want to use that several times a week full body! After they failed I was offered Otezla pills, usually phototherapy is the first thing you’ll be offered but for some reason I wasn’t! You should get that pretty much at the start as that’s the checklist they start at after lotions until you reach the very top which then allows bio treatment. I don’t Otezla didn’t work after 6 months, then done MXT but stopped after 3 months as it made me sick and then was offered phototherapy which worked amazing but once you stop it will start gradually coming back, it’s just a quick fix which gives relief for a few months. Maybe they’re holding off with you as you are not covered head to toe? I recon a handheld lamp would be good for you from what you explain you have. I’m starting mine again today in arms / lower legs and aim to keep at it a few times a week! The end goal is a larger unit when I can afford it.

https://www.dermfix.uk/1000mx-psoriasis-uvb-lamp-uk @bev this is the one I’ve had the past couple of years, it’s quite powerful, you start off low time then end up a few mins per time, there is a booklet to keep you right. I usually do about 2.5mins at a time so as you can imagine it gets hard holding it for so long and is very time consuming. I find it I’ll do it, the next morning that patch will be red, almost burnt then after a day or 2 the redness fades away and the P you can hardly notice, obv moisturise after using it but after a few days it comes back. A bigger unit you could stand in front of would take 10-20 mins max for me whereas a full session on the handheld would maybe take me 2 hours! If I just do arms n lower legs tho I could be done in about 30-45mins, usually just stick a movie on and do it. You were saying it’s mainly feet and hands, this would sort you out I’m sure! Hope it helps! PS - On Acit, I think I’m close to tapping out already with it, the past 2 days I’ve had a full throbbing feeling in the centre of my chest, directly under the middle of my ribs which is freaking me out a bit, I’ve hardly slept with it as it’s been keeping me awake, not sure if it’s my liver, gallbladder, pancreas or maybe something completely harmless that’s happening as I’m doing this drug. Also I woke up this morning and my face was all dry skin in patches on forehead, between eyes and side of nose, I feel like crap and mentally just feel down. I’m not sure if I need to power through this or if this drug is going to be more harm than good! Also all the patches I said that peeled off with ease are all red again when they were going pink before, really is soul destroying this! Is the above normal guys or do you think I should just stop this immediately? As of last night after dinner that was my 9th pill, seems really early for so many issues!

@rapture.. thank you so much I will invest in this for sure ! I have gallbladder issue and a fatty liver so MXT wasnt for me . I was finding I had chest pain ( not agonising pain but a pressing discomfort) it was over a weekend. I rang out of hours they wanted to send an ambulance. I wouldn't go. I put it down to my gallbladder but i am still a bit short of breath 4 weeks later. My xray came back I have a collapsed lower lobe. I still have a cough. Could be something like that possibly ? My had gone into my local boots the pharmacist was horrified at the state Of my neck with a rash and said it was a severe reaction. Only way of contacting anyone was a phone number thats rarely answered i had an app with which they could message me but i couldn't contact them. My GP advised me to stop the acitretin im sorry i ever started it tbh

Where you are describing your pain is where i had it. I couldn't sleep either . Mine lasted a few weeks

Yes that’s exactly what it feels like, same spot, if I take a deep breath in when I exhale I can feel it, I had regular blood tests on MXT and ultrasound a while after I finished it and all came back clear then blood test before I started Acitretin which came back perfect, I did have a few beers over the weekend and thought that’s maybe why but thought for a healthy liver and only on my 9th tablet it surely couldn’t be my liver at this early stage?! I then googled Gallbladder and Pancreas which look to be that spot, god knows but I’ll look to get it checked next week at A&E if I have to if it’s not shifted. The fact you had it also kinda helps my mind a small bit as it’s not just me, still not nice tho! I’ve been moisturising my face all day so hopefully all good but it’s still on the red side, I think I’ll now be leaving this med, far too many things are happening and I’m only at the start, as harsh as MXT was I didn’t get any of this, I just felt a rubbish and it was ruining my social life with it being so much harsher on the liver than this one. I’m hoping at my next derm appointing next month I can move onto Bio treatment as I’ve more or less tried the lot now :-) You’re welcome with the lamp, there are others out there, that’s the one I have tho

@Rapture I had my last xray on 1/2/24 and bloods. Everything was grand except the lower lobe thing. I am still a bit out of breath but pain has gone. My GP rang me yesterday and said its nothing to worry about it goes away itself .

That was 2/3 days of in my bed, only today starting to feel a bit better but still not 100%, face is not as red today, lips getting a bit better, those pills are in the bin, never again! @bev that feeling below the ribs we spoke about, still kinda there but certainly not as bad as it was the past 2 days, hopefully that’s it sorting itself out! How people have went months and years on this bed is beyond me, how can you handle these side effects? Maybe I’ve came off worse than some folk tbf! Back to the drawing board it is with this horrible thing!

@Rapture probably tbe best place for them. I hope this is you on the mend !

Hi Rapture. I am 11 weeks today off that drug. My hair is almost on its last legs, scalp is on show almost all over. I can walk very little distance without becoming breathless. I had a procedure yesterday which required a light anaesthetic. My saturation was low . Dermo who blatantly lied to me has moved on and her boss has not returned one phone call or email. I cannot get a private appointment with another dermo until mid May. There is not a chance I am taking biologics. It is so difficult to even get a phone call with a GP here. I have been using the lamp though hands aren't great but nothing major. Hope you are doing ok .