Recommendations for private dermatologist in Bucks or Bedfordshire please

Posted Thu 6 Jan 2022 14.30 by AlexTheBird

Hello all I'm posting on behalf of my husband and hoping this lovely community can help. He started suffering very badly with psoriasis last year with plaques on his knees, arms, bottom and scalp. His scalp psoriasis is the most problematic as it is very visible, painful and I would definitely say this has affected his mental health now, hence I'm on here. Our GP surgery are understandably stretched, and my husband is a teacher, so seeing a doctor during the week can be tricky. So far, we haven't had much luck with the suggested treatments - Exorex, coal tar soap and various over-the-counter ointments. Does anyone here have any recommendations for a private consultant that we could talk to that specialises in skin conditions? We live in Bedfordshire but would be very happy to drive to other counties nearby. Thanks so much for reading :)

Posted Thu 6 Jan 2022 14.49 by lizziep (edited Thu 6 Jan 2022 15.00 by lizziep)

Hi Alex -if you type scalp psoriasis into the search at the top of the page and look on forums, you will see many threads with suggestions as it is a problem for us all! I'm afraid visiting the dermatologist there is no miracle cure and I am sure your local one will be as good as anywhere and it is good to get started on the treatment route as is is a very depressing affliction My consultant gave me Etrivex - which you can get from the GP - and I use that about once every 2 weeks but it can be used more often. I also use Dercos anti dandruff shampoo (the green one) and Body shop ginger shampoo - both recommended by people on this site and available online- between those three it keeps it pretty manageable for me, but it is the part I hate most and I was a teacher too, so I feel for him. I ended up on immune suppressants which were life-changing for me and I never regretted that and had 20 years with no psoriasis. I've also heard of others using olive oil to soften the plaques to remove them.. Good Luck

Posted Thu 6 Jan 2022 14.54 by AlexTheBird

Thank you so much Lizzie - I have been lurking on the forum for a while and seeing what other people have recommended, some of which we have tried. I think the hard part is the lack of proper medical help and GP availability for him. if we could get a prescription for anything that might help that would be a great start! I'm so pleased you're in a better place with your treatment and long may it continue :)

Posted Thu 6 Jan 2022 14.57 by lizziep (edited Thu 6 Jan 2022 14.59 by lizziep)

Ah, well sadly I came off the immune drugs as I panicked over COVID and now I cant get back to dermatology!! You should be able to get the shampoo from the GP without the dermatologist sayso, I think, although perhaps not. Enstilar foam is the other thing that does help too. But if you want the effective drugs, they make you plod through all the other ones first.

Posted Fri 22 Apr 2022 06.25 by Mary1968

Hello AlexTheBird I saw a private consultant called Dr Barry Monk in Bedfordshire (Biddenham) Of all the dermatologists I have seen in my lifetime (LOTS) - he was the best one ever He may be retired now though, as it was some time ago that I last saw him.

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