Dominic's Story

Dominic talks about the importance of finding the right treatment after his mental health suffered due to his psoriasis.

My name is Dominic Scally and I have suffered from severe guttate psoriasis since December 2020. This condition has destroyed my mental health and I now suffer with severe anxiety and depression because of it. It all started with small dots all over my body and it increased rapidly. I was told my psoriasis started because of strep throat but I also believe stress was another reason. By the time 2021 came around I was completely covered in psoriasis on every single part of my body. At this point it was lockdown and I struggled to see a dermatologist. In the mean time I was prescribed with different ointments and creams such as Enstilar. I finally got to see a dermatologist and they prescribed me with Methotrexate tablets. I tried these and didn't notice a single difference in my skin and it continued to get worse.

I then called for an emergency appointment because I couldn't suffer any longer. I can only describe it as feeling like my skin was on fire. I was then put on Ciclosporin which was a life saver for me. This cleared about 90% of my psoriasis but could only be on this for a year. I had a lot of weight gain on this medication. Being on Ciclosporine and Methotrexate required a lot of time getting weekly blood checks done at the hospital.

I came off Ciclosporine in 2022 and started Methotrexate injections this time which then failed again. I lost all hope again and went back to being completely covered.

I then started my journey with biological injections. This whole process is basically trail and error. I tried Amgevita (Adalimumab) from 2022 to February 2023. This wasn't helping my skin and was making me very unwell.

Exactly a year ago, I started Tremfya (Guselkumab) and it has completely changed my life. My skin is about 95% clear . But it does still come with the side effects as it is an immunosuppressant. I've had a recent hospitalisation with gastroenteritis which is one of the side effects but I'm willing to deal with the side effects as its part of the process when dealing with psoriasis.

After years of struggle I've learnt that there is hope. Sometimes I wonder to myself how I made it out the other side of this but the struggle is always there and it is a mental battle for me more than anything. Recently I came off antidepressants and have chosen to deal with my mind by doing things that I love such as football and going to the gym. I also couldn't have done it without the support around me. My words of advice would be to keep going because it does get better.