birthday

it's my birthday today and it's great to always have a public holiday to go along with it :)

i wish none other than significant improvements. these patches are still red and itchy. but am also trying the new olive butter lotion i got to go along with OLIVENOL livin' liquid that i have started consuming.

have a great week ahead!

Fish

the package

i received this in the mail :

thank you very much you wonderful people at Triniaire! :)

will start tonight, God willing. the dosage i was told to take:

For 3 weeks: Take 2 ml / TWICE a day
After 3 weeks: Take 1 ml/ TWICE a day

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as for my condition, realized that within 24 hours the patches on the legs and back are getting worse. it's red all over and the itchiness really drove me crazy. i wonder if its caused by the combination of the extra cold office air cond + driving in the sun and getting stuck in jam (close to 2 hours to be exact, with added stress).

looking at the skin conditions sometimes makes me sad. but mostly hurt me. deep inside i am hurt to see myself this ugly.

anyhow i am really tempted to reach for the medicine cabinet. the beprosalic and daivobet cream are kept there. i know steroids are bad. my skin is so much thinner now, among others.

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pls share your strength and hope with me. i can be really weak and fragile.

first glance

today was exceptionally cold at the office. the building maintenance must have just serviced the air cond or changed the filter.

so for us P patients, the colder the air cond is, the worse it is for the skin. the skin dry up really fast and i wasn't comfortable at all. thank God for handy travel-size lotion i carry around - which i forget sometimes...by the way, the lotion/cream that works for me best is Nivea, not even emu oil...

nevertheless it was a pretty productive day. i helped review and restructured a paper we are submitting for our csr efforts and i personally think it sounds quite impressive :) hehe. anywhow can't wait to see what the bosses think.

driving back thru federal hway was really interesting. seriously if you don't have enough patience - don't drive in KL..hehe. but to release the stress i went on to work out for an hour before break fast. not bad of a stamina for a person who's fasting :)

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so it's my sixth day taking the OLIVENOL livin' pills, first day that i'm taking 2 in the morning during sahur and 2 after break fast.

as promised, (and really, i don't mean to gross anyone out :p) here's a peek at my current conditions:

the right leg - close up

the left leg - close up

the elbows

that's all i have for now. next i'll share some tips on how i maintain my scalp - which is at this point clear of any breakout. i am also curious to read other P patients' tips :)

have a great thursday everyone!

the story begins

my name is Ms. W, i'm a soon-to-be 29 year old malay lady who is full of life. i am an extrovert, i love my job and blessed with wonderful family and friends. i love activities under the sun but has come to terms that i can't do them too much.

i am a Psoriasis patient - a chronic skin disease that i was diagnosed with at the end of 2003. the disease which has made me battle with my self image, confidence, faith in God, and the ideal life that i have always wished for. it probably has to do with my genes as my mom said one of my great aunt had "skin conditions" but i somewhow know it's my stressful life at work that triggered it most.

Psoriasis, or P as i would refer to it from now onwards, has changed my life tremendously. in the first year or so i was so depressed i would rather be at home locked in my room and limit any social contact with guys.

but years have gone by. i have experienced a stage when my P is totally stable - i.e. i can be in my short sleeves, shorts, without feeling embarassed. but i have also gone through a phase where NOTHING works and it's hard to find a smooth part on my skin.

hopefully along the way i can share with readers a little more about the kind of treatment i've gone through.

but for now i'd like to talk about the new pills i have started taking only for about 5 days now - the OLIVENOL livin'. my parents was at the pharmacy one day - helpless to help me find something that might work. they are such angels, always trying to find out if there's anything that can ease my pain.

and so i went online, viewed their website and found out more about OLIVENOL livin'.

i know i shouldn't be putting too much hope on seeing significant improvements after taking OLIVENOL livin'. but one can only be hopeful. like mom used to say "Only Allah knows best, so do not give up hope".

i am inspired by the sufferings other P patients go through and i shall not give up hope.

at this point my P condition is pretty stable (no new spots) but the red dry patches just won't go away! it feels ok when i put lotion over it...but when it's dry it can drive me mad with itch!

in my next entry i will share some pics of my affected areas and hopefully in the weeks to come, we can see improvements in the pictures...