Psoriasis can be a frustrating disease. Psoriasis has been around forever, it’s a disease that dates back to biblical days. This autoimmune disease affects 2-3 percent of the world population. The National Psoriasis Foundation estimates around 125 million people suffer globally. In the United States 7.5 million Americans are afflicted with this insidious disease. There are so many misconceptions about our disease. Let me just say this before we go on; “PSORIASIS IS NOT CONTAGIOUS” and “PSORIASIS IS MORE THAN SKIN DEEP”.
I was diagnosed with psoriasis at the age of 28. I wanted to start a family with my wife at the time. I was very concerned that my children would develop the disease. Due to my research I discovered that my kids had a small percentage of developing the disease. If one parent is genetically predisposed to psoriasis the odds of the child having the disease is only 3%. If both parents have the genes the percentage increases to over 50%. There is also some science that indicates psoriasis can skip generations.
If you have psoriasis I don’t have to tell you how painful, itchy, flakey, stubborn, relentless, depressing, tiring, aggravating, embarrassing, frustrating, resistant to treatment, completely misunderstood, visible, invisible, life altering this disease it can be. I’m writing this blog to share with you my success.
I don’t want to bore you with past treatments. I will only share with you what I’m currently using. Trust me I’ve been on many treatments and I’ve tried just about everything.
First and foremost, it behooves you to see a board certified dermatologist and rheumatologist. Nothing what I say is to replace your doctors recommendations. These are purely my experiences. Everyone’s experiences will be different. Just wanted to mention that as a disclaimer.
So let’s start with my number one reason for my success. At this time I’m using a biological medication prescribed by my doctor called Taltz. It’s made by Lilly pharmaceutical. According to scientific data it’s safe and very effective. Many patients that were in the clinical trials for the medication achieved 100% PASI score.
My routine also includes some form of exercise in order to help the bodies organ functions. When I trained my travel soccer team as a coach I used interval training. Interval exercises are very effective getting the body in shape in a short period of time. Without a lengthy explanation, it’s high intensity exercises followed by low intensity exercises. Rinse and repeat. Regular exercise can help the circulatory systems of the body. Including the lymphatic system, blood circulatory system, nervous system, and the endocrine system. I like to use low impact exercises so I don’t injure myself. Exercises that are easy on the joints, tendons, and ligaments. Walking, swimming, bike riding, resistance bands, light weights, hiking, calisthenics, stretching, and even beginners yoga.
Climate therapy is often undervalued. I try and get 30 minutes of sunshine per day. I find this very important. Most of us who suffer with autoimmune disease are vitamin D deficient. Sunlight provides that vitamin and helps eliminate the symptoms of psoriasis. Sun and sea can help change my moods as well. Often while I’m on the beach my moods are lifted and I feel so much better. Of course, there have been times when I was covered in psoriasis and I felt self conscious. Vitamin sea is essential so regardless of how I felt, I needed to be out in the sun. Light box is another alternative. Tanning can also be substituted but the risk of skin cancer should be considered. Talk with your dermatologist for more suggestions.
So many of us struggle with diet. I assure you I struggle too. But I developed life hacks that has helped me along the way. Years ago I was a lawn care specialist and I applied some of those techniques to weed out my psoriasis. Just like with a lawn we fertilize the grass in order to crowd out the weeds. I use this technique with nutrition. I use the 80/20 system in order to maintain my weight and control my cravings. Arbonne has the best nutritional supplements. They have been in business for over 40 years. I believe their products help to reduce the inflammation throughout my body. Therefore reducing the symptoms of my disease. My daughter suggested I try Arbonne because she turned her weight gain around. She trimmed down using their products. She lost thirty pounds in three months. I’m extremely proud of her accomplishments.
When I was a Fireman/Emt we learned how to quickly size up the fire scene. As an EMT I learned patient assessment. I often used those learned techniques in order to help me battle my own fires or health conditions. As a fireman in order to extinguish the flames we have to eliminate one of the three necessary elements of fire. The easiest way to put out a fire is to reduce the heat by adding water. Another way to put out a fire is to smother it by reducing the oxygen. The last part of the fire triangle is combustible material. So with that in mind, our disease is aggrevated by inflammatory foods,drink, and genetics. I use the same principles of the fire service to reduce the symptoms of psoriasis.
Last but not least I have to give credit to Abundant Natural Health. Their products are simply amazing. They developed products for the many types of psoriasis including Psoriatic Arthritis. I use them most everyday. Ocean Soothe gel and lotion contain natural ingredients and are available at: Www.abundantnaturalhealth.com
Good luck on your journey. I find I have to be consistent with treatment. If your having difficulty please reach out to me, I would be happy to help. You can leave a comment below. Psoriasis doesn’t define me and the definition will never consume me. You can be Overcoming Psoriasis too! Yours truly, Todd Bello
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Overcoming Psoriasis 