At her job as a legal secretary, Lynda has a lot of face-to-face contact with clients. When her psoriasis is bad, her skin flakes, leaving a telltale dust on her desk, her phone, and her computer. At such times, "I'm in a very embarrassing situation," she says. However, she has learned at work that when it comes to psoriasis, it's a small world. Two of her coworkers are also affected by the condition.
Lynda loves to go the gym and participate in sports, and although she has not given up her active lifestyle because of psoriasis, she has traded in her cute tops for long sleeves. When her psoriasis is visible, people stare and she feels uncomfortable touching the equipment in the gym, she says.
Sometimes the children she meets while doing volunteer work at the library will ask her directly what is wrong with her skin. She tells them about psoriasis, emphasizing that it is not contagious. “They are very compassionate,” she says. “We usually think that kids can be very mean, but I think if you explain it to them and tell them they can’t be hurt by it, then they’re OK with it.”
She doesn’t usually get comments from other adults about her psoriasis, but she is aware of the stares, and that has left her feeling self-conscious. Her self-consciousness affects her relationships with men. “Men always say, ‘Oh, psoriasis doesn’t bother me,’” she says, “but it bothers me.”
Around the time of her calendar photo shoot, after dealing with non-stop severe psoriasis for fifteen years, Lynda finally got a break. She started taking a biologic medication as part of a clinical trial and has seen excellent results. “Right now it’s cleared up pretty nicely,” she says. “I had a good summer, wearing a bathing suit and everything.” She feels a lot better about herself. Her boyfriend of two years is enjoying the benefits of her improved self-image, too, she says.
She is grateful to her dermatologist for getting her involved in the clinical trial and for helping her get insurance coverage for it—an important reminder for all psoriasis patients to find a dermatologist who will go that extra mile to help psoriasis patients find successful treatments.
Although Lynda is pleased that her skin has responded so well to the new medication, she is uncertain about the future. She can't see herself taking the medication for the rest of her life. For one thing, she is worried about its long-term effects. "Who knows when you do these trials? You're a guinea pig," she says. For another thing, the treatment is very expensive. When Lynda saw the full price listed on her insurance forms, she just laughed at the thought of paying the full cost without insurance, which means if her insurance coverage ends, she will most likely have to stop taking it.
She experimented with going off of the medication for a month, and unfortunately, her psoriasis did return. So, for the moment she is back on it and trying to make the most of her remission while it lasts. “I feel more comfortable in my skin now that it’s cleared up,” she says. “I took my skin for granted, and I think most people do. But appearance means a lot, so psoriasis can be very, very devastating.”
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