There's a spot under Andrew Gosse's fingernail, almost unnoticeable unless he points it out.
But for Gosse, it's a reminder of how his life has changed drastically since he started taking a new medication for plaque psoriasis about three years ago.
It also reminds him that his psoriasis will come back if he stops taking the medication.
Gosse, a realtor from Paradise, is candid when he talks about the things he's gone through since being diagnosed at 17.
Though there's no cure, he's currently in the midst of a five-year drug trial that he calls "a very effective control" for the autoimmune skin disease.
"I've done a couple of drug trials with what they call biologics, which is the new generation of drugs," Gosse said in a recent interview with The Telegram. "The one I'm on now, I've been on for three years and it's completely given me my life back."
When it was bad
For most of his adult life, Gosse has lived with psoriasis and, at times, the scaly red patches covered up to 38 per cent of his body.
But it all started with a small silver-white patch on his elbow.
When his doctor told him what it was and that he'd have it for the rest of his life, Gosse said he had no idea what was in store.
"Over the next year to a year and a half it absolutely decimated my body, head to toe," Gosse said.
He remembers the big red blotches covering his forehead, eyebrows, eyelashes, face, torso, legs, and "below the equator."
If the effect on his appearance was bad, the itch was worse.
"I have, countless times, scratched myself so much and so vigorously ... throughout the workday that when I got home I actually had to brace myself to pull off my socks because blood had soaked out through, and of course crusted, so you're tearing off skin and flesh and hair," he said.
The itch was equally bad at night.
Gosse said he used to sleep with a comb next to his bed, which he would use to scratch his body, and then pour vinegar on the affected areas, just to get some sleep.
"You can sleep with the sting, you can't sleep with the itch," he said.
After about two years, he became a patient of St. John's dermatologist Dr. Wayne Gulliver.
"By the time I made it to Dr. Gulliver, (the psoriasis) was so thick on my head and other parts of my body, I could take a fork, (stick it in a patch) and couldn't feel it."
What he's tried
Gosse said psoriasis sufferers will often try just about anything to control the condition or relieve the itch.
"I've gone through the years (with) the baths and the creams and the lotions," he said.
He's also tried a number of "crazy" treatments, from diets to shark cartilage and seal oil, and walking around wrapped up in plastic wrap.
When asked what the craziest treatment he tried was, Gosse laughed and said it wouldn't be printed in the paper.
But as an example, he said one diet - nothing but green peas and wild rice - left him 40 pounds lighter and no better off.
"What you've got to understand is the desperation (psoriasis) causes," he said. "It's unbelievable what you'd do just to get some relief, let alone an effective control."
After he became a patient of Gulliver's, Gosse started getting treated institutionally.
He said Gulliver's "continual drive and investigation, and keeping me as a patient informed," led to all sorts of other treatments, from special baths to drug trials.
"(Gulliver) offered whatever was out there and was honest about the chances and length that treatments may work," Gosse said.
Hiding it
While the physical part of the disease is difficult to deal with, he said the hardest part of living with psoriasis is the psychological part, which is not normally talked about.
Some people, he said, turn to drugs or alcohol to deal with the stress. Others hide in the shadows and withdraw from their social circles.
"Anybody who's had severe or even moderate plaque psoriasis ... knows exactly what I'm talking about," said Gosse.
He said people start by trying to hide the red patches under clothing, long hair or glasses.
When asked how his friends reacted to his condition, Gosse said barely anyone outside of a close circle of friends had any idea he had psoriasis.
"Even people that knew me very well would say they had no idea because I spent so much energy trying to hide it," he said.
He said his neighbours must have thought he was cracked when he would be mowing his lawn in July with a turtleneck on in 27 C heat.
"But if I had taken my shirt off, people would have taken their children off the street," Gosse said.
Luckily, the worst of it was on Gosse's hands under his fingernails, and while painful, he was able to conceal it under bandages.
New treatment
Then three years ago, Gulliver asked Gosse to try the new biologic drug that he's still on.
At first, he didn't have a lot of hope, but as always, he was willing to try anything.
While everything he tried before treated psoriasis from the outside, the biologics treat his condition from the inside.
Now he simply injects the drug himself every eight weeks, the way diabetics give themselves insulin.
Only dermatologists can prescribe the drug, but Gosse said he's encouraging others to talk to their doctors so they can get the relief he feels fortunate to have now.
"The suffering is now needless," he said. "There is genuine, practical, effective, affordable help. You can have your life back."
He said sometimes the treatment takes a few months to kick in, but when it does it makes it all worthwhile.
While he's still in the trial phase of the drug, he said the province recently indexed it for coverage.
He's hopeful that by the time the study ends, the province will pick up the tab so he can continue the treatment and keep his life the way it is now.
Wants to help others
Gosse wants to let others with psoriasis know there's hope.
He recently joined the board of the Canadian Skin Patient Alliance, and he dispenses this advice: don't let previous disappointments stop you from trying new drugs, and don't let anyone tell you that you can't try them. Most of all, don't get frustrated and give up looking for relief.
"The first time you go out with a pair of shorts on, or you go swimming ... you will have your life back and it is an incredible feeling," he said.
dbartlett@thetelegram.comG
Finally comfortable in his own skin
Andrew Gosse is on a regimen of trial drugs, and no longer has to hide his psoriasis. Photo by Dave Bartlett/The Telegram
- Published on December 19, 2009
- Published on July 1, 2010
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Dave Bartlett
The Telegram
New psoriasis treatment gives Andrew Gosse his life back
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Comments
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- Manny
- - July 2, 2010 at 13:35:01
Foods to avoid if you have Psoriasis: Milk and products such as ice cream and cheese. Butter is ok. Avoid strawberries, oranges, grapefruit and canteloup. Stay off this stuff until the condition clears up, then use it in moderation.
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- Andrew
- - July 2, 2010 at 13:28:30
The Canadian Skin Patient Alliance is a patient based help and support organization that represents all Canadians. The group is designed to help those suffering from all skin disease and disorders find the help that is available across the country. www.canadianskin.ca
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- Also have it
- - July 2, 2010 at 13:20:17
I do not have psoriasis to the extent Mr. Gulliver has, my type is only to the hands and feet, but I've had it for 6-7 years now, and I have some self consciousness over it appearance, the cracks get quite deep and are hard to heal cause of the movement of habds and feet so I bleed on things, sometimes unknowingly. It can be so bad I limp when walking and things such as tying shoes or turning a key are very painful. I've had various treatments with varying degrees of success and may now do the same as Mr. gulliver, hopefully with his success, cause psoriasis has affected everything from my work to taking care of my kids, very frustrating, and I only have it on my hands and feet, I can't imagine how bad it would be tto the extent other have it.
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- Donna
- - July 2, 2010 at 13:14:58
Thanks for sharing your story. Its hopeful for other suffers that there may be a solution out there - you just need to keep trying
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- Colleen
- - July 2, 2010 at 13:10:45
Congratulations Andrew
I too have psoriasis. I have had it since I was 13 or 14. I can emphasize with everything you have gone through as can most people who suffer it.
Thanks for bringing attention to new drugs.
I would also like to remind anyone who has psoriasis to be tested for psoriatric athriitis which a lot of people with psoriasis will develop If caught early it can prevent a a lot of joint damage.
Good luck with your treatments -
- Manny
- - July 1, 2010 at 20:24:49
Foods to avoid if you have Psoriasis: Milk and products such as ice cream and cheese. Butter is ok. Avoid strawberries, oranges, grapefruit and canteloup. Stay off this stuff until the condition clears up, then use it in moderation.
-
- Andrew
- - July 1, 2010 at 20:16:32
The Canadian Skin Patient Alliance is a patient based help and support organization that represents all Canadians. The group is designed to help those suffering from all skin disease and disorders find the help that is available across the country. www.canadianskin.ca
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- Also have it
- - July 1, 2010 at 20:02:55
I do not have psoriasis to the extent Mr. Gulliver has, my type is only to the hands and feet, but I've had it for 6-7 years now, and I have some self consciousness over it appearance, the cracks get quite deep and are hard to heal cause of the movement of habds and feet so I bleed on things, sometimes unknowingly. It can be so bad I limp when walking and things such as tying shoes or turning a key are very painful. I've had various treatments with varying degrees of success and may now do the same as Mr. gulliver, hopefully with his success, cause psoriasis has affected everything from my work to taking care of my kids, very frustrating, and I only have it on my hands and feet, I can't imagine how bad it would be tto the extent other have it.
-
- Donna
- - July 1, 2010 at 19:54:12
Thanks for sharing your story. Its hopeful for other suffers that there may be a solution out there - you just need to keep trying
-
- Colleen
- - July 1, 2010 at 19:46:59
Congratulations Andrew
I too have psoriasis. I have had it since I was 13 or 14. I can emphasize with everything you have gone through as can most people who suffer it.
Thanks for bringing attention to new drugs.
I would also like to remind anyone who has psoriasis to be tested for psoriatric athriitis which a lot of people with psoriasis will develop If caught early it can prevent a a lot of joint damage.
Good luck with your treatments
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Sorry, but that isnt true for everyone. everybodys system is different and while milk products are bad for some they are fine for others.