When Psoriasis Doctors Assume

I remember years ago when I was seeing doctor after doctor, that each doctor, without fail told me that my psoriasis condition was the worst they have ever seen.

Unfortunately, I had never seen another person with psoriasis, so I took their word for it.

Seeing doctors about psoriasis

I will never forget all the phone calls my parents would get from specialists, asking hundreds of questions. They couldn’t believe that I was 80% covered in plaques and still able to talk about it.

As I look back over those years they found my case captivating. It was a medical scientific experiment and they wanted to try all kinds of medications on me.

It’s funny the things you can remember that happened years ago. Overall, I was a happy child with certain limitations. Doctors ask if I was losing my hair or if my skin color was different.

The only thing that makes sense and most informed, was that doctors confirmed my faulty immune system. They confirmed that there was so much going on inside my body.

The pain is real, doctor.

I had a doctor in my mid-twenties explain that I struggled with doctor relationships because of how I carry myself. When I started experiencing symptoms of psoriatic arthritis, no one would ever believe I was in as much pain as I was.

Well, he was right about that. It’s now been 30 years and I still must prove that I am sick and in pain.

I have been stuck, prick, had numerous biopsies, blood work, lab work to prove to the medical world that I am worthy to get medication. I know we have all heard, “but you don’t look sick.” I laugh to myself and just wonder, if you really saw the real me you would be shocked.

My hair has fallen out because of so many medications. I can hardly walk without medication and my skin is blotchy because of the years of psoriasis. If your own family doesn’t think you’re sick, how do you think the health community is viewing us? Everyone is looking at us cross-eyed.

Please take me seriously

I believe as women we can be deemed as dramatic or overreacting. It took me 25 years to get a diagnosis of psoriatic arthritis. This is crazy. Doctors thought the pain was in my head and that I was just being a drama queen.

Most people chalk this up to the fact that I always have a smile on my face. Could I possibly be happy and in pain at the same time? I guess not.

I had to be my own best advocate and it was a hard road to travel alone. It was music to my ears when the doctor said I had psoriatic arthritis. It helped explain a ton of things that were going on in my body including the pain in my joints, knees, spine, fingers, and back.

This diagnosis explained the stiffness and the sausage-like fingers and fatigue. These were all the symptoms that the doctors were saying I was exaggerating about.

The importance of a psoriasis diagnosis

So much has changed over the years, but I know there are people suffering longing for a diagnosis. We all don’t look the same when we are in pain. We are all not on crutches or in a wheelchair, we are not bald, overweight, or limping.

Anyone at any time can become sick; young, old, tall, short, men or women. It doesn’t matter what your nationality is: we need great doctors to treat us all the same.