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    Psoriasis-A Love Story
    Psoriasis-A Love Story
    Psoriasis-A Love Story
    Ebook145 pages1 hour

    Psoriasis-A Love Story

    By Jennifer Martin

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    About this ebook

    Funny, factual, and over the edge, Psoriasis—A Love Story, tells the true story of Jennifer Martin's 30-year battle with psoriasis. Fed up with poor results from traditional medicine, she leapt out of its confines into an exploration of Eastern medicine, past life regression, soul retrieval, juicing, Rife machines, dowsing, ho'oponopono, Chinese medicine, Reiki, the Edgar Cayce protocol, and more. After years of researching and becoming a self-described guinea pig by experimenting with these disciplines and treatments, she decided to share her journey, one that addressed all the possible causes of psoriasis by looking at our human components: physical, mental, emotional, psychological, and spiritual. Jennifer's transcendence and ultimate victory over psoriasis will not only enlighten readers about how to begin their own search for a cure, but will uplift and inspire them along the way. Endorsed by Jack Canfield, Joe Cross, and many other authors, Psoriasis—A Love Story, is a life manual not only for the 7 million psoriasis sufferers in America, but for anyone looking for a way to go beneath the layers to soul healing as well.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherJennifer Martin
    Release dateMay 29, 2014
    ISBN9780964697546
    Psoriasis-A Love Story
    Author

    Jennifer Martin

    Jennifer Martin is a writer, an educational administrator, and a television host/producer of educational programs in northern California. She holds a BA in English/Drama and an MA in Educational Administration and is listed in Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers, 1998 edition. A published author since the age of ten, Jennifer is the co-author, along with Rosemary Dean, of The Angels Speak: Secrets from the Other Side and has stories in the best-selling Chicken Soup for the Soul series: Chicken Soup for the Writer’s Soul, Chicken Soup for the Women Golfers Soul, Chicken Soup for the Sisters Soul 2, Chicken Soup for the Soul Christmas and Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul Letters. An award-winning writer of five screenplays, she is also the writer/director/producer of the video, Breaking Ground for Peace, the top winner of the Cine Visionaries category at the 2012 Sacramento Film Festival.

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      Book preview

      Psoriasis-A Love Story - Jennifer Martin

      Preface

      I sat atop the dermatologist’s examination table, the crisp white paper crinkling under my nervous, shifting body. What did he just say? I had the heartbreak of psoriasis? I rolled my eyes and waited for him to pull out a prescription pad and give me something so it’d go away. No big deal, right?

      In response to the incredulous look on my face, which he mistook for interest, the doctor went on to explain that psoriasis is the most prevalent autoimmune disease in the United States. An estimated 7.5 million Americans have moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. Nearly three percent of the world’s population, men, women, and children including newborns, endure the symptoms of the disease. That’s more than 125 million people with psoriasis/psoriatic arthritis. The medical powers that be do not know what causes it, and, worse, there is no cure.

      In its most common form, psoriasis is characterized by inflamed, swollen skin lesions covered with silver-white scales. These lesions develop when the immune system is mistakenly triggered, causing skin cells to grow too fast. The rapidly growing cells pile up in the skin’s top layers, leading to the formation of lesions on the surface. Other forms of psoriasis display pus-like blisters, sloughing of the skin, smooth, inflamed lesions and drop-like-dots. Mine was a combination of the sloughing and drop-like-dots kind. Little did I know that my case would become the second worst my dermatologist had ever seen.

      That was nearly thirty years ago, and I’m still shaking my head in disbelief at my naiveté. Never having heard of psoriasis until then, I was certain that any day now the medical profession would find a blanket cure, but, as the years rolled by, my heartbreak never really mended. The worsening change in my skin affected my whole way of life and how I presented myself to the world. I became more self-conscious and less self-confident with each passing year. I began wallowing in self-pity over having to cover up with long sleeves in the sizzling Sacramento summer heat. I was tired of making excuses why I wore leggings down to my ankles to the gym when everyone else wore shorts. I soon ran out of reasons why I couldn’t join my friends in the pool or hot tub.

      I remember being cornered once by one of my high school buddies at a mini-reunion party. She blurted out, You wear too much makeup. All eyes in the room suddenly looked my way. I could have been snarky by snapping back that she drank too much, but I took the higher road and calmly replied that I wanted to be camera-ready in case we took photos. Little did she know that I always wore heavy makeup to hide the ever-present psoriasis outbreaks on my face.

      One day, though, I’d had enough. I decided to break the self-imposed chains I’d placed around myself and stopped worrying about what others thought of me. I reflected on the words of Eleanor Roosevelt, No one can make you feel inferior without your consent. I made a vow to myself that I’d never give my power away again. No one would ever have my permission to make me feel less than. Disenchanted with the results I got from traditional medicine, I decided to become my own health advocate and begin an intensive search for the most effective way to manage my symptoms, if not find a cure for myself.

      When I taught Health Education (to student teachers, as part of their credentialing requirements) at National University in Sacramento many years ago, I used to point out to my students that health isn’t necessarily the absence of disease. Good health means a balance of every part that makes up a human being. After all, we aren’t just living bodies. We are composed of many layers besides the physical — mental, emotional, psychological, and spiritual — all of which need to be considered when seeking to achieve good health. I addressed each of these layers as I began to investigate and experiment with all my curative choices. In essence, I became my own guinea pig. I took to heart the words of American artist Georgia O’Keefe, who said, It is only by selection, by elimination, by emphasis, that we get at the real meaning of things. Since I believe that everything in this world can be looked at as a metaphor, I was determined to find out the real meaning of psoriasis and why it had inserted itself into my life. I became a relentless truth seeker.

      Looking back on all the information I’ve gleaned over the years (my home library has more than four hundred books and tapes), I realize I’ve also become a lifelong learner and consummate researcher. No, I don’t have a medical degree, but I do feel I’m the most knowledgeable person to effect a cure for myself, not only because of the analytical skills I’ve gained by becoming my own lab rat, but because I’ve come to know my body, mind, and spirit better than anyone else.

      What I’ve learned along the way? Hah! I could write a book. Well, uh, actually I did write a book — this one. I wrote it to share my journey with other psoriasis sufferers and bring new awareness about all the approaches that factor into finding a remedy for this disturbing condition. I hope that you will be inspired to start a journey of your own, perhaps one with less disappointment, financial repercussions and emotional yoyo-ing than I endured, but with, ultimately, the same success.

      The road I’ve been down has definitely been one less traveled, filled with pitfalls, u-turns, uphill treks, and downward spirals. But, like Dorothy traveling to Oz to find a solution to her own dilemma, I’ve tried to maintain a positive attitude throughout my journey. As the former prime minister of the United Kingdom, Winston Churchill, once said, A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity, and an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty. I was convinced that I would find a way to restore my skin to the smooth, unblemished condition it had been in my younger years. I was willing to try anything and everything. And if I failed, so what? I would fail my way to success.

      During my years of research and experimentation, I discovered from the International Journal of Dermatology that nearly 10% of surveyed psoriasis patients wished to be dead, and over half of them had actively thought out how they would end their lives. Now, I truly understand the deep sense of shame and despair it brings. I’ve been there. That said, though, I’d choose contending with psoriasis over ending my life any day. I found that a good mood and a sense of humor helped me rise above my sense of loss and resulting depression. So, most of all, in sharing my story, I want to offer hope and cheer to those psoriasis sufferers who are disheartened over their lack of progress in managing the symptoms of this disease. As you travel through this journey with me, you will see there is definitely a light at the end of the tunnel, and it isn’t a locomotive.

      This book is for informative purposes only. It is not my intention to dish out medical advice, and it’s not a substitute for medical diagnosis and treatment. I’m simply relating what I personally experienced and learned. Some things worked for me, some things didn’t. Perhaps it’s due to my natural antsiness (a euphemism for ADHD) or unrestrained impatience, but I kept looking for overnight, if, not instant, results. As poet Nikki Grimes said at a writer’s conference I recently attended, Patience is not in my DNA. With a bit more patience and perseverance, you may experience totally different results than I did.

      Be sure to consult your own physician before embarking on any regimen I may have tried. And don’t take my word for anything you read within these pages. Do your own research and find out for yourself. Most of all, don’t be afraid to opt for something outside your comfort zone. As the motivational speaker Jim Rohn reminds us, In the end we only regret the chances we didn’t take.

      Jennifer N. Martin

      1

      On the Surface

      After I was first diagnosed with psoriasis, my dermatologist tested me for allergies. I quickly found out I was allergic to wheat, corn, and a host of other things. He advised me to avoid these foods and gave me a prescription for some kind of cream to dab on my skin. The psoriatic lesions cleared for a while, and I was elated. But I couldn’t always avoid eating the foods I was allergic to, and my psoriasis seemed to gradually worsen anyway. Then I began to try other traditional options such as messy tar ointments, foul-smelling antifungal cream, tar shampoo, and wrinkle-inducing, ultraviolet light therapy.

      In the summer, light therapy is what normal people call getting a tan. Psoriasisians — okay, so I made it up — sit outside for hours basking in the sun, hoping that the ultraviolet rays will penetrate their skin and reduce or even clear up all the red spots. But what do you do when the seasons change and the rain or snow starts falling? You go indoors for light box treatments.

      Picture this. I’m in a light box, which is very much like standing in an upright coffin filled with lights that send out ultraviolet rays from head to toe. I’m wearing a bikini, and my face and head are covered with a towel. As the ultraviolet rays fill the light box, my protective goggles dent the skin around my eyes, the after-effects making me look like an angry lemur. After a few minutes, the bell rings, the lights click off and I step out. Fried. That’s what I called it. Getting fried. Getting zapped. Same thing. My skin was hot, burned, and sore at times. But I was assured my psoriasis would clear up. Which it did for a while. But it soon became apparent that psoriasis lived up to its reputation for being a chronic, recurring nightmare, like an obnoxious relative visiting during the holidays. Expected, but definitely not welcomed and nearly impossible to get rid of.

      Years later I still see the damage. Now, what used to be smooth, golden-brown skin is aged and sprinkled with brown spots, reminiscent of an atlas inset on the Gobi desert.

      When plain light therapy didn’t work, my doctor put me on Methotrexate, a medicine that’s supposed to make your pores more receptive to the light. The pill is green and tastes god-awful, like bile in a capsule. You take it a half hour or so before you step into the light box, so the timing is important. Of course, they don’t tell you that it makes you nauseous if you take it on an empty stomach. And they don’t tell

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