Saturday, July 21, 2007

SoCal Summer Sun

I really didn't know what I was asking for when I decided to move to the Los Angeles area. The sun here is intense, the heat relentless--and that's with a fairly normal summer so far. I think my area is hotter than the coast and LA proper, but cooler than the Inland Empire and the desert regions. Everyday the UV index is "extreme" or "10+" so just a few minutes gets me nice and toasty.

After balking at tapering to 100mg Neoral/day, I finally took the plunge. First I tried two pills one day, then one the next for about four weeks. The past four weeks I've been on one pill only along with the Enbrel. Although I have broken out in more areas (more lesions, scalp flaking more) it stays relatively under control. The sores aren't too red, hot, thick, or itchy. I'm curious what the next step will be when I see the derm on Wed. Perhaps adding more sunlight and getting off the Neoral completely?

Labs were overall good: CR 1.0, CHOL 185, TRI 221 (slightly elevated), and BP 115/68. I lost track of how many weeks I've been taking the Neoral, but I think it's around 40. A recent study showed that Enbrel was safe and effective up to 90+ weeks for psoriasis patients. That's encouraging. Wonder if Humira or other biologics will be even more effective in the future? Come a long way since the days of my childhood using 10% LCD coal tar in Aquaphor each night. Stained everything and really uncomfortable. Now it's an injection once or twice a week (or even less frequently) and maybe something else.