Narrowband light therapy

I started light therapy today. Yikes - insurance covers it but you still have to pay the copay. That's $60 extra a week. This is going to be really hard financially.
They started me off at 16 seconds. Boy that seems like nothing. You go into a room and the nurse punches your info into the computer. She tells you how long you'll be in. Because I have fair skin and it's my first time she did 16 seconds. There's a booth you stand in and shut the door then push a button for it to start. You wear dark glasses also. She gave the instructions on how it works, tells me I can leave my bra and underwear on if I want. If almost all the skin under the bra and underwear are affected then it would seem right to just go nude - which I did. Then you get dressed, pay your $20 and leave. I have one month of these scheduled for now. We'll see how it goes. I don't think I'll be getting a tan at 16 seconds a time :-) To bad - I really could use one.

Dermatologist appt.

I haven't been to the dermatologist in 16 plus years. I had a mole on my back that stuck out some and because my psoriosis is in that area I found I was constantly hitting it when I itched. At night if I was itchy I woke in the morning with the mole bleeding and irritated. It also would scab over. I decided it had to go - so I saw the derm this week. He said it looks fine - but removed it for me no problem. It was sore for a few days and I couldn't were a normal bra because the strap rubbed on it. So I've been wearing a sports bra for 4 days now. (Makes me feel like I should be at the gym).

He wanted to know what I was doing for my psoriosis and I said nothing. He let me know there were a lot of good drugs out now. I told him I would only be open to light therapy - nothing else. I spoke with his nurse for awhile while she prepared everything for the mole removal. I explained to her how I was on antibiotics for so many years and it really did a number on me - I'm not open to anything that will cause more harm in the long run. She told me you can do light therapy without having any drugs with it. It helps a lot of people. I know it's not a cure in the long run and I'm looking to get better for long term not short term - but it may help boost what I'm doing naturally. It also may make it so I can wear a swim suit this summer :-) So I'm going to start light therapy this coming week for awhile and see if it gives me that extra boost I need. I have minimal scaling right now but lots of deep red skin. I would like that to fade away :-)

I added in yellow saffron tea this past week also. It has very little taste. I ordered the yellow saffron and slippery elm bark tea the same day - but only the yellow saffron has arrived so far. I like it and thought I saw a little improvement with it - hard to tell so far thought. These are 2 teas recommended my Dr. Pagano.

loosing weight still / infared sauna

I am still eating pretty good. I never ever have processed foods now which is great. I do almost all my cooking at home from scratch. I am learning I like a lot more new foods (especially veggies). The good new is I've lost more weight. I'm down now to about 157 (Started at 173).
I love fitting back into my size 10 jeans.

Someone recommended I try an infared sauna. I thought they were quite pricey for something I was "trying" and didn't know if I would like so I had passed on the idea....until I saw someone had one on craigslist for a really really great price. She had bought one of the small portable foldable ones and used it only once or twice - then she had bought one of the large wooden models. So I went this weekend and pickup up the small portable one for really cheap. I tried it out this morning. You basically sit in a small chair and zipper yourself in. I feel like I'm sitting in a space suit :-) It heats up - but doesn't have steam like the regular saunas. I makes you sweat. I don't know if it will make any difference at all - but I found it very relaxing. I sat in it and watched the news on tv then took a nice hot shower to wash off the sweat and followed up with lots of coconut oil all over my skin. They say you should sweat for detox reasons - if nothing else I like the heat as I'm always cold! I think it's a great way to start the day.

I tried dark chocolate almond milk this morning. That stuff is great! My church had a big women's ministries chocolate event last night. We had 9 different rooms set up that you travel around to and do something different. I was in the craft room all night making marshmallow snowmen so it was easy to not eat all that junk. At the end of the night one of the rooms had leftover cartons of chocolate almond and soy milk. I took home one of the almond milk to try. It was a great addition to my breakfast. I've tried the plain almond milk before and find I don't like to drink it by itself - but will use it for cooking and smoothies no problem. Like I said - trying new stuff is fun - never know what you'll end up liking.

Some Improvement

Well - I must say I'm feeling some improvement. My skin on my chin area is no longer red at all. it's somewhat dry - but looking 10 times better. The skin on my belly button area/chest/back are all still red - but the flaking is not there anymore. The skin in the groin area is no longer red - which makes me feel much better. The spots on my legs seem the same and the spots on my elbow/arm seem the same - weird because those are the smallest spots.

So far I've completely eliminated any wheat/gluten.
I do not eat anything processed or manufactured. I try to eat things that are natural in nature. I have cut back on all nightshades - but still have spaq. sauce or ketchup about 1 time a week.
I do not drink milk at all - but I do eat eggs and I use cheese sparingly.
I drink lots of water and herbal teas - and limit myself to 1-2 cups of coffee a day (no cream).
I also don't have sugar unless it's naturally in something like fruit.

For supplements I take probiotics/zinc/kelp(for iodine)/Multivitamin/Calcium w/ Magnesium & OPC3.
The probiotics are because I had so many years on antibiotics my good bacteria is pretty much gone. The zinc because I've heard it's good for psoriosis, the kelp because I have an under-active thyroid and need iodine, multivitamin and calcium because we need it and OPC3 is a powerful antioxidant and inflamation fighter.

I know the diet process is slow because your body has to re-adjust - I'm just glad to see some improvement and knowing my body is getting healthier.

I ordered some american yellow saffron tea and slippery elm bark powder online to start drinking as tea. I should get them soon.

Oh Crap!

Apparently I'm getting the hang of this eating thing! I read somewhere that if you eat a diet based mostly on fruits and veggies your crap will float. I thought at the time that was the weirdest thing I had ever heard of. It does not float - it sinks to the bottom like a rock.
Well this morning I realized - wholly crap it floats! They were right. I just had to share that with someone and since no one else would understand I am sharing with you :-) I can't just go up to someone and explain I'm excited because my crap is floating now - so no right :-)