For those living with psoriatic arthritis, what’s something you wish friends, family, coworkers, or even strangers understood better?

Anyone here on Tirzepatide/Zepbound and had psoriasis flares? Has the GLP1 made a difference on your psoriasis? I have psoriasis on my fingers also, but my scalp is what’s going crazy right now. I’m 6 months in/54 pounds down on Tirzepatide and having a psoriasis flare. My scalp is going nuts. I woke up in the middle of the last night and covered my scalp in Clobetasol because I couldn’t sleep for the intense itching. I know GLP1s are supposed to make it better but for me I think the weight loss and GLP1 have actually made it worse. I will gladly accept any suggestions.

All the plaques in my scalp have cleared but the itching is still horrendous

Anyone have any non-steroid solutions? Preferably something that doesn’t mess with the hair

Thought this was interesting and possibly of some use for anyone looking for something else to try. This is a AI (Gemini) summary but it's a pretty good summary of things:

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Glutathione shows promise as an emerging, supportive option for managing psoriasis, but it is not currently established as a standalone cure or standard primary treatment. Clinical research indicates that individuals with psoriasis typically exhibit significantly depleted levels of glutathione and high systemic oxidative stress. Because glutathione acts as the body's "master antioxidant," correcting this deficiency helps calm the systemic inflammation and rapid skin cell turnover characteristic of the disease. [1, 2, 3]

The Medical Link Between Glutathione and Psoriasis

Psoriasis is a chronic autoimmune condition driven by accelerated skin cell proliferation. Under normal conditions, skin cells mature and shed over a month; in psoriatic tissue, this happens in mere days. [1, 2]

• Oxidative Stress Driver: An imbalance between free radicals and the body's antioxidant defenses shifts the body's "redox" balance, signaling skin cells to replicate abnormally fast. [1, 2]
• Deficiency Cycle: Studies published in journals like Frontiers in Medicine show that low baseline glutathione directly correlates with a spike in psoriatic inflammation. When glutathione levels are depleted, the immune system lacks the necessary brakes to temper inflammatory flare-ups. [1, 2]

Current Clinical Evidence

While wide-scale, longitudinal clinical trials are still limited, small pilot studies and clinical case reports have shown encouraging results:

• Oral Glutathione-Enhancers: In a prospective pilot study published in the Journal of Clinical and Aesthetic Dermatology, patients with psoriasis vulgaris were given 20 grams of nondenatured bioactive whey protein isolate daily (which supplies the building blocks to boost cellular glutathione). Over three months, patients demonstrated measurable clinical improvements in their Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) scores, whether they used the supplement as a standalone or alongside topical therapies and UVB light therapy. [1, 2, 3]
• Intravenous (IV) Glutathione: Case reports have tracked rapid improvements using IV glutathione. A clinical case study of a patient with severe scalp psoriasis noted a 40% to 50% reduction in lesions, scaling, and itching within two weeks of initiating high-dose IV glutathione. However, the study also noted that symptoms relapsed after three months without maintenance dosing, highlighting that it manages rather than cures the underlying pathology. [1]
• Prescription Pathways: The established psoriasis medication Dimethyl fumarate (DMF) operates heavily within this pathway. It interacts with glutathione-S transferase and modulates the Nrf2 transcription factor to reduce keratinocyte hyperproliferation and systemic inflammation. [1, 2]

Delivery Methods and Bioavailability

Standard oral glutathione tablets are notorious for poor absorption, as digestive enzymes break the molecule down before it reaches the bloodstream. If you look to integrate glutathione, alternative administration routes are usually favored by practitioners:

• Liposomal Glutathione: Formulations that encapsulate glutathione in a lipid layer protect it through the digestive tract. Clinical data suggests liposomal delivery can increase bioavailability significantly over standard tablets.
• Precursor Supplementation: Taking precursors like N-acetylcysteine (NAC), L-cysteine, or specialized whey protein isolates allows your liver to synthesize its own glutathione internally.
• Dietary Support: Consuming sulfur-rich and antioxidant-heavy foods like avocado, asparagus, and spinach helps support the body's natural antioxidant synthesis. [1, 2, 3]

Always consult your dermatologist or primary healthcare provider before introducing high-dose glutathione or its precursors into your regimen, especially if you are currently using systemic immunosuppressants or biological therapies for psoriasis.

This is for informational purposes only. For medical advice or diagnosis, consult a professional. AI responses may include mistakes.

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Probably the most accessible and effective way for most people to increase glutathione levels is to use what the summary calls "precursor supplementation" by supplementing "GlyNAC" which is glycine and NAC (N-acetylcysteine). The glycine is relatively harmless and of little risk but using the NAC in high doses (as usually required to increase glutathione levels to significant levels) has some risks and potential side effects, particularly gastrointestinal.

Note: in normal (no conditions such as psoriasis) humans there is usually very little benefit in increasing glutathione levels in someone under 40 or 50 years old. It's unknown if it might help someone much younger with chronic inflammatory conditions such as psoriasis.

Also a lot is unknown with this. For instance what happens if you take GlyNAC for a year or two and then stop? Can the body rebound back to normal levels of Glutathione or are you basically stuck having to take it for the rest of your life where stopping it makes things even worse than they were before you started?

"The Role of Glutathione-S Transferase in Psoriasis and Associated Comorbidities and the Effect of Dimethyl Fumarate in This Pathway"
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8863102/

Psoriasis Improvement in Patients Using Glutathione-enhancing, Nondenatured Whey Protein Isolate: A Pilot Study

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3805302/

https://www.healthline.com/health/glutathione-benefits

For those living with psoriatic arthritis, what’s something you wish friends, family, coworkers, or even strangers understood better?

I suffer from sebopsoriasis. I touch my scalp and I don't feel any sebderm buildup, but only my fingers get oily. My face and hair become so much oily.

When I wash my hair, so many hair falls out. I dont want to get bald at such a young age. I use regular shampoo and Selenium Sulphide shampoo alternate times.

I don't know what is happening. Maybe becoz I live in college hostel and water here is very bad (hard water)

Hair is also very thin extremely thin.

I am thinking to get buzzcut after 2 months once I reach home for my vacations.

I eat VitD and Zinc Supplements alternate days. I also eat Dutasteride alternate days.

I cannot afford expensive medicines or any treatment now.

I don't want to get bald at such young age.

Hair keeps calling 😭😭

Found out I ended up getting psoriasis due to me being on immunotherapy (Keytruda) dealing with stage four cancer. They stopped my treatment for immunotherapy for now but they want me to now take Tremfya, which I just started on Friday.

Lately I noticed that after using some steroid creams like Fluocinonide mixed with CeraVe, clobetasol, and hydrocortisone I’ve noticed the clothes I wear smell of the medications and it’s still there after washing them. Am I going to have to buy new clothes and is there a way to save what clothes I do have of the medicine smell?

The psoriasis has completely covered my body so it’s not like it’s only one section of clothes that’s effected.

Hi all,

I’m a student working on a hair care project designed specifically for people with scalp psoriasis or eczema.

The starting problem: regular shampoos often contain ingredients that trigger flares, and medicated shampoos treat the scalp but damage your hair. I want to understand whether a product that does both at once would actually make sense for you, before going further in development.

I’ve put together a short questionnaire (a few minutes) about a product concept. Your answers would help me a lot in refining the idea before testing it more broadly.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf6fHUh5v7_sosIMBB5hgTEQGe_fKNsOVYwB91pAu-lAynpBA/viewform?usp=header

If you’re also up for a 15-20 minute follow-up online interview, there’s a box at the end to leave your email.

Thanks in advance to anyone who takes the time to answer, it really matters for the project.
If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out :)

I think my daughter has it and was really hoping any of my autoimmune diseases would of skipped my kids

As mentioned in the title, my scalp (especially the area along the hairline) is always flaky and dry, and always has a feeling of tightness. I have tried many different kinds of medicated shampoo, also have tried to use cream with steroids, at first they are useful, but once I stopped using it, the flakes and the tightness would came back. And the medication is causing the thinning of my skin. Is there any non-medicated cream I can use to reduce the itchiness and tightness of my skin?

ETA DISCLAIMER: I DIDNT MEAN TO SELECTION THE GENITAL PHOTOS NSFW TAG I READ “GENITAL” AS “GENERAL” SORRY IM NOT GOOD AT USING REDDIT 😭

Hello! A few weeks ago my hands got extremely itchy and wouldn’t stop. The next day a bunch of red spots showed up in my hands and a few on the bottom of my feet near my toes that looked different my psoriasis. Some of the spots around my nails were like little bumps that looked like they maybe had fluid in them?

Now I’m pretty sure I have nail psoriasis (waiting on a dermatologist appt) and also possibly showing beginning signs of psoriatic psoriasis (also waiting to talk to the dermatologist about I swear im not looking for a diagnosis or anything on here lol).

Idk if additional context is needed but I was diagnosed with eczema when I was around 9 and it went away until I was 16 and it was diagnosed again as eczema. It wasn’t until about 2-3 years ago I got diagnosed with psoriasis.

But essentially I’m just wondering if this is something other people have also experienced?? The first 4 photos are the rash and nail bumps at the last 3 are current. My other fingers are currently doing better but most of them ended up looking like my thumb in the last photo.

Is there anyone here whose nipple is affected? I was diagnosed at age 16, but I’ve never had it in my breast.
It’s been going on since March; it goes away on steroids but then comes back. The biopsy came back negative, but unfortunately, they didn’t take the sample from the flaking patch itself, but 4 mm away from it.
I’m afraid it might be Paget’s disease.

Got into relationship with this shitty condition 20 years back. I was able to bring it under control in 2021 with Methotrexate and was in maintenance mode since then with continuous low dose methotrexate. Then my dad passed away and it all came back covering 90% of my body.
Finally took the leap and had my first shot 5 days back. It costs insane money in India and i am paying it out of my pocket. But better to bur money rather than burning my confidence and self esteem

Another Pub Med link but this time about Hypcalcemia as the trigger.

Anybody affected by this and have labs done to check?

M28 4th time getting Guttate psoriasis in 4 years (5 weeks into it starting).

Seem to get one big flare once a year. Had UVB 3 times in the past which worked well but impractical balancing work and treatment. Trying to do all the right things to manage it and avoiding stressing over it.

I'm based in the UK and have a appointment next month, is there any recommendations for treatment plans to go down. Methotrexate has been mentioned before but I worry with side effects. Is it a drug for life once you start?

Thanks all,

👍🏻

been fortunate enough to be on tremphya for ~2-3 years now with complete remission, BUT in the past month or so I've been developing some patches again on previous problem areas around my neck

is this a sign of developing resistance to tremphya? or for some weird reason just a small reoccurrence? obviously contacting my derm about this, but curious what the sub things

I have confirmed nail and scalp psoriasis, and I'm now getting treated for psoriasis arthritis.

I started having this patch behind the ear though, which looks like something I never had before. It was super red and burny and started to flake a few days later.

Does that sound familiar to you?

The skin cracking and pain is making it difficult for me to do basic things like cook, get my mail, do my kids hair and I’ve given up on normal skincare routines for my face since washing hurts so much. I struggle using my phone (sorry for any typos…). However, it’s a tiny part of my body and I don’t seem to have any joint pain.

My doctor has offered biologics already, but I don’t know what my insurance is cool with yet. Besides being worried about it being bad enough for insurance to agree to biologics, I’m worried about people here saying it’s possible to have the drugs stop working? What if I start using it too early and it gets worse later and the biologic doesn’t work for me anymore? I’m in my 30s, I don’t want to speed run my options especially since my family has a strong history of autoimmune issues.

I am 14 months into my second flare ever and it primarily only hits my feet and hands. I had my first flare in 2023 that lasted about 18 months and it went fully into remission with steroids and Vtama. Seems like it’s been triggered both times by getting Covid. I do get it on my elbows, but usually Vtama helps that calm down easily. My feet get really bad, but are mostly in remission again now (thank goodness), but my hands have gotten worse than ever in the last few weeks and I feel legitimately disabled.

I feel like I’m losing my mind, or being brushed off. I’ve only recently been diagnosed. I thought I had perpetual yeast infections and chub rub, but after 12 months on a wait list, I finally got in to see a vulvar dermatologist. She told me I have psoriasis, which was such a shock to me, I had no idea how to respond. She prescribed desonide cream and I was approved for Taltz. I reported zero improvement after months of Taltz, and expressed how difficult it is to apply cream to my genitals multiple times a day, as directed. Am I being a wimp about it? It just seems impossible to apply creams and ointments (she offered tacrolimus too) when it all just gets smeared off when you get dressed minutes later. The tacro burns every bit of my skin, but if people think it will help by persevering, I’ll do it. I just don’t know how people balance .. creaming themselves.. multiple times a day. Does it eventually make a difference? If so, tell me your regimen, specifically for inverse/genital psoriasis.

I had my first Guttate psoriasis flare up after a viral infection 5-6 weeks ago. I had hundreds of red dots all over my body (face, arms, trunk, legs, feet, etc). I have finally noticed that my arms and trunk are starting to clear! My legs and feet still look pretty bad but I’ve heard it may take some time. I’ve used Clobetasol and tried to spend time in the sun. I’m not sure what has helped the most.

I’ve been dealing with scalp psoriasis for a while now and would come and go but I didn’t started taking it serious till my recent haircut where I saw how bad it was

Unfortunately I’ve been unable to see a dermatologist as many in my area do not take medicad so Ive restored to using over the counter stuff

I’ve used regular Nizoral the first week but it still would be red after and flake

It wasn’t till I switched over the Nizoral Psoriasis one that I started to see a difference. I would use coconut oil on my scalp before the shower and then would use scalpicin after to deal with the redness. Seems to work so far as I’ve only used it twice this week but I’m not sure what to do about the flaking when I’m out and about

I’ve recently purchased shea moisture shampoo and conditioner to add into the routine. Any tips on what I should do ?