Mould and psa?

d3r2000

Hi I suffer from psorasis and severe psoratic arthritis which flared up being exposed to high levels of mould and tends to flare more with rodents rats mice at home which at times when removing them with traps the psa gets better and at times into remission with immunesuppressant medicines however at the moment not sure if there is a strong link sometimes I use a dehumidifier to reduce moisture and natural moul at home. I have tried many medicines and is difficult not to flare or to bring into remission. I don't know but I have psorasis flare ups sometimes with coke fizzy drinks, chocolates, also bad sleeping routines I.e. sleeping late waking up late, whenever urine is darker i tend to be in a state of flaring of psa and when lighter from drinking plenty of Water such as 3ltrs of water my psa comes down. I am on methotrexate and sulfalsazine.

d3r2000

Also one side effect of the immunesuppressant is to mess about with fertility is physical intimacy good or bad for psa? I have heard psa is related to stress so intercourse may aid in reducing stress however I would imagine it may cause a flare up due to darkening of urine seems to have some link with psa flare ups. Slightly confusing how to naturally treat psa.

Another thing is this seems to have some association with my family history and many family members married closely into family which seems from som science studies that offspring from near relatives cause genetic errors which comes forth as diseases however there are environmental factors involved as well.

d3r2000

I also think trying more detox options such as green teas help.

dreamdaisy

Hello, you sound as though you have many questions. I too have PsA, I have meth and sulph, together with humira, an anti TNF treatment. These subdue my immune system sufficiently so that it is well-controlled. Despite that I do flare from time to time and that is when I want to drink only full-fat coke and eat hula-hoops - sugars and salts taken care of I guess! If you think you know what triggers a flare then surely it is best to avoid these foods and drinks - processed and manufactured foods are generally not good for one anyway.

You mention the darkening of urine - that could be the effect of the sulph but it is important to keep the body well-hydrated so keep up your intake of water, especially in this warmer weather. As for sex that is a matter of personal preference.

Your housing situation does not sound too healthy. Are you privately renting, with a coucil or is the property yours? Obviously some measures have to be taken to sort out the recurrent rodent trouble, ventilating the property may help with the mould but that hints at a severe problem with damp which is harder to correct.

As for treating PsA naturally I am not sure how possible that is. It is an auto-immune condition, it does run in families as it has a genetic base but it is important to take care of one's general health in the best way one can manage. I wish you well. DD

d3r2000

If psa runs in families does it mean everyone with psa is closely related perhaps through human populations that migrated all over the world over thousands of years and there many family members who don't get it there has to be some trigger.

As for property belongs to parents so I can't do much diy besides the athritis is difficult to move about to do so.

As for humira been advised to get on anti tnf either enbrel humira or remicade- but they all say they could cause cancer so I'm not sure dealing with psa is hard enough not having to deal with cancer later on.

d3r2000

As for darkening of urine yes sulf does it but in general things which darken it more such as hormones and normal tozins the body let's out just I have observed sometimes detoxin (what alchys do to get over hangovers) may help but not always.

As for psa in the family its been there but not as severe as what I have- they had it for a while and only temporarily.


Steroids helped however it caused vit d running out in body and huge flare up of psorasis and on long term is dangerous to remove hormone production which is dangerous and requires steroids forever as well as the heart problems. Otherwise the odd naprozen is very effective.

As for the questions its been hard to adjust with psa with many factors to consider such as career and maybe also finding a life partner in the future who would be understanding (these days not many people are). Since the vast majority of illnesses and disease can be self induced depending on personal life preferences or from diet or life factors- however it seems the only life factor thay may flare psa is stress but doctors say stress causes every disease and its hard not to have stress in life to do things.

Since psa is an autoimmune disease - I have seen many people come to remission for aasthma another autoimmune disease they did so with cardoi exercise and really increasing fitness level.

d3r2000

Only other elements that may have caused more flaring up was when had feelings played about with someone I liked once,they did some mean things to lead me on to break my heart later on they got married (probably my own fault) - so I felt like less of a person after felt indifferent to all girls after that in a phase of distrust and don't feel attracted that much so hard times all over with addition of difficult recession struggling to find work faced some horrible employers so I have seen more flare ups of psa. Also even with psa someone tried to assault me in public transport when they were drunk, besides when its worse and feel flimsy I tend to get pushed about in crowds such as in buses and trains.

dreamdaisy

Auto-immmune conditions are genetic and as such can be passed from generation to generation, some may not be affected but others will. I hit the auto jackpot when my parents created me, both dodged the bullets they so thoughtfully donated but this happened in an age when people had little idea about the causes of asthma, eczema etc. This is why I have not had children, I know that my genetic make-up is faulty to say the least. The buck has stopped with me and as far as I am concerned that is a good thing.

As for the risk of cancer, well, what can I say? When you are taking these kinds of medications you are very well monitored so that any potential trouble is quickly spotted and dealt with. I know there is a risk of cancer but I care not. I care more about the quality of my life now (which is not wonderful but better than it would be without these drugs) and, the last I heard, they can cure a fair few cancers. Is arthritis curable? No.

I don't know how old you are but I suspect you are a fair bit younger than me. I am 53, though currently I am feeling about 103 thanks to a bug (and thus no meds). I probably spend more time in the house than is good for me but as getting out and about is sometimes not that easy I'm not bothered. I work at home too, which is useful as I can tailor things to suit me. I am working less and less as this disease advances (it's led to OA too) but this is what I have and I have to do the best I can to live with it and deal with it, as do we all. DD

d3r2000

I am 25 had psa for 1year now, I guess if I was in 50s I wouldn't mind about the humira that much it's an okay lifespan I feel too young to risk cancer.

As for age feeling you can determine it from your esr reading it should be half your age I had really esr at times so I reckon I know how being 100 feels.

As for genetics I don't think it is some damaged gene because it would perhaps be in a certain gene pool all humans are inter related skin colour and facial features change about due to adaption factors such as sunlight intensity and diet would alter factors, psa occurs throughout all ethnicities not sure if it is strictly damaged gene across multiple populations as all psa sufferers would share more genetic similarties from being very long last relatives over centuries. It might be something like diabetes or blood pressure more prone in some families however it occurs more in some gene pools which maybe more related to cultural factors. As for more genetic variations there are less chances of disease for being more genetically diversly mixed. Apart from having biological children you can always adopt.

d3r2000

See this study http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21840236

Psa occurs frequently in Caucasians and south Asians and rarely occurs in Africans this may be due to the closer genetic relations, across populations.

stickywicket

Hello d3r2000 and welcome from me too. I'm sorry to hear you have PsA. Mine's RA which is also auto-immune. I can understand your reservations about potentially cancer-causing meds and I guess it's always a personal decision. The trouble with auto-immune diseases though is that, unchecked, they will run riot whereas cancer is only a distant possibility. Although I don't need anti-tnfs (yet?) I'd take them if I needed to just as I've always taken everything I felt I needed to take.

However, I would try to get the mould problem sorted because that is definitely a health problem. Could you get somewhere of your own to live?

d3r2000

Getting my own place at moment is hard since looking for work at the moment before I can afford rent housing benefit forms seem very long and is am not too fond of some estates with stairs and so on. I am trying to arrange something at the moment.

As for the psa esr and Crp from what I understand apart from pain they can cause joint damage which then goes to surgery so something needs to be done so I could ask for increasing medicines but I have has periods were I have Been totally fine. I can handle living with pain over risking cancer, a pain filled life is better then no life.

I find vitamin d strong supplements makes me feel better also as a vegetarian I am considering the option of going back to eating meat may help the psa but I remember many years back eating chicken and eggs made my psoriasis flare up however many websites seem to recommend fish for psa.

stickywicket

Yes, that's the sneaky thing about these auto-immune diseases. We all have periods when we are fine - well, I used to long, long ago. I remember, years ago, trying to convince my doc that I could manage without meds. He warned me that, if I tried, I'd be in a wheelchair before I was 30. I took his advice. I've had a fair bit of surgery done but it's best avoided, or deferred, if possible. The meds make it possible.

d3r2000

As for the anti TNf for psa it is limited to 3main ones were ra has 5.

The 3for psa are two weekly ones and one infusion monthly with risks of passing out a huge doss in one go the weekly ones look safer as you can come off them easily if infected with virus. Theses are new drugs, there is

Enbrel
Humira
Remicade

Although used to treat some cancers blocking the t cello neucrol factors can lead to lymph cancer,blood cancer or skin cancer. Since your slowing down the immune system which is also used for bodily functions such as cell reproduction which goes wrong to give those tumours and that is another battle of its own with limited research to cure with all the technology we have there is no arthritis equivalent of antibiotics which makes it all go away or for cancer another fatal non curable disease, cancer caught and treated in early stages can come back in life it just takes one tumour cell to break off go in the bloodstream reproduce somewhere else to kill. Psa as a disease seems bette then cancer it doesnt have that fatalities, as for Methotrexate causing liver damage, liver damage is better then cancer if that is detected they can slow the medicines down or worse case remove the damaged bits for liver out and it regrows and heals itself.

d3r2000

Also I heard omega3 supplements help like fish oil and flax seeds

d3r2000

Another thing I notice when I take baths I tend to get lots of bubbles in the water I think after looking closer at the bubbles it seems it is small bits of skin shedding from the psoriasis. I have heard chilli spices makes psoriasis worse. I have heard that psa is linked strongly with psoarsis that if you make your psoarsis better the arthritis gets better if one flares so does the other so using topical steroids in the psoarsis will help also with the psa.

dreamdaisy

Humans shed skin all the time, mostly we are unaware of it happening but with psoriasis it is mych more noticeable as the flakes are bigger. Keep your skin well moisturised, that will help to keep it flexible and soften the flakes, I find aqueous cream very good for both cleansing and moisturising. It also has the added benefit of being reasonably priced!

You are obviously reading very widely about the subject. Research is a good thing but it can lead to confusion and more questions than answers. Although I am twice your age I am aware that I could have another twenty years or so of this to contend with, if I make it to eighty then I will have had just over forty years of arthritis. I was offered the anti-TNFs too late for them to have a proper effect on the condition, but you are of an age and stage where they could make all the difference to your long-term prognosis - even put you back into remission. That is something I've never known and never will so think hard before you deny yourself that chance for the fear of something that may well not happen. DD

d3r2000

I think the fear is of maybe getting married and kids these drugs mess with fertility but of dying of cancer when having little kids or no kids at all. I think remission is possible without the anti tnf.

stickywicket

Remission can happen, in my case it was only in the very early years of RA, but I don't think it's a good idea to rely on it happening.

As for anti-tnfs and fertility - I thought (though I could be wrong) that any resulting lowering of the sperm count was reversed on ceasing to take the meds.

I do think it's possible to over-analyse things. Sometimes one just has to dive in and hope for the best.

d3r2000

While I was on mtx I was once said to be going near remission before flaring up. Also what stories of remisson do people have I think I can go without at the moment by changing some lifestyle factors like proper sleep routine.

stickywicket

I don't know how anyone can be said to be 'near remission' while on DMARDS as surely all that could be said is that the disease is under control?

My best remission was during my first pregnancy. My other remissions all occured before then. I know they were remissions because there were no DMARDS around at the time. I was either on steroids or nothing.

But getting a good night's sleep can only be beneficial.

dreamdaisy

I know the theory of remission but fully comprehend that I will never experience the reality and so be it. As for the matter of offspring, well, that is a personal issue. DD

ruby2

Hi d3r2000

I had many episodes of remission from the age of 27 to 50 ..drug free, pain free, fatigue free. I hadn't sought remission, I was lucky and 'youth' was on my side.

I had taken the meds prescribed at the time and was in a very physically demanding job.

When remission occurred the meds stopped and I felt ha! I've beaten you...wrong it came back to bite me and the meds were required again.

At the time I wasn't offered a maintenance dose as is offered these days and looking back I wish they had and maybe the 'remission' would have been more prolonged.
No remission thus far since 50 and started MTX yesterday.

Are you in a lot of pain at the moment?
Maybe when you get that under control it will help you see things clearly and prioritise, chat to the GP and Rheumy nurse they will be able to ease your fears, sort out the right regime and give you facts.

There is no short cut to experience but on this forum you have access to many different real life experiences and that (in my opinion) is more valuable reassuring and informative than anything I have researched online

Good luck d3r2000 stick with us.