THE ROAD TO FINDING LASTING RESULTS WITH REAL ILUMYA® PATIENTS
Discover how ILUMYA® is in it for the long haul for people with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis
Meet real ILUMYA® patients who have faced the challenges of living with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis and triumphed over their condition. Here, they’ll share their experiences, words of wisdom, recipes, and their own thoughts on how ILUMYA® works for them.
Have your own ILUMYA® success story to share?
FINDING HAPPINESS IN MY OWN SKIN
By Holly C.
Ever since I was a teenager, I struggled with my skin. As a young adult, I was diagnosed with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis. Doing the things I loved—teaching first grade, taking Pilates classes, and just hanging out with my family—often made me feel self-conscious and embarrassed about my flakes. Thankfully, I met Dr. Melinda Greenfield (fun fact: she also treated my mother and grandmother for their skin conditions!), who changed my psoriasis treatment journey by introducing me to ILUMYA®. In fact, she was the first doctor who really explained that moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis is so much more than the symptoms that show up on your skin. She told me that it’s a condition that actually involves the immune system. After dealing with skin conditions for many years, I finally feel confident about my skin, all thanks to ILUMYA®. I was so excited to share my story on a recent episode of The Balancing Act on Lifetime TV.
WHY I NO LONGER HIDE MY MODERATE-TO-SEVERE PLAQUE PSORIASIS
By Nancy H.
Like I mentioned in an earlier blog post, I was diagnosed with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis in 2016. At its worst, the rashes and flakes covered the majority of my body and held me back from doing the things I loved—volunteering with my storytelling group and spending time in nature. There was one week where I spent every day in bed because my plaques were so painful. My dermatologist prescribed a few different treatments before ultimately recommending a biologic treatment, ILUMYA®. After starting ILUMYA®, my skin started to clear. With fewer and fewer painful plaques, I was able to get back to doing daily activities. I stopped missing important events and spent time with my family again.
When I meet other people with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis, it seems like we’ve all had similar journeys to find a long-lasting treatment. While it’s comforting to hear other people have gone through the same things that I have, I also don’t want anyone to experience what I did. If someone was living with flare-ups, I’d tell them to speak to their dermatologist about biologic treatments, such as ILUMYA®, for moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis.
I once heard a quote that I try to live by every day: “I would not describe myself as a happy person. I describe myself as a cheerful person. A happy person has no worries. A cheerful person has worries but has learned how to manage them.”
I recently shared my full story on The Mighty. If you want to learn more about my experience, click below.
Taking my skin into my own hands
By Holly C.
I told my doctor, ‘I want to try this one. I want to try ILUMYA®.’
For me, it had been a 15-year struggle with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis, and nothing ever seemed to work. But I never gave up. And after trying treatment after treatment, my doctor and I found ILUMYA®. I couldn’t believe it when I met some other patients whose paths were similar to mine. Between the 4 of us, I think we tried just about everything in the book. Some things would work for a little bit and then quit. Not ILUMYA®, though. We trust it to continue to give us the results that we’ve been looking for.
Finally finding balance
By Nancy H.
ILUMYA® works on the inside so you can see results on the outside.
I was diagnosed with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis in 2016, which quickly progressed and mostly kept me inside the house. Those first few years were tough, but I finally found the relief I was looking for with ILUMYA®—it balances an overactive immune system for lasting results. And I’m not the only one. I recently met fellow ILUMYA® patients Mike, Holly, and Pete, and we instantly bonded over our long journeys. Different roads led us to where we are today, but we’re all so grateful to have found the right treatment for us. One that works from the inside out.
PSORIASIS ACTION MONTH: A MONTH DEVOTED TO US—PEOPLE WITH PSORIASIS
By Holly C.
Thanks to the National Psoriasis Foundation, August has become a month when we all come together around a common goal—raising awareness for psoriasis and fighting to find a cure. It's a month that unites our community and gives us all a chance to show our commitment and dedication to each other. It's a month when, perhaps, you can take some time to educate yourself about your disease (defeat the enemy by knowing the enemy) or experiment with something a little different to soothe your symptoms (two words: oatmeal bath). Or maybe it's the month when you finally talk to your doctor about a different treatment (I can recommend a treatment that worked for me 😉).
IMPROVEMENT THAT LASTS
By Pete M.
It was 15 years of trying different things. With ILUMYA®, it got better and stayed better.
I’d actually never met anyone else with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis before. I didn’t know what to expect. This whole thing was a little out of character for me, but as Holly (another ILUMYA® patient) and I talked, I kinda relaxed. We learned that we shared a lot of things in common. We both live in Florida and have a couple of pets. We both love exercise and being outdoors. We’ve both had pretty miserable experiences with plaques. And maybe most importantly, we’re both enjoying lasting success with ILUMYA®. Holly for 1 year. Me for 2. Pretty darn cool.
The antioxidant, anti-inflammatory properties of the ingredients in this smoothie helped calm down my symptoms.
A recipe for relief
By Nancy H.
Before I found successful treatment with ILUMYA®, I was struggling with my moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis BIG time. My daughter used to come over and make me an incredibly refreshing smoothie and leave me with ingredients to make it on my own for the week. This recipe really helped me because its ingredients are jam-packed with anti-inflammatory properties and overflowing with antioxidants that helped support my immune system.
So I’m here to share the recipe with you today!
Ingredients:
- 1 ½ cups frozen blueberries
- 1 ½ cups frozen blackberries
- 1 cup spinach leaves
- 1 piece of ginger (size according to taste)
- TIP: Remove skin from ginger by scraping with a spoon
- 1 ¼ cups almond milk
- ½ cup plain Greek yogurt
Directions:
Place all ingredients in blender (lid on!) and mix on high until smooth.
Dry ingredients can be placed in reusable zip-top bags and put in the freezer.
When ready to prepare, place in blender with the milk and yogurt and blend.
PsO Tip: Feel free to substitute whatever ingredients you have on hand, like apples, grapes, raspberries, banana, cucumber, watermelon, etc. The more vitamins, the better!
Ready to cook up some PsO-friendly meals?
FIND MORE RECIPES
A WELCOME CHANGE
By Paul B.
Before I tried ILUMYA®, my moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis stopped me from doing the things I loved, like volunteering and swimming. It spread all over my body and burned and itched so badly. I could barely sleep. My doctor told me about ILUMYA®, and he explained that it is a biologic treatment for moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis. I was a little concerned about side effects, but to my great relief, I experienced none at all from ILUMYA®. I know everyone is different and reacts differently to medication, and some patients could experience upper respiratory infections, injection site reactions, or diarrhea, but that was not my experience. After my first dose of ILUMYA®, I noticed I wasn’t getting any more plaques, but the existing ones did not clear up. After my second dose, all the previous plaques started to clear up and heal. And I didn't get any new ones. I’ve been clear ever since.
Moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis steals your life little by little, every day. But now, being free of the plaque psoriasis, it’s a newfound freedom.
Moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis got you down?
You’re not alone
By Corey S.
Having moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis impacts people differently. Some people can carry on with their day-to-day activities, but for me, I was embarrassed by how I looked. My psoriasis covered my back, my legs, and even my face. So I isolated myself, essentially becoming a hermit. But once I found ILUMYA®, my relationship with my skin totally changed.
Recently, I sat down with Dr. Armstrong, a dermatologist, for a podcast. I opened up about my personal story—including my experience with ILUMYA® (spoiler alert: the ending is a happy one). Listen to the complete podcast at the link below.
A FAMILY AFFAIR!
By Tommy K.
Would you believe me if I said not only do I have moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis, but my wife and all our children have psoriasis too? As unlikely as the story is, it’s true. I have to say though, the plaques somehow have brought us closer together because we get what the other ones are going through. When I was suffering, my family was there for me. Unlike many, they could understand my discomfort (and boy was I uncomfortable, with my plaques spreading from my head to my elbows to my knees). Which is how my wife and daughter became big advocates for me trying a biologic treatment, since they had success with them.† I figured I’d try anything if it could stop this itch!
So I spoke to my doctor, and he told me that biologics work inside the body to balance an overactive immune system. He explained that since moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis is an autoimmune disease, restoring balance to my immune system could help me manage my symptoms. He recommended I join a clinical trial for a brand-new biologic that was being tested, and it happened to be ILUMYA®. Now, I’m rockin’ clearer skin that lasts.
† Tommy’s family members are not ILUMYA® patients.
TREATMENT THAT FITS OUR LIVES
By Mike Q.
It’s the first time in 55 years of living with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis that I’ve met someone who also has it.
For 13 years, I’ve been living in a community in South Carolina where I was that guy wearing pants and long sleeves on the golf course in the middle of the summer. Turns out a fellow ILUMYA® patient, Nancy, had a lot of similar experiences living with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis as I did—even long sleeves during hot summers in the South. I feel so lucky to get to know her and share our experiences with ILUMYA® and how it’s allowed us to get back to the activities we love, with a dosing schedule that fits right into our lives. And of course, with short sleeves.
AMAZED BY MY PROGRESS
By Pete M.
It’s nice to go to the dermatologist now. And she says, ‘Oh, there’s nothing for me to take photos of this time again!’
CONSISTENTLY CONSISTENT
By Nancy H.
Because of ILUMYA®, I don’t think about my moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis anymore.
Before I started using ILUMYA®, my plaque psoriasis did start out mild but then skipped right over moderate and became severe. Some days, I couldn’t even get out of bed, it was so uncomfortable. Then, just a few months after starting ILUMYA®, the relief I experienced was beyond words. It’s just so amazing how quickly ILUMYA® worked and how it keeps going strong.
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