Lisa and Jade Bartlett

‘I'm so happy my psoriasis has gone but I'm even happier that my daughter's has cleared up too’

Lisa Bartlett, 50 

 and her daughter, Jade, 27, from Northern Ireland.

Lisa: I first developed symptoms of psoriasis when I was about 18. I can’t say for sure what caused it but my parents had it, so perhaps that was it. At first, it was just a mild patch on my back, then over the years it spread to my legs and scalp, too.

I was given steroid creams, moisturisers, shampoos, all that sort of stuff. I had UV treatment, too, because I have psoriatic arthritis. The UV treatment worked for a while but within a year I had a recurrence.

I mostly felt bad for my daughter, Jade, because she has it much worse than me. When she has flare-ups she gets psoriasis everywhere, including her face. And because she has to interact with people for her job, she feels very self-conscious about it.

Jade before using Soratinex

Jade: About eight years ago, I had my first psoriasis breakout but the doctor couldn’t diagnose it and so sent me to a dermatologist. The diagnosis took while as I have a mix of psoriasis and eczema and because it started out more like a rash than plaques. It was just on my arms at first and I was given some treatment and it went away for a while.

Two years later I had a little patch on my forehead but I wasn’t too sure what it was and it didn't bother me too much. Then I saw other red patches on other parts of body - my torso and back and the back of my legs, and then it went on to my face. I felt very self-conscious about that.

I was treated with steroid creams and they worked for a while but then the psoriasis would come back and I would be given a stronger steroid. Then that would stop working and the plaques would come back stronger. Later still, I was put on oral steroids because my body was covered. They worked for a while too, but once I stopped taking them it came back worse than ever.

Lisa: Because I don’t have it on my face or on any very visible areas, I have just tried to get on with life without letting it get me down. Mostly, I have just carried on wearing whatever I felt like, and psychologically, I didn't let it bother me. I know people say it can be stress related but I can’t say for definite that was ever my trigger.

I regard myself as luckier than some because I don’t have it on my face. But Jade did, and so I spent a lot of time doing research on the internet for my daughter. One day, I came across a newspaper article about Soratinex. The woman in the piece said it was the only thing that gave her relief without steroids. I sent a link to the article to Jade and ordered some for her.

Jade’s stomach before Soratinex

And after using Soratinex

Jade: By the time the psoriasis was appearing on my face, I had left school and was grateful for that. I’m not saying it would have happened to me, but I’d read about people being badly bullied because of their appearance. I was working in a call centre at first and although I was dealing with people, it was over the phone and so I didn't feel so bad about that.

I would cover up my psoriasis with clothes but when I got too hot, I got itchy, and that made it worse. It made me feel very depressed because it was on my face and I couldn’t escape that.

I tried a lot of different treatments; coconut oil, green tea, cucumber, that kind of thing, but it was hard to tell whether anything helped because I was using steroids, too. They just made my skin feel a bit better but they never took away the redness.

It wasn’t with me permanently - it would come and go, and I found that frustrating because I could never figure out what I was doing wrong. I know stress brings it on but other than that, I’m not sure. I just reached the conclusion that I would have to live with it forever.

Then, about three years ago [2017], my mum saw a newspaper article about Soratinex and she sent it to me. She knows how much my psoriasis gets me down and she’s always researching stuff for me. She doesn’t have it on her face, more her arms and scalp. I would always try things but sometimes it’s hard because most treatments take 4-6 weeks and I would feel let down when they didn't work.

At the time I began using Soratinex, my face was aggressively red and the first thing I noticed was that my skin became pink and then faded to normal. My plaques were mostly circular and they would clear from the middle outwards. I saw a big difference after a couple of weeks and then I tried it on my stomach, which was the worst area. I would say I saw an improvement after a week or two and then gradually it got lighter and cleared up. It was amazing.­­­­­                  

Lisa: At the time I tried Soratinex, my psoriasis was on my lower back, legs and a forearm. I put it on all three areas and within about two to three weeks I began to see it the plaques getting lighter and lighter, and then I saw normal skin coming back. Within five to six weeks it was completely cleared.

I was so happy about that, but I was even happier for Jade. After she cleared up completely, she went for an appointment with her dermatology consultant. He was amazed, and when she told him there were no steroids in Soratinex, he was even more amazed.

It’s not easy for a mother to see her daughter suffering like that, and now I don’t have to. I’m so pleased for her.

Jade: After my face and stomach had cleared up, I tried Soratinex on the other affected parts of my body and, head to toe, I was completely clear within six to eight weeks. I felt overwhelmed and initially, I was nervous at being clear because I worried how long it would last. But it didn't come back. I was completely clear and stopped using everything. It was a good two years of being completely clear before I felt the need to start using Soratinex again as maintenance.

I definitely feel so much more confident. I didn't like using steroids for so long because they can damage your skin. So, it’s such a relief that there are none in Soratinex. I would definitely recommend it to other people. It certainly worked for me.