Sue Pickering

'I am determined to tell everyone I can about this treatment in the hope that it will work as well for them as it has for me.' 

Sue Pickering, 61, from Northumberland 

I first developed psoriasis at the front of my scalp in my early fifties but it took two years before I was formally diagnosed. I understand that this isn’t unusual.

There were added complications for me because it was linked to another condition called frontal fibrosing alopecia, which meant the worst effects were around my hairline, and this caused it to recede. I also had a 10p coin sized plaque on the back of my hand and while my scalp would periodically improve or deteriorate, that hand plaque was stubborn and just never went away.

I used to be in advertising, recruitment and training and so had to attend meetings and deal with clients. In situations like that I would sometimes feel self-conscious about my appearance and worry whether any flakes were there from my scalp. Eventually, I hanged my hairstyle to cover up the psoriasis at my hairline. Other sufferers will recognise this – psoriasis can have a detrimental effect on your confidence.

After trying all sorts of topical steroids, I was put on Methotraxate about five years ago. I was on that for about two and a half years, then had a gap, and then was put on it again for about 18 months.

Methotraxate is a form of chemotherapy medication although it is given in low doses for psoriasis and is an auto-immune suppressant. It dampened down my psoriasis but it can also leave you vulnerable to illness because it plays with your immune system. Last year, I caught virus after virus and felt so ill that I decided to come off the treatment – and my psoriasis came back in force.

Then I read an article in The Times’ health pages about Soratinex and thought I’d give it a go. The results have been absolutely amazing. It is an eight-week treatment but I saw results within a few days – now even the psoriasis on the back of my hand has gone.

I would say my psoriasis has cleared up almost completely now and because I am no longer on Methotraxate I feel so much healthier. I am relieved, too, that I’m no longer using steroid creams as they were making my skin thinner and thinner.

My husband has noticed a difference in me, too - that I’m feeling happier and healthier. I am determined to tell everyone I can about this treatment in the hope that it will work as well for them as it has for me – and recently I have been able tochange my hairstyle to suit me rather than the psoriasis!