Meet Felicia

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Living with psoriasis can be tough,
but you're not alone.

In this video, Felicia talks about her experience with psoriasis.

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Felicia Video Transcript

My name is Felicia Williams. I was diagnosed 5-6 years ago with moderate to severe chronic plaque psoriasis.

I like anything that's hands-on. So we do a lot of antiquing..tiling, painting. A lot of painting. And this kind of runs in our family, we all have. We all like to do this.

Discovering My Psoriasis

The symptoms started showing up. Big plaques. I thought it was dry winter skin because we live in a dry climate. And you tend to get chapped skin and I thought that's what it was. And these huge plaques started coming up about the size of a..um..lid for a jar. And I thought, this is not dry skin, so I went to a dermatologist.

The itching was horrible – it felt like you'd been dipped in honey and ants were crawling all over you. And you clawed all the time.

How Psoriasis Affects Me

I taught up until 2 years ago. Now what I do is I'm a teaching and learning coach so I teach other teachers. And I have 30 science teachers that…uh..I teach them how to teach students. Uh.. when I taught the kids, which I won't go into that, they're much easier to teach than the teachers. Um..when I taught the kids, the kids were really curious about it. And it's nice because kids have an honest curiosity about it.

And they would see it, and they'd… "Miss Williams, what's wrong with your arm?" And, I've got psoriasis. And that's all they would ask. But um…one year we had parent-teacher conferences and a parent came in; and nice as can be while they're in there. Just kept pushing back their chair a little but… I thought, "OK, don't..don't let it bother you." By that time I'd had it enough. You… there… it was on my hands, my elbows, everywhere. You… there's… you can't wear gloves while you're teaching or at school.

So I thought, their problem not yours. Don't let it become your problem. And apparently the parents went downstairs and talked to the principal. And told the principal that they wanted to know what that disease was the teacher had and could their child catch it.

I…I've been told that a lot of my symptoms were brought about by stress. That it was stress induced. Teaching's stressful; especially if you take on too many projects.

So when something starts out and it's a little bitty plaque and then within a month it's huge, you're going…I don't like things I have no control over.

Finding What Works For Me

I tried different types of medications. And uh some of them actually did a pretty good job. They didn't make it go away. They took a little bit of the itch out. And, in the wintertime in Kansas City area, it's extremely dry. You've learned real quick not to bend your elbows past the uh, halfway point because if you bend them too much it's going to crack and bleed. So pretty painful.

But every month, I've got on the websites and have stayed with it, looking up other people that have psoriasis. I have questions, I have lots of questions. So you write down the questions to take in with you to the doctor to ask. And a lot of times, it's I don't know I'm not real sure about this.

Find Someone Who Listens

If you have a dermatologist, I know that they are very busy and it's hard to get a…an appointment with a dermatologist. I was lucky enough that by my fourth one, I knew what I was looking for, [a] very sympathetic doctor that would listen and took my suggestions.

Be very proactive with your doctor. If you can't find a doctor who is genuinely listening to what you are saying, can understand your symptoms, understand when your symptoms change, they've never lived this. They know the medications and they know the signs, but they've never lived this.

You've gotta have someone who's on your side that will actually listen to what you need.

Be Proactive

I'm showing signs of clearance, and I feel like I'm taking a little power back, that there are things that you can do, and you have to be strong, and you have to be consistent and stubborn, and you have to find what works for you.

I realize that you have to take charge of things that are happening to you in life especially as you get older. You can't sit back and let things happen without finding what is going to make life tolerable for you. And it. That's I think the key word is the tolerance. What can you tolerate?

If I'd met someone who just told me they had been diagnosed with psoriasis, be proactive find out what works for you. All medicines work differently on people. Find a good dermatologist that will actually listen…you have to be proactive on it.




	Felicia Video Transcript My name is Felicia Williams. I was diagnosed 5-6 years ago with moderate to severe chronic plague psoriasis. I like anything that's hands-on. So we do a lot of antiquing..tiling, painting. A lot of painting. And this kind of runs in our family, we all have. We all like to do this. Discovering My Psoriasis The symptoms started showing up almost overnight. Big plagues. I thought it was dry winter skin because we live in a dry climate. And you tend to get chapped skin and I thought that's what it was. And these (huge) plagues started coming up about the size of a..um..lid for a jar. And I thought, that's not dry skin, so I went to a dermatologist. The itching was horrible – it felt like you'd been dipped in honey and ants were crawling all over you. And you clawed all the time. How Psoriasis Affects Me I taught up until 2 years ago. Now what I do is I'm a teaching and learning coach as I teach other teachers. And I have 30 science teachers that…uh..i teach them how to teach students. Uh.. when I taught the kids, which I won't go into that, they're much easier to teach than the teachers. Um..when I taught the kids, the kids were really curious about it. And it's nice because the kids have an honest curiousity about it. And they would see it, and they'd Miss Williams "what's wrong with your arm". And, I've got psoriasis. And that's all they would ask. But um…one year we had parent-teacher conferences and a parent came in; as nice as can be while they're in there. Just kept pushing back their chair a little but; I thought OK don't..don't let it bother you. By that time I'd had it enough. You..there'… it was on my hands, my elbows, everywhere. You..there's..you can't wear gloves while you're teaching or at school. So I thought, their problem not yours. Don't let it become your problem. And apparently the parents went downstairs and talked to the principal. And told the principal that they wanted to know what that disease was the teacher had and could their child catch it. I…I've been told that a lot of my symptoms were brought about by stress. That it was stress induced. Teaching's stressful; especially if you take on too many projects. I'm too much an OCD control freak…so when something starts out and it's a little bitty plague and then within a month it's huge, you're going…I don't like things I have no control over. Finding What Works For Me I tried different types of medications. And uh some of them actually did a pretty good job. They didn't make it go away. They took a little bit of the itch out. And, in the wintertime in Kansas City area, it's extremely dry. You've learned real quick not to bend your elbows past the uh, halfway point because if you bend them too much it's going to crack and bleed. So pretty painful. But every month, I've got on the websites and have stayed with it, looking up other people that have psoriasis. I have questions, I have lots of questions. So you write down the questions to take in with you to the doctor to ask. And a lot of times, it's I don't know I'm not real sure about this. Find Someone Who Listens If you have a dermatologist, I know that they are very busy and it's hard to get a…an appointment with a dermatologist. I was lucky enough that by my fourth one, I knew what I was looking for, a very sympathetic doctor that would listen and took my suggestions. Be very proactive with your doctor. If you can't find a doctor who is genuinely listening to what you are saying, can understand your symptoms, understand when you symptoms change, they've never lived this. They know the medications and they know the signs, but they've never lived this. You've gotta have someone who's on your side that will actually listen to what you need. Be Proactive I'm showing signs of clearance, and I feel like I'm taking a little power back, that there are things that you can do, and you have to be strong, and you have to be consistent and stubborn, and you have to find out what works for you. I realize that you have to take charge of things that are happening to you in life especially as you get older. You can't sit back and let things happen without finding what is going to make life tolerable for you. And it. That's I think the key word is the tolerance. What can you tolerate? If I'd met someone who just told me they had been diagnosed with psoriasis, be proactive find out what works for you. All medicines work differently on people. Find a good dermatologist that will actually listen…you have to be proactive on it.