Kim details how she has dealt with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis symptoms and many remedies she's turned to over the years. "It’s been 13 years since I experienced my first psoriasis flare-up," she writes. "My journey has been very different from my mum’s, but I see so many similarities as well. She had it in her scalp and all over her body, and I’d see it all the time. I am the only child my mom passed down her autoimmune issue to."
"When I was 25, I had my first psoriasis flare-up. I got a common cold, and since psoriasis is an autoimmune condition, this triggered it," the Keeping Up with the Kardashians star shared. "It was all over my stomach and legs." She saw a dermatologist neighbour, who gave her a shot of cortisone in his office. "I did this and my psoriasis completely went away for about five years."
However, Kim says her psoriasis returned with ongoing flares. "For the past eight years, although the spots are unpredictable, I can always count on my main spot on my right lower leg, which consistently stays flared up. I have learned to live with this spot without using any creams or medication—I just deal. Sometimes I cover it up and sometimes I don’t. It doesn’t really bother me."
Since then, she says her psoriasis fully went away during her two pregnancies. However, it didn't stay away. "Earlier this year is when it got extremely bad—it covered my whole face and a majority of my entire body."
Kim tried a wide variety of home remedies. "I spent about four months doing everything natural—every ointment, cream, serum, and foam you can possibly imagine and everything from the dermatologist. I even tried a herbal tea that tasted like tar. I tried celery juice for eight weeks. Then I’d do celery juice mixed with the tea. I would do that twice a day. I was just exhausted by everything. I changed my diet to plant-based (which I still follow)."
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Earlier this year, Kim noticed new symptoms. Her hands hurt so much, she was unable to pick up her phone. "I woke up that morning and I still couldn’t pick up my phone. I was freaking out—I couldn’t even pick up a toothbrush, my hands hurt so badly."
Kim says she went to the doctor, thinking she had rheumatoid arthritis. "I had my blood tested for all possibilities, and it came back positive for rheumatoid arthritis and lupus," she writes. "I immediately started to cry and felt so lost."
After another visit, the doctors discovered it was a false-positive and diagnosed Kim with psoriatic arthritis. "It’s still painful and scary, but I was happy to have a diagnosis. No matter what autoimmune condition I had, I was going to get through it, and they are all manageable with proper care."
So far she's managing with a plant-based diet and limiting stress. "I live a healthy life and try to eat as plant-based as possible and drink sea moss smoothies. With all the stress in life, I try to make sure I take time for myself so that I am centred and keep my stress to a minimum."
This article originally appeared on Women's Health US.
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