Aveeno and UVB
from Wes H.

Backstory:  Aveeno Similar to ‘Disarmed’ Skin-Cap?  

Howdy again, figured I would catch up you up a little on my limited trial of Aveeno with 1% Hydrocortisone.

As I previously mentioned I saw an improvement in only a few days, after continued improvement I started using the Aveeno on my scalp lesions and elbows. The lesions on my hands and scalp went away after about two weeks and my elbows improved dramatically.

Keep in mind I also use UVB 3 times a week so it has to be figured in I suppose, although it never worked this fast before, to make a long story short I tired of spending $7 every 4 days on a tube of this product and wanted to see what would happen when I discontinued use.

Well you guessed it, I had a flare-up similar to when I discontinued Skin-Cap only not as severe. I have commenced using the Aveeno again on my hands and scalp and am seeing some improvements again after about a week. My derm says I can continue doing the Aveeno but to limit the amount and scope of the product.

He also wrote me a prescription for Enbrel which my insurer has agreed to pay for, but after reading some of the reports on this site I am somewhat discouraged about it's prospects.

Oh well that’s it for now maybe somebody else has some feedback concerning the Aveeno with Hydrocortisone.  Thanks,  Wes H.

*****

Ed’s Response:  Perhaps you are responding well to the combination of the UVB and Aveeno.  Over the past twelve months there’s appeared to be something of a groundswell in support for combo therapies.  There are two kinds I’ve been hearing a lot about:  One is the combination of a topical corticosteroid with Dovonex (a topical vitamin D3).  The other is any number of topicals or systemics in combination with light therapy. 

If Aveeno is giving you a combo advantage coupled with the light therapy, you should rejoice because $7 a tube for Aveeno beats any price I’ve heard for one of the effective prescription topicals. 

I’m always a little disappointed when I read people are discouraged from trying a regimen because of what they’ve read here.  Fortunately it sounds like you’re going to try Enbrel, you’re just less confident — because of what you’ve read here — that it will make a big difference.  That’s okay.  All my personal experience (so far) and a major portion of the correspondence I receive about Enbrel suggests it’s no magic bullet and the pre-approval hype was probably due to the fact that only those trial subjects with alarmingly good results were talking about it. 

On the other hand, now that I’m on a double-dose routine with Enbrel, if I see some improvement you just might be reading words from me in the future that sound like the hype.  But you also might not hear those words from me.  <wink>  -Ed

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