The Month I Despise the Most

I have a love-hate relationship with my biologic. I love it 11 out of 12 months when my psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis are well-managed. My skin is nearly clear, and my joints are pretty happy. But dang! March comes along and blows it all out of the water.

Mother nature is cranky

It’s springtime in Michigan! Ok, that’s wishful thinking because spring doesn’t really stick in Michigan until sometime in April. So, we Michiganders learn to deal with wonky weather as Mother Nature decides to fully get on board with sun and warming temps. It’s 60 degrees and clear skies one minute, and 35 degrees and sleeting the next.

If you have psoriatic arthritis, you know this can be a trying, frustrating, and downright painful. You can tell it’s going to be a bad day before you even lift your head from the pillow in the morning. I can feel every single joint in my body with the quick ups and downs in the weather. I’m a human barometer.

Microscopic problems

March in Michigan is famous for another PsA nemesis: germs.

Each year I get my flu shot and follow healthy habits like washing my hands often. I wear a mask in places where I’ll be in close contact with other people, like planes and trains. I keep my distance from coughing cesspools of germs that are disguised as the adorable children you just was to squeeze and love to death.

My dad - God love him - may be one of the worst culprits. He actually stopped by my house for a minute and brought us treats to eat. He nearly brought more than that when he said he had a fever and wanted me to feel his forehead. Sorry, dad. Love you and all, but no way am I playing nurse. The next dad he found out he had the flu.

Keeping my guard up

I’ll admit that as years pass, I become more concerned about these microscopic problems. Some might say I’m a germophobe. That’s probably going too far, but I am justified in my cautiousness.

Biologics, including the one I currently take, can suppress the immune system. My nurse once told me that being on a psoriatic arthritis immune-suppressing drugs doesn’t make me more susceptible to getting sick, but rather it makes getting over being sick much harder. She said that while usually healthy people can bounce back from a cold in a few days, it may take me a week or two to get over it. And that has proven true for me.

Spread love, not germs

Despite doing my best to stay healthy, each March I end up with some virus that eventually turns into bronchitis. Every. Single. March. There’s no escaping it. And it takes weeks for me to fully break its grip.

If there’s anything I can ask of the general public, please keep your germs to yourself. I want your love, not your colds. I don’t want to you sneezing on me. I don’t want to feel your head to see if you have a fever. I want your compassion and understanding that my heightened sense of germ-awareness is not overblown.

A flare at the end

And just as March in Michigan brings unwelcome barometric fluctuations and unwanted viruses - as well as the stress from dealing with all this uncertainty - I always end up with a painful flare. Each of these alone - weather, germs, or stress - could send my psoriatic disease into overdrive. March brings out the trifecta.

For 11 out of 12 months, I love my biologic and being nearly symptom-free. And as difficult as March can be, I remind myself that without this medication, I’d be dealing with March forever. I guess I do love my biologic way more than I hate it.

What about you? Do you notice your medication waning during certain seasons or months? Share your experiences with the community.