House Calls - Case #13 Alisha

Summary

Symptomatic: A Medical Mystery Podcast - Episode Summary

Episode: House Calls - Case #13 Alisha
Release Date: November 19, 2024
Host: Lauren Bright Pacheco
Guest: Alicia Bridges
Knowledge Cutoff: October 2023

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Introduction

In Episode #13 of Symptomatic: A Medical Mystery Podcast, host Lauren Bright Pacheco welcomes back Alicia Bridges for a special "House Calls" segment. This episode revisits Alicia’s ongoing journey with psoriasis, offering updates on her health, personal growth, and advocacy efforts since her initial appearance on the show.

Alicia’s Battle with Psoriasis

Alicia Bridges introduces her long-standing battle with psoriasis, diagnosed at the tender age of seven. She describes the early symptoms as “itchy, flaky, brown, crusty patches of dry, inflamed skin” that “cracked, bled,” and felt like her body “was being attacked by ants” (00:07). Despite seeking medical help from her grandmother and doctors, it took over two decades to find an effective treatment.

Struggles and Frustrations

Throughout her journey, Alicia experimented with various treatments—topicals, oral medications, and tar treatments—all of which provided only temporary relief. Her frustration led her to a period of despair where she felt resigned to living with the condition indefinitely. “I just remember being like, I'm going to have this condition for the rest of my life and there's nothing that I can do about it” (01:13). This sentiment caused her to withdraw from seeking further medical assistance for about two years.

Finding Hope with Dr. Wiseman

A turning point in Alicia’s story occurred when she began speaking at National Psoriasis Foundation events. It was at one such event in Atlanta, Georgia, that she met Dr. Wiseman. Dr. Wiseman offered Alicia a biologic treatment that transformed her condition. “She gave me my first biologic and it cleared me up about 80%. And let me tell you, I was as happy as can be” (01:49). This treatment provided the long-awaited relief Alicia had been seeking, significantly improving her quality of life.

Ongoing Challenges and Mental Health

Despite the physical improvement, Alicia acknowledges that living with psoriasis continues to present challenges. Recently, she faced concerns about maintaining her treatment due to losing her job and the subsequent worry over insurance coverage. “There’s always something even when things are going good” (11:06). Additionally, Alicia delves into the mental health aspects of her condition, revealing her struggles with social anxiety stemming from years of feeling judged and rejected because of her appearance.

Personal Growth Through Stand-Up Comedy

Alicia has channeled her experiences into stand-up comedy, a field demanding vulnerability and resilience. She explains, “I've learned to kind of be charismatic and to understand how to connect with people in a meaningful, authentic, and deep way” (07:38). Comedy has become a therapeutic outlet for her, allowing her to confront fears of judgment and rejection head-on. Even when performances don’t go as planned, Alicia emphasizes the importance of resilience: “There’s no reason to feel shameless. There’s no reason to be embarrassed” (09:08).

Advocacy and Impact on Others

Alicia’s openness about her condition has had a profound impact on others. She shares how listeners have reached out to express how her story has inspired them. Additionally, she volunteers at Camp Discovery, a camp for children with skin diseases, providing mentorship and support. “So it’s such a blessing to connect with them in such a meaningful, productive way” (12:25). Her advocacy efforts underscore the importance of community and shared experiences in managing chronic illnesses.

Future Endeavors and Personal Interests

Looking ahead, Alicia is embracing new passions and interests. She has taken up playing the violin to reconnect with her childhood and delved into plant care, even authoring a book titled Dig Deeper: A 21-Week Guide to Self-Discovery Through Plants. In her book, she intertwines her journey with psoriasis and her upbringing amidst parental substance abuse, highlighting how caring for plants has facilitated her personal growth.

Conclusion

Alicia Bridges’ story is a testament to resilience, self-acceptance, and the transformative power of finding the right medical treatment. Her journey from despair to advocacy offers invaluable insights into living with a chronic illness. As she continues to navigate the challenges of maintaining her treatment and explores new personal interests, Alicia remains a beacon of hope and inspiration for others facing similar struggles.

Notable Quotes:

• Alicia Bridges (00:07): “My entire body was covered with itchy, flaky, brown, crusty patches of dry, inflamed skin. It cracked, it bled. It sometimes felt like my body was being attacked by ants.”
• Lauren Bright Pacheco (03:06): “Your episode is one that many people reference when they talk about the courage of someone coming forward and being so honest and open about their struggles with their health.”
• Alicia Bridges (04:10): “Self esteem and confidence and self worth are universal themes that you really have to own and focus on in your life outside of chronic illnesses.”
• Alicia Bridges (07:38): “I’ve learned to kind of be charismatic and to understand how to connect with people in a meaningful, authentic, and deep way.”
• Alicia Bridges (09:08): “This is only 10 minutes. This is not going to make or break my career.”
• Alicia Bridges (10:11): “It's really about not putting your value in the hands of other people.”

Timestamp Key:

• 00:07 – Introduction of Alicia’s initial diagnosis
• 01:13 – Alicia’s feelings of hopelessness
• 01:49 – Meeting Dr. Wiseman and starting biologic treatment
• 04:10 – Importance of self-acceptance
• 07:38 – Alicia’s venture into stand-up comedy
• 09:08 – Overcoming fear of rejection in comedy
• 10:11 – Realizing the importance of self-worth independent of others’ opinions
• 11:06 – Current challenges with maintaining treatment
• 12:25 – Advocacy work and impact on others

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Note: This summary excludes non-content sections such as advertisements, intros, and outros to maintain focus on the core discussion between Lauren and Alicia.

Transcript

[Alicia Bridges]

I am Alicia Bridges. I was diagnosed with psoriasis at seven years old. And it took me a little over two decades to find an effective treatment. I remember when I was younger, I had very flaky, dry knees and elbows, but we just thought that I had really dry skin. My entire body was covered with itchy, flaky, brown, crusty patches of dry, inflamed skin. It cracked, it bled. It sometimes felt like my body was being attacked by ants. And my grandmother took me to the doctor. They surveyed my skin and determined that I had psoriasis.

[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

Alicia tried every treatment possible. Topicals, oral medicines, even a tar treatment. But nothing brought more than temporary relief. The frustration began to take a toll.

[Alicia Bridges]

I just remember being like, I'm going to have this condition for the rest of my life and there's nothing that I can do about it. I stopped going to the doctor. I stopped trying to find treatments. And I sat in that for about two years.

[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

Even with the shame and discouragement, Alicia bravely shared her story, speaking at National Psoriasis foundation events across the country. It was at these events that she eventually connected with Dr. Wiseman, who would finally bring her the life changing relief she had been searching for.

[Alicia Bridges]

And so there was an event in Atlanta, Georgia, a national psoriasis event. And I went, I can't even remember what the event was about, but I do remember meeting Dr. Wiseman. So we started having a conversation and she was like, I can get you cleared up. And so I set up an appointment with her. She surveyed my skin. Of course, she's like, you have a very severe case of plaque psoriasis. But I have this biologic. And so she gave me my first biologic and it cleared me up about 80%. And let me tell you, I was as happy as can be.

[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

Welcome to house calls. I'm Lauren Bright Pacheco. On these special segments, we'll check in with friends from former symptomatic episodes for updates on their health and lives since we last connected. Alicia, it is so good to speak with you again.

[Alicia Bridges]

It's nice to speak with you as well. It's been a little while.

[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

I can't believe it's almost been a year. November of last year, when we first connected.

[Alicia Bridges]

Yeah.

[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

And I have to tell you, your episode is one that many people reference when they talk about the courage of someone coming forward and being so honest and open about their struggles with their health. Have you had any kind of reaction of people who listened to the episode?

[Alicia Bridges]

You know, I had some family check in with me and kind of be like, wow, I didn't know, you know, what you were dealing with internally. So that was nice to hear.

[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

You talked a lot about how for you really finding self acceptance was a big part of this puzzle piece. And I love the fact that you came to that realization before you even found what ended up being for you the silver bullet. Why was that something that you knew you had to heal before your skin even did?

[Alicia Bridges]

Because I think that self esteem and confidence and self worth are universal themes that you really have to own in and focus on in your life outside of chronic illnesses. It's just so imperative to have that love for you and confidence for yourself day to day, regardless if I have psoriasis or not. Because if it's not psoriasis, then it's the pressures of social media. If it's not the pressures of social media, then it's the pressures of beauty standards. If it's not that, it's dating and expectations. So that's why it was really important for me to get a hold on that.

[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

I think that there is something, particularly when you're dealing with a chronic illness that has physical manifestations. You have the insecurity constantly that you're going to be judged or rejected because of your physicality. And when it's something that you can't help and you're desperately trying to conceal, it probably just feels like you're in fight and flight constantly. Every social situation becomes an opportunity for rejection as opposed to just an opportunity.

[Alicia Bridges]

Yeah. It's interesting because in the last year I've been reflecting on why I feel anxiety. Didn't even realize this, but I think I have some social anxiety. I do stand up comedy, which is kind of hard to have social anxiety when you're in stand up. And oftentimes, especially in the beginning, like, I would be so afraid to, like, get on stage, even like, having successful shows. And then as I evaluated that, I realized that it's social anxiety. I realized that I have a real fear of being judged. Not only being judged, but being shamed and being rejected. And then I did some further evaluation, like, okay, where does that come from? And I really think that it comes from being tall all my life, like since I was seven, always being tall, always standing out and having psoriasis. It's like, always this dark cloud of, like, here is an opportunity for someone to reject you, to shame you. Here's an opportunity where you might show up and be perceived as not good enough. So that definitely has been a challenge. And I often wonder how much of the Psoriasis is associated with how I view anxiety and overwhelm.

[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

Now, it is so interesting to see the way in which your disease, like your lack of ease within your own skin, shaped not only your personality, but gave you courage. Standup comedy is terrifying to most people. To put yourself out there and to let people judge you in that moment with laughter or not. It's very interesting that this is what you're drawn to. What was it about standup comedy that called to you?

[Alicia Bridges]

I've always been, like, this fun, witty personality in general, which, again, probably stems from having psoriasis, because you have to connect in a way with people that have nothing to do with your looks, because you're afraid that your looks won't be good enough. So I've learned to kind of be charismatic and to understand how to connect with people in a meaningful, authentic, and deep way. I went to see a friend years ago perform comedy, and as everyone was coming across the stage, I was like, I can do that. I can definitely do that. You know, I've done public speaking, and people have told me that I have this personality. So I just started to do it, and it challenged me and continues to challenge me, to confront not feeling good enough or fearing that I'm not going to be perceived in the way that I want to be perceived. And one thing about comedy is, like, it's up and down. Like, for example, I did a show the other day, and the audience was just not my demographic, and they were not feeling my stuff. And in that moment, you can perceive that as rejection. Like, it gets real awkward when you're up there giving the best 10 minutes of your life and people are staring back at you like, what is this?

[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

Yeah, those 10 minutes can feel like 10 years.

[Alicia Bridges]

Oh, my gosh, I'm telling you. But it's so funny, because five years ago, that would have caused me to, like, want to quit comedy. And when it happened, I was just like, okay, let's push through these feelings. This is only 10 minutes. This is not going to make or break my career. The circumstances that this is an older crowd that's really out of my demographic. And if I want to make them laugh, either I have to come up with jokes that fit their lifestyle, or I need to stick to my demographic. But that's the solution to it. There's no reason to feel shameless. There's no reason to be embarrassed. It's just identifying what the circumstances are and being okay with that. Like, this is a part of the process, and so it's really helping me to kind of confront all perspectives of my life in that same way.

[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

That's where the self love comes in as well. Because you don't place your value in terms of the acceptance of others.

[Alicia Bridges]

Yes, 1,000%. You said that in such a beautiful way. And it just sparked a fire in me when you said that it's really about not putting your value in the hands of other people. Whether it's a comedy audience, whether it's a man that I'm dating, whether it's a person at the nail shop that doesn't understand psoriasis and they reject me, whether it's not being chosen for, I don't know, a modeling gig or whatever. It's just understanding my value without it being contingent upon what other people think of me.

[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

And so how are you doing today? Because I believe you said you started your last treatment in 2020. Is it still working?

[Alicia Bridges]

It's still working well. It's working great. I'm 100% clear. The challenge now is that I recently lost my job or quit my job, and now I'm worried about insurance and ensuring that I can continue receiving my medicine. Luckily, I only have to get the treatment every 12 weeks, so that gives me some time to get a new position so I can continue my medicine. But this is just another example of, like, even though the psoriasis is clear, there's still always some challenges because of this disease. Because now the challenge is finding insurance, ensuring that that insurance covers my treatment, and just going through the whole process again of a copay program and prior authorization. So it just feels like there's always something even when things are going good.

[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

Yeah. Because there's maintenance involved. It's not as if it was a one and done kind of deal.

[Alicia Bridges]

Exactly.

[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

Have you had the opportunity to pay that forward in terms of your advocacy? Have you had the chance to really see the comfort that sharing your story has brought to other young people?

[Alicia Bridges]

Absolutely. People often write me on social media and let me know, you know, oh, I saw an article. I heard you on the podcast and it really touched my spirit. I also volunteer at Camp Discovery, which is a camp sponsored by the AAD American Academy of Dermatology, and it's for kids who are living with skin diseases. But it's such a blessing to work with those kids from a place that I know exactly what it is that they're going through when they're out in the world trying to navigate their skin condition. So it's such a blessing to be able to connect with them in such a meaningful Productive way. So I am always encountered by people in different situations as to how my story has influenced and impact them to try to live and overcome their condition.

[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

And to bring them comfort and the reassurance that they don't have to feel shame or blame themselves.

[Alicia Bridges]

Exactly.

[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

So, Alicia, what is next on your list of things to tackle?

[Alicia Bridges]

I'm always looking for a new adventure. I recently bought a violin because of something that I did when I was like 10 years old, but I didn't get a chance to continue it. So that's one way I'm currently trying to honor my inner child is by teaching myself how to play the violin. I'm really into plants. I've become a plant mom in the last couple of years. Actually wrote a book. It's called Dig Deeper, a 21 week guide to Self Discovery Through Plants. And in the book I talk about my journey with psoriasis as well as having parents with substance abuse issues. And I talk about how I've learned the process of growth through caring for my plants. So, like, just doing more of that, connecting with people and plant care and just finding new ways to challenge myself. So, yeah, that's what's going on with me right now.

[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

Oh my gosh, I'm getting that book. I'm not joking. I'm gonna write it down because I'm a serial plant killer. Unfortunately, yes. Alicia, I just wanna thank you so much for taking the time to update us, and I'm so happy that you're doing so well and I cannot wait to follow what you next take on in the years to come.

[Alicia Bridges]

I really appreciate it and thank you for having me here today. This is great catching up.

[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

Absolutely. On next week's episode of Symptomatic Mick Zan didn't think much of her severe acne in early onset periods at first, assuming they would pass on their own. But her symptoms quickly escalated to frequent UTIs, bladder pain, and bloody urination, upending her entire life.

[Alicia Bridges]

All of my blood tests are perfectly fine. All of my CT scans are perfectly fine. And I was at a loss. Like, am I really just making this up? I'm looking down in the toilet and I'm seeing red and no one's helping me.

[Lauren Bright Pacheco]

This has been house calls. Thanks for listening and we would love to hear from you too. You can email us@ symptomaticheartmedia. With thoughts about other episodes or to share a medical mystery of your own. Until next time, be well. Join me, Cyndi Lauper with chef Michelle Bernstein and Dr. Panico to talk about psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, the potential connection and risk of developing permanent joint damage.

[Cyndi Lauper]

Cosentyx Secukinumab is prescribed for adults with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis 300mg dose and adults with active psoriatic arthritis, 150mg dose. Don't use if you're allergic to Gosentyx before starting, get checked for tb, serious allergic reactions, severe skin reactions that look like eczema, and an increased risk of infections some fatal have occurred. It may lower your ability to fight infections, so tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms like fevers, sweats, chills, muscle aches or cough. Had a vaccine or plan to or if IBD symptoms develop or worsen. Learn more at 1844cosentyx or cosentyx.com Cindy.