A bodybuilder revealed he was once dealing with such devastating psoriasis that he considered suicide.
Mohammed Khan from Ontario, Canada, first developed psoriasis – an autoimmune condition that incorrectly tells skin cells to grow too fast – in October 2017.
The 24-year-old thinks it was triggered by the fact that he was overweight, eating a lot of junk food and was stressed about being in debt.
“I felt totally socially isolated and alone because of my skin. I was living in shared student accommodation and my psoriasis made a lot of mess due to the flakes falling everywhere,” he explained.
“Some of the students got bothered by this mess and told me very politely to clean it up, but it still made me feel bad.”
The condition first started on his hand before spreading almost all over his body, including his genitals.
“When I started to see this strange patch forming on one of my hands I immediately went to the doctor, who prescribed a steroid cream and told me that it would ‘thin’ my skin, but I didn’t care at the time because I wanted the red spots on my skin to go away fast,” he said.
“When more spots started appearing over the coming days I went back to the doctor and she gave me some pills and I took those whilst still applying the steroid cream.”
Unfortunately, this just made his skin worse, so he was eventually transferred to a dermatologist.
By this point, he had plaques of psoriasis breaking out all over his skin.
“The dermatologist took one look at my skin and said, ‘WOW, you are more than 80% covered.’ I felt really depressed,” the bodybuilder shared.
“I was so young and yet according to the experts my psoriasis would be with me for the rest of my life.”
The dermatologist put Mohammed on steroid injections, which meant he'd go to the clinic on a bi-weekly basis but he soon decided to stop.
Mohammed continued: “After just two rounds of injections I decided to quit after doing some research on the potential side-effects – an increased risk of cancer was the most worrying one.
“After stopping all medications, my psoriasis got worse, to the point where I was desperate for some answers.
“By now it had spread to my genital area. I decided that no doctor was going to help me and that I would have to help myself."
At the beginning of 2018, he started experimenting with different diets to help his skin and to also help him lose weight, as he had read that there is a connection between the two.
He moved to a vegan diet and joined a gym but says other gym-goers would walk away from him when they saw his flaky skin.
This just made the 24-year-old feel even more isolated.
“I felt so depressed and sometimes I did think about suicide. Like most psoriasis sufferers I was always asking the question ‘Why me?’,” he said.
“I started having dreams about falling off a building which scared me a lot at the time.”
By the start of 2019, he had lost a lot of weight and through various tweaks to his diet, a dedicated exercise regimen and weight-lifting, he was gradually transforming his body.
While his skin had started to improve, the psoriasis was still very visible and still covering a lot of his body.
He next decided to do a lot of online research on diet and fitness in hopes to find something that would help.
It was when he was looking on support groups and blogs for psoriasis sufferers at the end of 2019 that he found out about Oregon Intensive Rescue Serum.
“Just a week into using the Oregon Intensive Rescue Serum, I noticed my psoriasis flakes had gone down and scaly patches felt softer and not so rough, especially the ones on my knees and elbows,” Mohammed revealed.
“I saw the most dramatic improvements in my facial psoriasis, which after a month had significantly decreased.”
Since his skin has started to improve, he has increased the number of videos he uploads onto his YouTube Channel and he’s started a new series on Instagram where he goes live with other people who have psoriasis.
Mohammed added: “We give interviews and talk about our psoriasis journeys, which is very uplifting.”
As well as going plant-based, the bodybuilder has cut gluten from his life completely, which he finds has helped tremendously.
Committing to a serious exercise regime has also improved his psoriasis by strengthening his body’s resilience to fight the condition, and the Oregon Serum applied externally has significantly helped reduce my psoriasis on the outside.
"I’m confident [I will have] better skin, which I hope is something that will give hope and inspiration to others coping with psoriasis.”
For emotional support, you can call the Samaritans 24-hour helpline on 116 123, email [email protected], visit a Samaritans branch in person or go to the Samaritans website.
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