Advice to My Past Self About Biologics and Psoriasis

Transcript

00:00:00:00 - 00:00:21:09
Takieyah Mathis
My hair is like down my back now. You know, everybody always tells me, “Oh, your hair is so beautiful. You have these pretty edges,” and I'm like, “Y'all don't know, I was bald headed.” (laughing) My name is Takieyah and I live with psoriasis. In the beginning, psoriasis affected my lifestyle very greatly. My psoriasis was covering me from head to toe,

00:00:21:09 - 00:00:41:24
Takieyah Mathis
and so that kind of made my self-esteem decline and I didn't want to be in front of anybody. I didn't want to explain to anybody what I was going through, and I just felt overall disgusted with myself. When I told my doctor what I was going through, I was prescribed cream, a couple of different oils, shampoo, then oral treatment.

00:00:42:00 - 00:01:00:18
Takieyah Mathis
We noticed that with the oral, that wasn't doing what it needed to. Now that I'm on the injectable biologic, my skin is clear, and it’s very empowering because I look and I feel better every single day and have the confidence to step out and be myself again. And so now, I feel like, okay, yes, I can go run with my boys, I can ride a bike.

00:01:00:19 - 00:01:31:02
Takieyah Mathis
I think that's one of the best parts, is seeing that improvement, especially in my home life. I would tell my past self, do not run from yourself. Don't hide. You got this. Be completely honest with your doctor. Have those uncomfortable conversations. Track your flares and symptoms and stuff. If you have questions, concerns, write it down and make sure that you're expressing exactly what you feel to your doctor, because there are doctors who will listen,

00:01:31:04 - 00:01:52:23
Takieyah Mathis
there are doctors that are willing to learn, and there's doctors who are willing to support and advocate for you if you don't feel like you're getting the help that you need. You are your biggest critic, but you’re also your biggest advocate at the same time. Learn more and connect at MyPsoriasisTeam.com.

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‘I Didn’t Want To Be in Front of Anybody’

Takieyah’s psoriasis symptoms started on her scalp but swiftly moved throughout her whole body, eventually affecting her from head to toe. “That kind of made my self-esteem decline because I didn’t want to be in front of anybody,” she said. “I didn’t want to explain to anybody what I was going through — and I just felt overall disgusted with myself.”

Takieyah lives with other health conditions, too. She has psoriatic arthritis, which affects about 30 percent of people with psoriasis.¹ Psoriatic arthritis causes joint pain, stiffness, and swelling, and it leads to symptoms affecting the skin, fingernails, and toenails.¹

The combination of these issues had a major impact on Takieyah’s quality of life. “It affected my lifestyle greatly,” she said.

‘I Feel Better Every Single Day’

Like many people with psoriasis, Takieyah needed to try a few different psoriasis treatment options before she found one that worked for her.² After finding limited success with topical and oral therapies — medications applied directly to the skin or taken by mouth — her dermatologist suggested an injectable biologic medication. Trying the biologic treatment that her healthcare team recommended improved Takieyah’s symptoms.

“Now that I’m on the biologic, my skin is clear,” she said. “It’s very empowering because I feel better every single day, and I have the confidence to step out and be myself again.”

‘You’re Your Biggest Critic — and Your Biggest Advocate’

When Takieyah considers the lessons she’s learned over the years, she wishes she could reassure her younger self that better days are ahead.

“I would tell my past self, ‘Don’t run from yourself,’” she said. “Don’t hide. Be completely honest with your doctor — have those uncomfortable conversations. Track your flare-ups and symptoms. If you have questions or concerns, write them down, and make sure that you’re expressing exactly what you feel to your doctor, because there are doctors who will listen. There are doctors that are willing to learn, and there are doctors who are willing to support and advocate for you if you don’t feel like you’re getting the help that you need.”

Takieyah also wishes she could tell her younger self to not be so critical. “You are your biggest critic, but you’re also your biggest advocate at the same time,” she said. “Just keep going. Do not stop. Don’t hide. And love yourself, like you’ve always done.”

Next, watch Takieyah talk with Zailee, another psoriasis advocate, about living with psoriasis and managing symptoms in high-impact areas of the body.

ABBV-US-01998-MC V1.0 Approved 6/2025