I've now been diagnosed with PsA for 4 years and have been having more difficulties with my hands and fingers the last 6 months. I'm a Teaching Assistant so do a lot of writing and marking. After so much, my fingers begin to go very red and swollen, especially on the joints. Other household chores do this too and I feel that this is becoming regular occurrence.
My fingers over the last 18 months have also developed what I thought were dry skin patches which mainly occur on the joints themselves and I have tried lots of different over the counter remedies to alleviate this but after a short time of treatment it just comes back. I'm beginning to suspect that it may be psoriasis and am planning to talk to my GP on my next visit.
Does anyone else have experience of this?
Kind regards, Tina x
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Tinat3
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I know this will likely seem crazy to you, but I used the laundry booster Borax to put my PSA in remission. Just google arthritis and borax and you will quickly find a bunch of other crazy people like myself who found similar results. It took me months to get to the point where I could try it as the box just sat on my laundry shelf for about 3 months before I actually got my nerve up and started using it. In the meantime, I used topically applied magnesium chloride oil to help relieve joint pain. Here is a typical magnesium oil product.
I could just spray some on my hands and rub it in for pain relief. I tried several different products and they all seemed to work about the same so I would just select a less expensive mag oil for me to use.
I should mention that many years ago when I first started taking borax, that I did not find any information that borax would be useful for PSA, but rather most reports were about OA, RA and JA, but it did work for me in a big way.
A friend has arthritis in his hands where the joints have deteriorated so bad that if he is not very careful, any of his fingers can pull out of joint if he tries to pick some thing heavy up. It was so bad that he took some of those yellow playtex gloves that fit fairly tightly and he cut the finger tips off so his fingers could get air. He said they helped keep his fingers in joint and his doctor told him the condition would just get worse with time and there wasn't much he could do for him.
He would not try borax. so I made a hand lotion for him that I put borax in and didn't tell him. He used it for about a month and the next time I saw him, I noticed he wasn't wearing the yellow gloves any more and asked him why not. He told me that his fingers had stopped pulling out of joint and his hands no longer hurt! He said, I don't really understand how it happened because the doctor told him that that never happens, your hands will only get worse. My friend then started wiggling his fingers and hands to show me he could fully use them again with no pain.
Borax is poorly absorbed through the skin, so this probably would have not worked any where else but the hands and I never told my friend what I did, but I did tell his wife, who laughed and said she was not going to tell him either!
Unfortunately, while application to his hands was effective, it did nothing for the arthritis in the rest of his body and since he won't try the oral dosing recommended on the web, he is pretty much in pain all the time, but the hands are just dandy! Myself, I won't be without the stuff!
Art
I was diagnoised with PSA June of last year Im in a terrible way it has attacked the tendons in my feet,ankles and now my knees. I've been taking a monthly injection of Cosentyx my skin looks great my Rheumy said takes a long time for pain because I've was undiagnosed for so long. I hope you feel well soon.
Yes I too have a lot of difficulties with tendons! It's so frustrating because I find that this doesn't show on scans and xrays. Usually if my rheumy can't find an explanation, he blames my secondary Fibromyalgia. I was diagnosed very quickly fortunately although looking back I had small symptoms for a couple of years (toe nail deterioration). Good luck in your journey x
Psoriatic Arthritis attacks the tendon that attach to bones it odd that your Rheumy wouldn't know this and x-rays will show inflammation and calcification of tendon....it took me year and half to get diagnoised....nightmare bed ridden more often then not.
What type of biologics have you been on? Yes, I noticed that as my Cosentyx injection starts to wear off before the next injection I get mild breakouts in areas that never had them and (that's not many areas) I'm 80-90% covered without injections.
I also developed my current severe PSA from stopping Stelara before I had thyroidectomy for cancer. If anyone is on a biologic I would highly no recommend stopping them before surgery, I regret this everyday.
I too am on Benepali. Have been on this for just over 3 years. I also take Leflunomide. I'm asking my GP next week if I can up it though as I feel that I am very slowly going downhill atm and don't want to change the Benepali
I never heard of benepali. I'm in the US and I also had to start at the bottom with treatments the only reason I ever started biologics (Stelara) was because of pain I had psoriasis from my hip all the way to my knee (outside area) and wearing pants was like letting someone sand paper my body...it was torture. I have had MOD to severe psoriasis for 45 yrs I'm turning 49 soon.
I always always remind myself that nothing is a cure just a bandaid and that all magic comes with a price...I determine on my own what price I'm willing to pay.
Benepali is Etanercept (previously Enbrel in the UK).
I had really bad psoriasis from the age of 7 to 15 then just scalp psoriasis with a few outbreaks to date. Funnily enough my scalp psoriasis cleared up as I began experiencing the symptoms of PSA. No outbreaks since. I feel very fortunate not to have any skin psoriasis as sadly always remember how soul destroying this can be 😪
Hi AV been reading Ur story's , I have got psoriatic arthritis mutalins arothapy, AV always had psoriasis in my head as a child but I chocked on a chop in 2010 n scared the bk of of my throat which caused a lump sensation in my throat so took over a yr 2 try n eat again but the trauma of it caused bad psiorisis in my ears n tried diff creams n injections in my ears everyday at the hospital and obvs a couldn't get the UV light treatment or bandaged up cause of where it is, also got half my big toe and the toe next to it just under the nail amputated n was missed diagnosed n they couldn't find wot the cause was till I got a app at the golden jubilee hosp in Clydebank and the surgeon said wot I had n doesn't know how it was over looked with radiologist, GP, surgeons. Am 37yr old now but also got another lot of health problems but the methotrexate injections I was taking for abt 3yrs never worked atol n even my GP has agreed with me, I have got the severe progressing side of it, I eventually stopped it 3wks ago n am just giving up cause AV got mental health problems and it was like ma rheumy didn't believe the pain I was telling her n started thinking that a was kidding her on. She has let all my fingers and toes go the same as the 1s cut of, 5 top surgeons told me as soon as they start I was 2 go 2 them 2 get the tops cut of as it's the only thing that stopping the inflammation spreading down more of my toes n having to get bits of foot cut of but she begged me not to phone the orthopaedics so a gave her the benefit of doubt n a got a app 2 see another rheumy now as a think she's realized wot she's done, I just hope use get the proper answers n help b4 it's left to long guys, keep me posted if use don't mind and sorry for the long msge lol xx
They wouldn't give me the humeri injections cause it's 2 dear to keep me on it for a yr n it's the only thing that would have worked on my ears but a said it's not right atol as the junkies go in the chemists every day n get there methodon n mines is a illness n there self inflicted but still never got it xz
Oh gosh. Never thought that the Benepali could cause it. Your symptoms sound exactly like mine do and is very painful when it goes hard, splits and cracks. I'm going to Google side effects.
Be careful with the medicine you’re going to take. There isn’t cure for this and drugs are worst. Get a good curcumin pill help with inflammation ( not cheaper one) and a good gut health is the target
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working with this nightmare Psoriatic Arthritis
Psoriasis and peripheral neuropathy 
new to group and Psoritic Arthritis.
Newly diagnosed any advice help gratefully received 
New to methotrexate. 
