Psoriatic arthritis

[kevycarey]

Hi my name is Kevin I’ve just been diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis but am going for a second opinion..I’ve been having problems with my ankle ligaments on my right foot for 3 years now am having problems on my Achilles and heel on my left foot literally every step hurts .. Yes I have psoriasis but very little patch on my stomach .. I went to see my rheumatologist and after he read my file from my podiatrist and seen I had psoriasis he said I had a clear case of psoriatic arthritis he did not even check my blood results at all.. This all happened in a space of 5 minutes now he wants me to take methotrexate starting with 4 a week.. I looked up this drug and have watched people’s stories about them and I have yet to find a good results of anyone that doesn’t have a side affect of them.. Am a young man I eat healthy and live a healthy lifestyle so this come as a shock not only that nobody in my family has ever had this .. Can anyone give me any advice and piece of mind please and if this is the case and I have to go down this road what sort of life do I expect to have .. thanks

[Hidden]

Google "borax and arthritis". I used borax to put my PA into remission for years. There is tons of information about it on the web.

Art

[kevycarey in reply to Hidden]

Ok thank you

[kevycarey in reply to Hidden]

Is that just having it on it’s own or with medication tho?

[Hidden in reply to kevycarey]

No medication, just borax. Google it.

[Superfloozie]

I’ve had PSa since 2001 when I was 33. I took metho for the first 8/9 years pretty successfully with very limited side effects. I also have almost no psoriasis apart from small patches when I was a teenager. Even now I don’t have any. A good rheumatologist will be able to diagnose from how your joints present so although I recommend a second opinion it may well be the same result. I fought my diagnosis for a long time so I understand your shock and horror. The good thing is you are young. You say you have healthy lifestyle so you are already helping yourself a great deal. The drugs available are now really varied and when you find one that suits you can put you in to remission. I know people who have little to no symptoms 10/20 years on. Read up on everything ask questions and don’t listen too much to miracle cures🙄. I’ve been told everything from turmeric and black pepper to hemp oil will help. Sometimes it does and you take that forward with you. Hope that helps.

[Superfloozie in reply to Superfloozie]

Also we have a really helpful psa Facebook page.

Psoriatic arthritis uk group. There is about 1200 people who are really helpful and supportive

[kevycarey in reply to Superfloozie]

Thanks for the reply i really needed some good feed back.. Also you said for this first 8 or 9 years it was successful can I ask how your lifestyle is now are you able to do the things you want to do.. Because I travel the world a lot and tho now I have to get blood tests every two weeks for 3 months which I don’t mind it’s the blood test every month after which is annoying because I could be away different places a month or two at a time and feel now I just don’t have that freedom of just getting up and going

[Superfloozie in reply to kevycarey]

I think when I was diagnosed I felt like a fish on a hook😳. I didn’t want to engage with the process and I didn’t want to do bloods or appts or anything. Denial is an amazing thing but didn’t help me st all. We all deal with things in different ways but the sooner you accept and engage with the processes the better it will be for you and your disease. I was also a director for a games company travelling a lot and had to be on top of my game. Realistically pushing myself hard for 10 years didn’t do me any favours! I wish I had dialled it back a bit as I ended up with all sorts of issues including 4 other auto immune diseases. So I’m not a success story health wise but I am “special”. Most people react well to drugs and I have been in biologics that have made me normal and able to do most things. This is an individual journey and it can be incredibly different for each person but it’s not a death sentence and learning to manage is probably the most important lesson. 🤞🤞for you.

[lchavezdavis in reply to Superfloozie]

There are inflammation markers amongst the blood tests that become elevated. C Reactive Protiens is one.

[Artroc56]

Didn't do blood tests? There isn't one for psoriatic arthritis.

[kevycarey in reply to Artroc56]

Yes that’s what I found out from my rheumatologist on the day I got diagnosed ...so don’t know why the other doctors were taking blood test for arthritis

[Artroc56 in reply to kevycarey]

They were probably trying to identify or eliminate those types of arthritis for which there are blood tests.

[Batty1]

Hi Kevycarey

Blood test are not going to show psoriatic arthritis it's pretty much a symptom diagnoises looking at nail involvement and xrays. I have had Psoriatic Arthritis in both of my Achilles tendons now for 2.5 yrs and like you walking is excruciating and yes I have psoriasis but this psoriatic arthritis flare has now invaded my knees and I see no sign of it stopping....Im on Cosentyx and its made my skin look awesome it hasnt done a darn thing for my tendons...

[kevycarey in reply to Batty1]

And have you not tried methotrexate? I got a steroid injection into my Achilles which had worked great but for the heel pain i can feel it creeping back in

[Batty1 in reply to kevycarey]

Hi Kevy

Steroid injections in or near tendons should be avoided at all cost (per my psoriatic arthritis specialist at John Hopkins university Rheumatology). I was seeing a orthopedic doctor who wanted to inject steroid into my heel and my Rheumotologist freaked out ...she said reason is you could weaken the tendon overtime by injecting steroids and what hurts now could be disaster later....so I never did steroid injection.

I never did methotrexate but I never had tendon issues until I lost my thyroid to cancer in 2016 which brought on this nightmare of pain prior to thyroidectomy I had mod to severe psoriasis 80-90% covered so I was put on Stelara for skin of course over my years with psoriasis (45yrs) worth I'm 49 now.

[Iluvgardening]

I was diagnosed with Psoriatic arthritis in 2012, I was glad to finally have an diagnosis, Not that I was happy to have this horrible disease,but glad to know what it was. I have pain all over, most of my joints are effected, and even on the meds,I did not take MTX, I had an allergic reaction to it. I do take a biologic Orencia infusion, and have tried so many more. The orencia was helping for awhile,but since my TKR, it hasn't worked. I have been in an awful flare and seems it want pass anytime soon. My rheumatologist has uped my plaquenil, so maybe that will help I am hopeful. I am so sorry you are dealing with the pain. But just research as much as possible, and be an advocate for yourself. Ask many questions ... Praying for all of us, and hoping you find relief and can still do all the things you want to do! I push myself to be able to do the things I love, hanging out with my grandchildren, gardening, going on vacations,being involved in my church through different ministries. I rest when I can.

[Guarisma]

Don’t take methotrexate. It won’t help and very bad side effects. Just take care of your diet, stress and digestion. Fruit vegetables. Avoid gluten, starch and lácteos.

Search about gut help in internet

[JayneMichelle5]

Hi kevin. I was diagnosed with psoriatic Arthiritis in 2015. I went to the docs as i was getting severe pain in my toes, fingers , back and hips. He noticed my knuckles were inflammed and said it looked like some form of Arthiritis so he refered me to hospital. I had a blood test which comfirmed i had psoriatic Arthiritis in most of my joints. Ive been on Methotrexate since aswell as pain relief. I would recommend you ask for a blood test and then they will also do xrays of all your joints . Hope you get it sorted. Good luck x

[kevycarey in reply to JayneMichelle5]

How has the methotrexate been treating you I’ve only been on them 4 weeks but I hear people suffer a lot of side affects? Also I’ve been looking up a lot of autoimmune condition and a lot of it seems to come from your gut what sort of diet do you keep

[JayneMichelle5]

Hi Sorry for the late reply. It takes roughly 12 weeks before you feel any benefit but it has helped me along with pain relief ( 30/500 mg co-codomol , 500mg naproxen) before starting medication i was suffering walking and standing long periods which effected my job as a care assistant because we was on our feet for 12 hours a day. I love walking and when i can go for walks , ive found it helps alot. Swimming helps too. Ive recently changed to gluten free bread and dont have wheat , pasta. These small changes have help in alot of ways. Cold days are the worst for me as with a lot of RA Sufferers. I still have the odd days when i have painful joints but thankfully not daily like before.

[Ralo123]

Hi Kevin. I have recently been diagnosed with PsA to and was given methotrexate. I started with 3 tablets a week for 2 weeks then went up to 6 for 2 weeks after which l went up to 10 tablets a week. Within the first two weeks i developed a cough which can be a side effect from methotrexate. However, it was an airway infection which cleared quite quickly I personally have not had any side effects from methotrexate and have found it to be quite helpful with the pain. It did however take a few weeks for it to build up and take effect.

[Bee1970]

I was diagnosed with arthritis 30 years ago they thought rheumatoid for years but blood tests always negative.. But my flare ups and damage done to joints is why they figured this. I fought methotrexate and different drugs for years as I was only 19 at the time but I regret this now as I did a lot of damage to my body which was not necessary finally after about 10 years I developed psoriasis and then I went to a rheumatologist and immediately told me my diagnosis didn't change my course of treatment but I am finally on humira which does wonders for me.. Not only is my skin fairly clear but very little if not any flare ups if I take the humira regular as prescribed. Follow your doctor's advice and see what happens also diet etc can help tremendously but I have suffered with wrists , feet, toes, plantar fasciutis, rotayor cuff, knees etc.. Only take cortisone shots if absolutely necessary but if you do not follow docs advice on treatment it will be short term, the Ccortisone shots are for immediate relief if unbearable swelling and pain but not long term if you do not change anything. Make sure you have a great rheumatologist who specializes in this form of arthritis ( I've had since pretty crappy referrals) but have a great doc now who is wonderful she honestly cares.

Best of luck!

[Esselstyn]

I refused to take it years ago, I was not impressed by the research done into it, and I was sacked by my rheumatologist. Did you know that once a drug has gone through all the animal tests etc the copyright can be extended if the drug is assigned to a new use/illness

Your doctor may have a good study that he can recommend, but I doubt it, I looked and looked and found really poor studies that showed nothing, I admit I could be wrong, so please do your own research.

What I do is eat a whole food plant based diet and water only fast every now and then. Fasting can be bad for you if you are taking medications so make sure you check with your doctor and do some research into it if you plan one.

These doctors have good evidence to back what they say check them out

Dr Esselstyn

Dr Dean Ornish

Dr T Collin Campbell

Dr Barnard

Dr McDougall

Dr Greger

Essentially its the same diet what ever your complaint, as its the optimal diet for humans, we are after all great apes not lions