Psa and sacrolotic joint

[Vic1977]

I was diagnosed with psa 6 months ago .due to scalp psoriasis and swollen toes fingers knee pain ect .does any one else suffer from sacrolitis with there's and there spine neck my hips are so painful should I ask my rheumatology doctor other questions .does this happen with psa .he said my mri showed my sacrolotic joint was damaged and swollen

[LadyBug44]

hello Vic,

Yes PSA or Anklosing spondylitis can cause these spine issues. Me and my sister both have PSA. Hers mostly affects her lower spine where it has started to fuse, whereas for myself it affects my spine (including my neck, middle of back and lower spine in hips ect), ribs, hands, feet as well as all the other large joints. I have psoriasis and Enthetitis , which for me is the hardest thing to get under control. You will most likely need to be on biologic medication to slow down the disease process. I am 54 now and have been dealing with this since I was 29. I know it sounds grim but the medications can help a lot but take time and patience to see what will work for you. Also you have to find a happy middle between rest and movement. Sitting turns me into the “tin man” so I prefer to keep going and always overdo it. Try not to stress because that can bring on flare ups! I know how hard it is in the beginning to be diagnosed and scared, but there is help out there, you will have some life changes, struggles and it also affects everyone differently. This can also affect your mental health so try to remain strong and positive😊. I want you to know that you can still live a good long happy life! If you have any other questions, let me know ❤️

[Vic1977 in reply to LadyBug44]

Oh thank you for explaining this to me .I tried methotrexate but didn't get on so trying sulfasalazine I think it's called .do you no anything about this medication. X

[LadyBug44 in reply to Vic1977]

I tried methotrexate in the very beginning, but then I was mistakenly diagnosed with RA. Methotrexate made me very sick , but a lot of people are fine with it. From what I’ve read it does not really help with PSA , usually if your disease is aggressive you will need the biologics…..I did try sulfasalazine, but it didn’t work and made me really sick too. But again, it does help a lot of people and not everyone suffers with the bad side effects, so give it a go🤞🤞🤞In the beginning of diagnosis, everyone has to go through the “cheaper” drugs 1st. It took me a few years to go through them and then I was given Enbrel biologic and that was a game changer for me, I lead a fairly normal life for a long time until our government made me go off of it and go one the Enbrel “biosimilar” that is when the Enthetitis got worse and since then I’ve been trying other biologics to see if I can get any more improvement. Some people with mild PSA can get by without biologics and just use the Dmards, Advil ect. But it sounds like you’ve got some swelling going on so all you can do is go through the trials of all the med’s and hope something helps sooner than later, waiting in pain is hard, I know!

I hope you have a good support system around you, that coupled with a good attitude, positivity and trying to not overdo it will help in the mean time🤗🤗🤗