For two years I have had bad foot and ankle pain for no obvious reason. No swelling at all. MRIs show random inflammation but nothing structurally wrong or injured. I have a history of auto immune like illness and was diagnosed with UCTD years ago but have been really well until the feet. Feet hurt all the time, like I just walked a thousand miles. I started Sulfasalazine but felt like it gave me a weird anxious feeling and stopped. Now docs want to give me biologic but I'm really nervous to go to what feels like the strongest meds with lots of side effects. I'm 52 with young teens and need to feel better. Anyone have a similar foot thing? Thoughts on biologic?
xx
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Nellyfiguringitout
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I do have foot and ankle issues. Mostly the damage and injuries have shown up on MRIs, but saying that when my orthopaedic surgeon operated the damaged was far more severe than they were expecting. Can also depend when scans are done in relation to timings of pain and discomfort. I have good and bad periods of time, and had a scan done on a good day, ‘nothing of significance’, but then repeated later and showed damage of OA and two cysts. It was my podiatrist who actually when went through my history, US and MRIs and is making it most comfortable for me now. And he explained it all to me in a way I understood. Pure chance of being referred to a very decent one!
Regards biologics. For me it was a no brainier to try them after 15 yrs of a therapy combo that wasn’t working well enough and for which I’ve now got associated OA issues. Since being on biologics my RA is controlled, my pain and discomfort is from the OA.
Biologics changed my life ! I went from using wheelchairs to moving about better. They really kept me under control for about 10 years with no side effects. Without them RA will make things worse so I'd defo consider them. Gold star treatment.
was the mri ordered by your rheumatologist?, as it needs to be a stir sequence mri which will highlight inflammation, whereas as T weighted one is better at finding structural damage.
I have issues with my feet, which my rheumatologist was trying to dismiss, and told me to see my gp before he would look at my feet. Unfortunately for him I already had, and the gp said as it was bilateral and no injury associated with it, that it suggested systemic. So he reluctantly did an ultrasound which showed lots of inflammation. My feet feel like I’m walking on broken bones. He increased my MTX which settled it down. However once the swelling subsided my 2nd & 3rd toes subluxed, and remain that way. I’m already on biologics, which is marvellous for my spine and pelvis, but doesn’t help my peripheral joints, the MTX does that. I have AS. It’s certainly worth giving them a go, you can stop with no need to taper if they’re not helping. I get fewer infections on biologics, and the risk of cancer is very small. Uncontrolled inflammation itself increases the risk of cancer. They do take around 3 month to see the full benefit, and they normally let you continue your dmard. Good luck whatever you decide . 🤗
Thank you for taking the time to respond. I have had some mysterious, flaring autoimmune thing but no diagnosis. No joint involvement just bad bilateral ankle, foot inflammation. My mom has RA and we've checked everything else. I can't take Sulphasalazine so starting biologic this week. My rheum said Psoriatic Arthritis has tendon pain...idk. The whole thing stinks. Thanks for writing! Best of luck. x
The biologic (adalumimab) I started on just over a year ago has helped my foot and spinal pain as well as my wrists and hands (which is really all the rheumatology dept were interested in). I can tell when it's wearing off (like now, due tomorrow) and the pain gradually increases and swelling starts to return visibly.
Imraldi dramatically improved the quality of my life. I'm on it fortnightly for psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. I'm susceptible to infections as it compromises the immune system but I'd still say, overall, it is excellent. Been on it since Aug 2019. My skin is completely clear and my joints are much better. Good luck 🍀xx
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