You are so welcome. Please keep in touch.
Hey there Irishchick!
I read through your message here with much interest and much dismay at the diagnosis you have received. I'm so sorry that you're having to deal with all this medical/diagnostic stress at a time when your mind and body really need a break.
I know we can't do much from so far away and I understand with money being tight that you have fewer options, but you have a voice, and apparently a sharp mind, too. The advice offered about speaking up to refute your fibro diagnosis because it doesn't actually fit ALL your symptoms is golden. I hope you will have an opportunity to take this up with another doctor soon--perhaps a dermatologist is the key.
And just so you know, I could just as easily be looking at photos of my own feet instead of yours.
Wishing you well and hoping we get to connect inline soon. Cheers!
Thanks jane I appreciate hearing everyoneâs thoughts.
I have an appointment with my GP on Monday and I will have a good talk with him. He doesnât believe that the fibro diagnosis fits either.
I know my parents just want me to accept whatâs said but so many people (people in this group and others) have said no there is more going on here.
A friend of mine practically begged me to push the issue. She suffered for ten years before they finally agreed to treat her but the damage was already done.
Every article Iâve ever read says treating arthritis early is they key yet if you donât fit into a neat little box youâre fobbed off.
Irishchick--you're getting some sound advice all round. Your gut is right on this one. Trust it.
When I was working through my diagnosis I asked my GP to be my partner in crime until we got to a diagnosis that we both thought made sense. It was her suggestion that sent me to a rheumy (after all kinds of other diagnostics) and I think my rheumatologist had a suspicion that I had PSA before he even saw me as he knew my father and I both have psoriasis and the joints that were most troublesome were all DIPs. Despite my lack of positive bloodwork he stuck with the diagnosis and even called me to reassure me that just because my bloodwork wasn't positive for any markers didn't mean that I didn't have the disease.
It sounds like you've got a GP who is worth his weight in gold and a rheumatologist who isn't. Keep us posted--and happy weekend!
Only for my GP Iâd be gone mad altogether. Iâll let you know what he says after I see him Monday.
Irishchick, thereâs a new article in the Newbiesâ Guide which you may find interesting:
http://discussion.livingwithpsoriaticarthritis.org/forum/topics/getting-it-right-asap
Good luck with your appointment on Monday! Let us know how it goes.
Wow , a chance of no remission after a year. Iâm stuffed then! Itâs been over 2 years! I will let you know what my gp says
Good luck today!
I think I tell my tale a bit wrong sometimes. Yes, having collapsed in a heap with at least 4 very swollen joints I got diagnosed at my first rheumy appointment. But one joint, the left knee had been football-sized for nearly 2 years I think and I'd felt increasingly awful for many years. And I'm a lot older than you. But .......after starting Mtx, then later going on to Humira I've had quite an amazing turnaround especially in terms of joint function.
We have to push for early diagnosis and the stats support a definite need for that. Doesn't mean you're stuffed, not by a long chalk.
Irishchick said:
Wow , a chance of no remission after a year. I'm stuffed then! It's been over 2 years! I will let you know what my gp says
Back from the GP. He was also a little dismayed at the Galway Rheumy's diagnosis. Hr can't understand why the swelling is being ignored. He pressed all over my back and body - no tender points.
I told him I'm not happy with a fibro diagnosis until everything has been 200% ruled out. He agreed with me, he said if your not happy with a diagnosis then you keep going until you are happy. He wants me to try lyrica because he is worried about my stomach and kidneys with the amount of pain killers I am having to take. He said it's much safer and it will help with pain even if it is PSA.
I'm hesitant to take it. I don't want to be zombified but I guess I'll have to try it and see. I took a similar drug before and I hated the side effects (dry mouth, memory loss and trouble concentrating).
I have my MR arthrogram tomorrow and my bone scan next week so I'll have to wait for the results of those.
I am really pleased for you! A good GP is worth their weight in gold. This one is a keeper, I think!
About the Lyrica: just because you had a bad time on a similar drug doesn't mean that it will be the same this time. I was on one antidepressant and it caused me more grief than it solved. I switched to a similar drug, and no problem. Go figure. Only way to know is to try.
You are not stuffed! That article reinforces what you are doing: seeking a diagnosis in which you have confidence as quickly as possible. You did notice who the researcher was, right?
Good luck tomorrow! You will have to tell us what the MRI arthrogram is like. Haven't had one. The bone scan I have, and it is a non-event. Nothing even uncomfortable about it.
It sounds as if you are going in the right direction. Your GP does sound like a real godsend.
Re the tender points .... I had to fake the yells of pain to satisfy the criteria we have over here for starting on a biologic. Even when my knees were very swollen & hurt a lot when walking, pressing & prodding didn't hurt particularly. I think that can be fairly typical of PsA.
If you do go with lyrica I hope it helps. And good luck tomorrow.
Ditto Sybil !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You're on a roll Irishchick, hang in there. We're all behind you too. Good luck for tomorrow.
Sybil said:
It sounds as if you are going in the right direction. Your GP does sound like a real godsend.
Re the tender points .... I had to fake the yells of pain to satisfy the criteria we have over here for starting on a biologic. Even when my knees were very swollen & hurt a lot when walking, pressing & prodding didn't hurt particularly. I think that can be fairly typical of PsA.
If you do go with lyrica I hope it helps. And good luck tomorrow.
Yeah my joints hurt but you could poke them all day long and it doesnât hurt!
I had my arthrogram yesterday. A little sore but not too bad. IT will be a couple of days before I get the results. I posted a separate thread but I am feeling a lot worse since I started on lyrica. I woke up this morning and my shoulders were frozen and it felt like someone stuck a knife in my chest and face.
Could that be anything to do with the arthrogram? Though it was done for your hip(s) wasn't it? It must be disconcerting at the very least. I wonder what tomorrow will bring? I hope this is a case of 'feeling worse before feeling better' but obviously you'll have to contact your doctor if things stay like this or get worse.
Irishchick said:
I had my arthrogram yesterday. A little sore but not too bad. IT will be a couple of days before I get the results. I posted a separate thread but I am feeling a lot worse since I started on lyrica. I woke up this morning and my shoulders were frozen and it felt like someone stuck a knife in my chest and face.
Yes the arthrogram was the hip but that went fine.
I started on the Lyria midday on Monday. By Monday evening my pain had increased a lot. Tuesday morning I was in bits. The same Tuesday evening. This morning my shoulders locked and I felt like someone was stabbing me all over. I've stopped taking it I'm waitng for my gp to call
Sybil said:
Could that be anything to do with the arthrogram? Though it was done for your hip(s) wasn't it? It must be disconcerting at the very least. I wonder what tomorrow will bring? I hope this is a case of 'feeling worse before feeling better' but obviously you'll have to contact your doctor if things stay like this or get worse.
Irishchick said:I had my arthrogram yesterday. A little sore but not too bad. IT will be a couple of days before I get the results. I posted a separate thread but I am feeling a lot worse since I started on lyrica. I woke up this morning and my shoulders were frozen and it felt like someone stuck a knife in my chest and face.
GP rang. He said Lyrica cannot cause pain. Even though it's listed in the data sheet....
He wants me to take 3 a day. Not happening.
So leave him a message to say you are going to experiment and stop/start to see whether your suspicions are right. That will be interesting.
I will tell him that i'll do that but I'm not actually going to do that because I'll be all over the place.
Seenie said:
So leave him a message to say you are going to experiment and stop/start to see whether your suspicions are right. That will be interesting.
