I only float in and out of here from time to time. Normally when things aren’t good. I feel a bit guilty about that, but when things are ticking along, I just try and forget about PsA as much as possible! But I wanted to ask if other people have issues with things that don’t seem as if they could or should be related to PsA but probably are. For example, night sweats. I know they are associated with arthritis now, but no-one told me that they could possibly occur and it was normal. Luckily they appear to have gone away for now, but that was just an example.
But what about tooth problems? Why and how they might be related I don’t know. But my teeth seem much more fragile/achey than before I had this confounded condition/disease. Is it related or unrelated?
And mouth ulcers/throat problems? I’ve always been prone to mouth ulcers since I was a kid, and having bipolar doesn’t help because the stress from that can trigger them, but I seem to have them much more now, often in recurring bouts lasting for several weeks. This last coincided with a blood test back in April, but there was nothing out of the ordinary in it to suggest it was meds related (as I know it can be). And now I’m having the same thing again. Hardly life-threatening, I know, but a bit of a pain (literally).
And what about stomach issues that seem to coincide with flare-ups? That doesn’t make sense to me, but seems to be the case nonetheless.
So, I’m just shouting out and asking if anyone else has similar issues that don’t seem obviously related but have only occurred since you had PsA? My feeling at the moment is that it just throws your whole system out of whack, and not just joints and ligaments!
Darinfan, I often wonder, too, if some of those other symptoms are related to PsA. I have night sweats, not extreme like some people who wake up and their pajamas are soaked, but sweaty nonetheless. My teeth and jaw ache a lot, too–my teeth feel sensitive. I got a new crown on a back tooth a few weeks ago and it still feels sore. No mouth ulcers, but a sore scratchy throat every night and I always have a glass of water at my bedside. I sometimes feel like I’m choking during the night. My left eye has started drooping and it twitches and burns a lot. Drives me crazy! I’m still wondering if my tinnitus us PsA related. And, yes, I have stomach issues too. I’m thinking our weird symptoms are somehow related to PsA–at least some of them. None of my 5 siblings has PsA nor do they have many of the crazy symptoms I mentioned.
Of COURSE they can be PsA and sometimes its hard to sort out. PsA like othe forms of arthritis can show up anywhere in your body anytime. My lymph nodes for example are frequently effected (as is my heart) I have wasted hour at the dentist to only have the problem cleared up with a few days of predi. What happens is you get inflammation in the jaw that literally starts to lift your teeth. Its pretty easy to get infected and dentist in a “hurry” can sell you all kinds of procedures.
I finally started using a special mouthwash called “Magic Mouth Wash” its compounded at my local pharmacy (there are commercial formulations available):
Rx:
80 ml viscous lidocaine 2%
80 ml Mylanta.
80 ml diphenhydramine 12.5 mg per 5 ml elixir.
80 ml nystatin 100,000U suspension.
80 ml prednisolone 15mg per 5ml solution.
80 ml distilled water.
In the years leading up to my PsA diagnosis I got periodontal disease, ‘moderate to severe’ apparently. Dentist sent me off to an orthodontist who told me that it wasn’t a matter of ‘if’ I’d lose all my teeth, but ‘when’. He seemed to think that day was coming fast. I lost a fair amount of jaw bone which I think means that if I did lose my teeth there wouldn’t be much, if anything, that could be done.
Believe me, I am now my dentist’s blue-eyed girl, I use interdental brushes twice a day (different colour ones depending on size of gaps) and brush carefully with an electric toothbrush. My periodontal disease is now latent, I was told that wouldn’t and couldn’t happen, but it has been pretty much non-existent for over 3 years. In that time I’ve lost one tooth - ONE!
Anyways … I’m sure the daily routine helps a lot but the massive improvement in my gob corresponded pretty much exactly with getting settled on PsA meds.
Thanks for the replies. I confess my teeth have been better since I got some extra strong toothpaste from the dentist, designed to strengthen the enamel, but part of me wonders if it’s the toothpaste that might be causing the mouth ulcers, as they disappeared for a number of months until I started using it!
It’s all a bit weird - on one side, it’s horrible to know that other people have to put up with the same issues. On another, it’s reassuring that you’re not alone in having these extra symptoms. And, with the bipolar as well, I sometimes wonder if half of it is in my head to start with!
Yes you can swallow. Its one of a number of “recipes” My grandfather who was a “pioneer” pharmacist developed some became OTC meds. He also owned the state Liquor Store which may help explain me a bit…
He invented Anacin also made a pretty good cough syrup and cold remedy:
1 cup hotwater
1 TBS Honey (soothers cough)
1/4 Lemon (boosts immune system
3 whole cloves (cough suppresent and breaks fever)
1/2 cinnamon stick (breaks up congestion and fever)
1/2 tsp Turmeric ( reduces stiffiness -see its been around a long time)
2 oz Bourbon (antibacterial and thins mucus)
Take every six hours and DON’T drive
The original recipe BTW also contained some cocaine but thats no longer practical and he started leaving it out in about 1923. However it becamewith some modification, the original Cheracol when he started substituting codeine. and sarsaparilla In 1952 the sarsaparilla (which he approximated with the cloves cinnamon and Turmeric as opposed to the tree bark, was synthesized into Guaifenesin which has undertaken several changes (starting in 1962 when he retired that has down graded it to what we no know as mucinex The actual Guaifenesin was taken off the market in 2002 . Not sure why I laid this trivia on you though.
Tntlamb, those are seriously the ingredients you combine to make the “Magic Mouth Wash”? I’m too lazy to do all that. Isn’t there an actual single product that I could use? I broke a tooth–that explains the crown. The dentist put a temporary crown on for about 3 weeks, and that felt fine, but now the permanent one is causing a toothache. I’d love to try the Magic Mouth Wash, but I want something ready-made!
My vet made up a similar mouthwash (first three ingredients) for a cat that had severe ulcers on his tongue due to an infection plus stress. It worked really well to make him able to eat again.
Then there is the jaw like tntlamb says … it does have a couple of joints & mine feel like toothache if I sleep on my side for any length of time. But dental x-rays show ‘degeneration’ of both joints, not tooth cavities.
The pharmacist makes it for me. Every dentist has a version though. Just ask him for it. He’ll either have a bottle or call it in for you. CutisPharma has a premeasured kit that most pharmacies carry but it does require a script
Hi, I’ve got severe sore throat that is worse at night.
Rhuem thinks it’s the PsA. He said it’s “rare” but there do seem to be a lot of people who get it from what I’ve read online.
It’s so bad sometimes I can’t swallow.
This cat was super easy to handle. The mouthwash had to be “painted” on his tongue every few hours. He didn’t like it, but he was good.
He was so good when I had to pill him too, that I forgot that my own cats aren’t so easy to pill. I wound up with a cat bit injury from my own cat that just passed on Thanskgiving, when I was trying to pill him.
Sorry for the late response to this one. It would be nice if there was somewhere that outlined all the non-obvious things that might be PsA related. Some of these things are, seemingly, well-known - such as lymph nodes popping up to say “ciao” every so often just to put the wind up you, or anemia in blood tests, - but it seems no-one has thought about telling us when we first get diagnosed. Surely this should be in one of those booklets they give out?
