Finally a diagnosis

General Blog
1

I have been living with foot pain for 14 years. Over those years the pain progressed into my legs, shoulders, hands, fingers and now into my SI Joints. Finally a year ago I was sent to see an Orthapedic Surgeon who did a vast amount of tests and knew something was wrong based on the wide variety of damage my body has sustained. Thankfully he listened to me and sent me to see a Rhematologist. 3 months ago I was diagnosed with severe psoraritic arthrititis. The doc put me on methotrexate and unfortunately the side effects from that lasted well into a week and it was decided between the doc and myself that this was not the right course of treatment for me. I saw my Rhematologist on Tuesday and she put me on 10mg of predinsone daily and I am in the process of doing the testing needed and the paperwork required in order to recieve Humaria injections biweekly. This is all very new to me and I have been reading a fair amount about this disease and also the medications used by various people. Anyone with any tips for me would be very welcome. I have read about people having flareups, I understand the concept of what they are saying but am not sure how I would classify my pain, its always there and never goes away. Mornings, evenings and nights are the worst times for me and I am looking foreward to taking my life back from this dreadful disease.

Thank you for taking the time to read my story, I look foreward to being part of a forum where there are other people like myself and to know that I am not alone in this

2

Oh yes, Easternlady, foot pain. Tell me about it! I do hope you respond well to the Humira, and that your disease gets wrestled to the ground before it does even more damage to your joints. The faster and more aggressive your treatment, the better off you will be. Good luck! Keep us posted on how it’s going for you.

3

hi Easternlady, I can relate to the foot pain. Although my foot pain has been only a year, that is long enough, I can't imagine 14 years of it ! I was diagnosed about 3 years ago, I don't keep track of it ( denial ?!) with PsA and am currently taking methotrexate, folic acid, sulfasalazine, Celebrex and Enbrel. The pain is pretty constant, I have never experienced a flare. The foot pain was diagnosed as a tear in my plantar fascia ( found on MRI), bone spurs and tibial tendonitis. Treatment consisted of a 6 weeks in a walker boot, then 4 weeks in a cast, another 4 weeks in the boot again while doing PT for 8 weeks. Minimal results from those , so now I have accustom fitted Arizonia brace which I hate, would rather even have the cast ! The ortho I was seeing just 2 weeks ago passed me off to another physician in the group who is involved in a clinical trial. So 2 days ago I had Botox injected into my foot ( not bad, but wish it went into my face instead!) and with have to return to PT during this time. The Dr. said so far they have been getting very good feedback, I am hoping for the same.

So as I said before, I have never had a flare, or even severe joint swelling. However like you my x-rays are a disaster. I am thankful that I do not experience a flare up, when your pain/discomfort is always present I feel it's easier to deal with. No surprises of how you will feel when you wake up !

Until about 6 months ago I was on Humira, I had no problems at all with it, my Rheumatologist just wanted to see if I had better results on Enbrel. Please don't fear the injections, they are very tolerable and you get used to doing it quickly. I had an option of which method I wanted the prefilled syringe or prefilled pen. As a nurse I chose the syringe since it was something I was used to, but for some reason the pen was sent. The pen is very easy, the instructions are clear, pictures, even a number to call if you are unsure. The only problem is the temptation to pull it out of your leg before all the med is injected because a warning is it really burns going in ! The injection is easy, it's when the med is going in that the discomfort starts. I was never given any warning, it came as a big shock. But I learned from others that if you leave the med sit out of the refrig for 20-30 min, before injecting the burning is greatly decreased. Be sure to do that, makes it so much easier and decreases the temptation of pulling it out !

I hope some of what I said was helpful. Keep reading this forum and communicating with others . I don't stay in contact with the postings enough and really should. There are some very smart well informed people that post so check in often is the best advice I can give you. It makes you know you are not alone and you have a support group ready to help. Support , hearing others stories, and first hand advice will help you get your life back on track faster. Good luck with the meds and hope all goes well !

4

Hey Babs, I am sorry that you are going through so much, I understand the denial part of it as well, for a long time I accepted this unknown source of pain was going to be my way of life, I basically for a long time had just "shut up and put up" with it. I have never heard of Botox injections to the feet, how are you doing with it? Any difference? Thank you for your advice and support it really means alot to me. Keep me posted on how your doing.

5

hi Babs

I don't usually have flares either....or rather I have extra flares and flares and no down time. There is never a time when the pain eases up however I do have days or weeks that have exceptional levels of pain.....often prior to a weather event. I have foot pain also....have to tiptoe across the floor....or rather hop. When I get up in the middle of the night it is the worst. My tendons in my feet are all inflamed as a result of the disease as well as the bone involvement. It is that which causes the worst of the pain. Last summer I bought a pair of sandals for plantar fasciitis. They were not cheap but they were a life saver. I really feel that they reduced my foot pain (and not just while wearing them!) by a good 75%....I would highly advise purchasing sandals,slippers or shoes (whatever you wear most) for plantar fasciitis and you will get some good relief. The best place to find them is at the Hammecher Schlemmer website. (you can google that). A foot doctor I talked to recently also felt that that was a good thing to do andhe knew of the company that makes the shoes. Good luck to you.