I have been diagnosed with PsA since october 2016. I consider myself very lucky since I do not have psoriasis myself but it runs in my family.
I do have the -arthritis part- my fingers, neck and now my feet!
At the beggining, I was on MTX and Plaquenil. Within 4 months I had a huge reaction to Plaquenil. To Otezla I went! Now Otezla is starting to have a hard time doing it’s job. Both meds did a good job at the first but it never took away ALL the pain!
I went to my rhumy and he told me that I might have to go on Biologics.
My question is; How do you feel when you are on Biologics? With time we learn to live with pain and it’s like I can’t remember how it feels to -feel good- I guess? Or feeling -normal-? Does it take away all the pain?
I don’t know if I make any sense with my questions but I would really appreciate your thoughts on this!
Hi Nadia! I’ve been on a biologic for 4 years now. It hasn’t gotten me to perfect, but it’s certainly helped. I thought mine was pooping out on me, but then I had to be off it for about a month. The difference was noticeable. I’m hoping to get a good long run on this first biologic.
I think the answer I’d give is that biologics are the gold standard treatment for PsA and therefore provide the best chance of avoiding (painful) joint damage.
As to whether or not biologics take away pain, I think that is a complicated question. We are all different, we all respond differently to treatment. Undoubtedly the worst pain I’ve had has come from swollen joints and as Humira has dealt with swelling very well indeed, the pain has lessened considerably.
I don’t think biologics are known for preventing pain per se, they are not pain killers. And there must be so many different reasons for pain. I always recommend exercise as a very good way of minimising and relieving pain. However I do realise that that can sound insensitive because I don’t know how mobile you are or indeed whether you exercise already. Additionally, of course, people who have very busy lives can find it difficult to make time for themselves in this way. Nonetheless, I suspect that the role of movement, physio, exercise in controlling pain is still something that many of us underestimate.
Now that my joints are no longer very inflamed, my pain levels would seem to depend entirely on how often I walk, swim, stretch etc. The worst thing for me is doing tasks that require small, repetitive movements over a long period of time e.g. working at a desk or hardcore cooking! And if these activities are punctuated by sitting on the sofa or lying down and nothing else, it’s even worse.
Lecture over. I’d say jump at the chance of the biologic and keep moving, that’s your best chance I reckon!
Interestingly there is some very recent research that is showing TNF alpha to play an important role in pain mediation, and implies that biologics could indeed reduce pain perception, not just from a reduction in clinically observable effects in responders, but also from the biologics interaction with the pain systems.
I think the biologics effects on the inflammatory system are probably everyone’s primary goal, but it’s an interesting aside.
Wow! Thank you so much, all of you, for answering this!
I guess that last appointment with my rhumy just hitted me harder then I thought…the human body and mind are such strong machines and yet so fragile.
Some days you feel like a bulldozer and go through the day like a crazy banshee lol…and the day after you feel like that same bulldozer just crushed you on the ground and you just wanna stay on the sofa!
It’s tough sometimes, when you think of all those things you were able to do by yourself are now blurred memories from the past… I guess my karma for this life is to learn to ask for help! Learning this the hard way lol !
Mid-april will be my next appointment. If he says biologics then I’ll jump off the edge and biologics we will do!
