I'm so glad I found you! I'm newly diagnosed, at the beginning of Mtx, on a short course of prednisone this week to give me a break from the pain ... all pretty overwhelming! And I was feeling so alone. But no more!
I've noticed that many here have had knee and hip surgery, and it makes me wonder how quickly your joints deteriorated. My knees went from "some wear and tear" to "total replacement" in about three years. The assumption all along was that I had osteo, but when I went to the rheumie, she wondered out loud whether it could have been PsA all along.
And now it's my feet. X-rays less than two years ago showed a bit of wear and tear. Eighteen months later, I had serious erosions and deformity.
How quickly did your joints deteriorate? Anybody here have osteo, only to find out later that it was probably PsA all along? And I wonder whether my age -- late fifties -- is a factor in how quicly I'm falling apart. And it does feel like that!
Thanks for keeping me company, holding my hand, being my friend!
I woke up in February with an ankle that wouldn't move. Had x-rays of both feet/ankles. More x-rays in April (including hands this time) and there was more visible damage. Again in June or July (???) and more visible damage, including to hands/fingers. Additional x-rays of my lower back/ SA joints showed fusion that wasn't there a year ago. We haven't even looked at my knees because I already know they're a wreck (I'm 36 and when I was 18 I was told I'd need total knee replacements in both knees by age 25).
Each person is different, and for some, the PsA is more aggressive than the others. I have a friend who is around my age who was recently diagnosed and is worse off than I am and another who is 20 years older than me and doing much better than I am despite no treatment (she had reactions to meds / can't take mtx due to liver problems).
I should also point out that I have yet to start any sort of treatment because of other health problems. I was supposed to start Enbrel last week, but had to postpone it AGAIN because my gastroenterologist wants to do an upper endoscopy asap. Argh.
Feb-April-June ... and more damage each time. That is very fast. I'm so sorry. But at least you're being monitored now, which is a good thing.
Interesting that your knees were so bad so young: do you think you had PsA already at that point? What did the docs think was the cause of that damage? And you've proved them wrong ... your knees have outlasted their predictions by more than 10 years! LOL.
Yes, I know there is a lot of variability in how aggressive this disease is. Interesting how it affects different people.
Hope you get on that Enbrel quickly, and when you get it, I hope you feel better fast.