Does anyone get nerve pain associated with their PsA? Lately my symptoms in fingers,hands,wrists get so bad they send shooting, tingling, burning pains up into my elbow. Rest with heat helps a bit (also helps the stiffness, swelling, and pain in hands) but can only do that so often. Any other advice? Seems any thing I do with my hands or arms like reaching triggers it. Between that, enthesitis seemingly everywhere, and bad joint pain I’m overwhelmed with discomfort. I see my rheumy in a few weeks but looks like I am going to start Humira (insurance denied taltz after cosentyx failed and denied Otezla with cosentyx). Something’s gotta give???
Hello there. I am wondering whether a wax bath would help to control the pain in your hands? I’ve tried one, truly it was bliss! But I didn’t feel my hand / finger pain was bad enough to buy one. Yours is so extensive though … and at least hands can be immersed & soothed.
I know what you need is to find the right medication and I also wonder when you’re meant to find the time to heat up the wax bath for your hands. But I reckon it would help and I believe the relief it brings can be fairly long-lasting - a good few hours at least.
Humira was very good news for me, a game changer for sure. I was on it for 5 good years, now take its biosimilar Imraldi and that’s going fine too.
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I know quite a few of us here take amitriptyline (prescribed by our rheumy or GP) to help with nighttime pain and sleep. It’s actually a tricylic antidepressant at higher doses but at the lower doses works on neuropathic pain. Maybe something you could ask your GP about.
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Thank you for the tips! My husband was looking into wax things online for me, thank you!! You’re right, something that could give me relief for even a few hours would be huge. Not sure when I can take the first Humira dose since I took the office sample injection of Taltz last week …hoping a biologic will work soon!
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Waiting for an appointment with a new GP, for now all of my requests are through the rheumy, I’ll ask him about this at next appointment in a couple weeks! Thank you!
I had symptoms very very similar sounding to yours. I was also having ‘mild’ cognitive issues and fatigue problems.
I started taking a b-vitamin complex pill, and the main brain fog issues went away within days. The swelling and the severe nerve pain that radiated out from my joints faded over the following weeks and months. I still get occasional flares of nerve pain after a year of taking the supplement, but they are infrequent and much shorter, and much less severe (I also had Lyme disease so that complicates things a lot). I still have PsA joint pain and all of those associated issues. But it looks like most of my nerve pain and dactylitis was likely from a severe B-12 deficiency.
It’s worth looking into, as I have since heard quite a few anecdotal reports (both from docs and patients) of low b-12 being a problem, and few docs thinking to check, people finding out only after lots of other testing, etc. Most people get plenty from normal diet or a general multivitamin so it’s very uncommon.
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I get terrible burning and shooting pain in the tips of my fingers and toes. I think it is from the PsA.
I get nerve pain in my fingers and wrists. I’m on Lyrica. For my Fibromyalgia because it also causes nerve pain. Heat helps but cold does too. I use ice packs and if I’m out at restaurant I make a bathroom visit halfway through meal to sometimes run cold water on my wrists and fingers. Biofreeze can help.
Yes, in fact since I started on HUMIRA 2 years ago, nerve pain is one of my biggest complaints. I started on neotripylene which really helps, as long as I don’t use it every day week on week.
@Pilgrimchris - just to clarify - do you think the nerve pain might be caused by the Humira? It’s best to make sure your doc understands it started at the same time if that’s the case.
Honestly I’ve no idea! Personally I don’t think it is, might just be part of Psa
I get random nerve pain. I guess it coincides with Humira / Imraldi but then I’ve been taking them for 6 years so many symptoms do!
For me the preventative / solution would seem to be physical rest and physical exercise - both. Yet those are time-consuming things and not easy for everyone to achieve regularly.
Burning in feet is disconcerting though I don’t think of it as painful. Nerve ‘shocks’ can be torture. The longest I’ve experienced that is 2 nights in a row, 3 would have me in a strait-jacket.
My rheumy said that if nerve stuff becomes more persistent I’ll need nerve-conduction tests.
Certainly it can be just part of PsA, just thought I’d mention as it was a sign for me I was having a reaction, though I think it’s very uncommon - I don’t think it’s happened to anyone else on here.
You might want to get checked out by a neurologist, a lot of people with autoimmune conditions also get small fiber neuropathy, which can be caused by a auto immune condition, besides a hundred other causes. Sounds like this is what you may be experiencing. If they can find the cause soon enough it may be reversable, so it is good to get it checked out, as soon as you can.
I had a rheumatologist who recommended the parrafin wax treatment for my hands and feet.
Also, just yesterday and today my right foot has been tingling for the first time - no pain. Wondering if it’s PsA or some other issue - ugh!
I hate gadgets! Irrational I know, but I do. Yet … the thought of putting my feet in one of them things! That would be bliss!
Thanks everyone!! Finally catching up here it’s been a rough few weeks…saw a naturopath with my arthritis group for the first time and as soon as I mentioned my nerve pain he stopped everything and had me do a few tests with my hands, wrists etc. Turns out I have carpal tunnel now too. He said to wear splints at night for a month if not better than we have to do nerve testing. Was supposed to see my rheumatologist today and he wanted me to talk to him about nerve pain asap. but am super sick right now and lost my voice, had to cancel appt. Started Taltz a month ago and it’s really hit me like a truck and now I have to delay a dose because of the illness. But I think maybe just maybe some of my other pains are subsiding. Hoping for a Taltz miracle! Nerve pain in my right hand,wrist,arm is my biggest complaint right now. Good to have more answers now! Trying to go without adding more meds for as long as possible pain wise…
You didn’t say if you’re also on DMARDs. Most of the DMARDs are mildly neurotoxic and can cause neuralgia and neuropathy. I got it with leflunomide, but I know Methotrexate can cause it too. My rheumy put me on high-dose folate with the methotrexate and a B-complex with the leflunomide to slow down this side effect, but I had to stop the leflunomide eventually because I was losing sensation in my feet and having trouble with balance. Fortunately, it’s usually reversible with stopping the drug (it was for me). And carpal tunnel syndrome is a neuralgia/neuritis/neuropathy that can be caused or aggravated by anything neurotoxic (like DMARDs).