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1

Hello everybody. I am 36 years old and I have been diagnosed psoriatic arthritis c. 4 months ago. My background is the following:

- I was diagnosed psoriasis when I was 14 or 15 years old, although my sysmptons have always been light (like dandruff + small scalps around the eyes)

- 4 or 5 years ago my back started to be in pain, ranging between periods of mild pain and periods of real bad pain

- I went to several thraumatologists who put me on NSAIDs. Things improved with NSAIDS, but pain never went away

- 2 years ago my knees started to get really inflamated after doing exercise (even mild exercise). They were full of liquid, to the point that moving them was tough. I went to the traumatologist several times (when in bad pain) and they extracted the liquid and gave me NSAIDs

- 1,5 years ago my neck started to be really stiff. It had always been sort of stiff, but since one and a half years ago stiffness has been really bad, to the point that driving is not easy (I can not look to the sides). It is also very tough for me to look upwards, so I only have two options left: looking to the front or down

- This year I started investing a lot of effort trying to find out what I had. After multiple visits to several doctors, I finally went to a rheumatologist, who diagnosed me with psoriatic arthritis, with a strong axial component.

- This doctor has put me on sulfasalazyne + froben. Honestly, I have not seen any meaningful improvement. Specifically, the neck is as stiff as it has been for the past 1,5 years. I am worried about it: will I ever be able to move the neck normally? Can it go worse? What about the other junctions?

All in all, very glad to be here. It would be great if any of you could tell me whether they have seen any improvement in their condition over time. I am specially interested in improvement in neck and back. Is it possible?

THANKS!

PS: English is not my mother tongue (I am Spanish), so pls forgive my vocabulary and grammar ;-)

2

Welcome to the group Luis! Don't worry about the language, you did fine getting your points across here. So first off, you have to give meds time to work. Most of the time, it takes a number of months before starting to notice improvement. That said, you were wondering about your neck. The goal of the medication is to slow further damage. But if there is already damage, the disease modifying meds won't change it. What will possibly help with your neck is physical therapy. If you haven't already had scans (imaging) the doctor would likely start there, in order to know the exact nature of the damage in your neck. This will allow the doctor to better determine what the next step would be. And will also be able to give you a better idea of what your future with your neck is.

3

I also have had a lot of stiffness in my neck. A physical therapist showed me several exercises that have helped me. Also sleeping with a flat pillow or with no pillow is helpful for me. NSAIDs like naproxen were also helpful. Good luck!

4

Hi there, I get a lot of stiffness in my neck, but I have a long term C4:C5 & C5:C6 compressed disk issue underlying my PsA issues. I checked with my Rhumy and he encourages me to continue to have my 2 weekly deep tissue massages. My masseuse is my life saver and the only thing that has kept me going through the last few years. I have been on meds 3 months now and only starting to see small improvements in symptoms so far. We have just doubled my MTX dose an added NSAID's. I too find using a flat memory foam pillow helps. I have just signed up for Tai Chi classes starting next month - also at the suggestion of my Rhumy. He chatted with the teacher and ensured that they could work with my varying symptoms. Now if I can just win X-Lotto and get my own therapy pool .... :)

5

I just had to reply to you! Almost 3 years ago I had these exact 2 problems: it was extremely back pain for me and my neck was frozen as well as 3 fingers. 1st rheumy had me on plaquenil and prednisone, did not work. 2nd and current rheumy switched immediately to Methotrexate and slowly had me get off the other meds. After about 6-8 weeks my back pain and frozen neck were completely normal! Sadly the 3 fingers were not, however, it is amazing how your mind compensates for this and I no longer even think about it. Don’t get me wrong, I wish it wasn’t so, but you just move on! I, too, worried about the Methotrexate but my Dr really educated me on this, and it is the 1st line of defense for psoractic arthritis! After one and 1/2 years, I tried a cut back on the Methotrexate every 6 weeks, but had to go back up. :frowning: .So, waited another 6 months and am now, fingers crossed, on another, so far, successful, cut back on amount. I will most likely always be on some strength of this, but the whole idea is to find the med that works for you in the least amount. I hope this gives you encouragement and I wish you great results in 2014!

6

Welcome, Luis and welcome to the group. My Spanish is limited, but I thought I would welcome you in your first language.

¡Los buenos días, Luis, bienvenidos al grupo! Mi español es limitado, pero pensé que yo daría la bienvenida a usted en su primera lengua.

I'm so sorry you are in pain, but I'm glad you found our group. The people here are very knowledgeable about PsA and all its related symptoms. They are also very supportive and kind.

Siento tanto usted está en el dolor, pero me alegro usted encontró nuestro grupo. La gente aquí es muy entendida sobre PsA y todos sus síntomas relacionados. Ellos son también muy soportantes y amables.

Likely, the existing damage in your joints will not go away, and yes, it can get worse. But getting aggressive treatment as early as possible is your best bet to fighting PsA and to keep it from getting worse. I am also taking sulfasalazine as well as Methotrexate and, until recently, Enbrel. I'm going to start Remicaide in the near future to replace the Enbrel. Some people here can treat their PsA with methotrexate and anti inflammatories alone. I, sadly, am not one of them. The most important thing to remember is that you need to find what medicines work for you and to keep taking them. Many of the treatments for immune disorders take time to work, so be patient. If after 6 months or so you aren't finding relief, talk with your doctor about trying something else or increasing the dose. It is important.

Probablemente, el daño existente en sus uniones no se marchará, y sí, esto puede empeorar. Pero la adquisición del tratamiento agresivo tan pronto como sea posible es su mejor a enfrentamientos contra PsA y guardarlo del empeoramiento. También tomo sulfasalazine así como Methotrexate y, hasta hace poco, Enbrel. Voy a comenzar Remicaide en el futuro próximo para sustituir el Enbrel. Algunas personas aquí pueden tratar su PsA con methotrexate y anti inflammatories solo. Tristemente, no soy uno de ellos. La cosa más importante de recordar consiste en que usted tiene que encontrar que medicinas trabajan para usted y seguir tomándolos. Muchos de los tratamientos por desórdenes inmunes llevan tiempo para trabajar, tan ser pacientes. Si después de 6 meses y tanto usted no encuentra el alivio, conversación con su doctor sobre la tentativa algo más o aumenta la dosis. Es importante..

Again, welcome to the group. Otra vez, bienvenidos al grupo.

7

Welcome Luis...

You will find many, many people here that have gone through the very same or similar experiences. I am one of them. You are no longer alone. Come here often and share your issues. There are many different pages to follow and many things to learn about managing your symptoms and the things that bother you the most.

We are happy that you found us- but sorry that you suffer this crummy affliction. You can do this thing however, with the strength you can gather from friends you will garner here. There is always someone here to answer a question or listen to your side of the story.

Blessings your way today... may the sun shine on your world :)

8

All,

thank you very much for all the encouraging answers. It is very nice to see that othewr people have already gone through the same issues that I am comfronting tight now.

All in all, what I take is that it seems that I need to spend some more time taking the current medicines and, if they don't work, then try to look for options together with my doctor.....not the best of the worlds, but at least there is some hope of improvement. I also like the idea of some physical therapy / massage: I am going to look for some of that.

THANK YOU very much again for your warm reception. I will definitely stay in touch!

Best,

Luis

9

Hello Luis,

Sorry to hear you are having a rough time of things. Glad that you've finally gotten the right diagnosis. That's a huge first step.

10

You are very Welcome, have great day, Luis and may the sun warm your bones for you today wherever you are. Ola... my Spanish is awful but I can try.:)

11

Welcome to the group! I am not sure what medications you are on but, I have similar pains! I was put on Flexeril at night and Tramadol for breakthrough pain during the day... it takes time to get used to both of those so I did a half of pill for a couple days and then worked up to a 10mg of Flexeril and 50 mg of Tramadol. Now I barely get sleepy on either of them. I recently started taking Enbrel and I do the Sureclick injections. It's very easy and they have a financial assistance program! Good luck to you! There is a lot of great information here! :-) Oh and I love my Memory Foam Cooling Gel pillow!

12

<blushing> made an assumption that Spanish is your first language....If it is not, I apologize! I moved to OKC from deep South Texas (where EVERYONE speaks Spanish), so I jumped to conclusions! Just realized that today (I'm a little slow). Anyway, welcome, again.

13

Spanish is indeed my mother tongue. Thx everyone for the effort to put some lines on Spanish! I see that the language is getting some real traction in the US ;-).

This evening I will go to the Doctor to touch base. I'll definitely ask some questions about treatment options after what I've heard here.

Thx again to all!

Luis

14

You have excellent English! I wouldn’t know by reading your comments! :smiley: hope everything works out at your appointment.



Luis said:

Spanish is indeed my mother tongue. Thx everyone for the effort to put some lines on Spanish! I see that the language is getting some real traction in the US ;-).

This evening I will go to the Doctor to touch base. I’ll definitely ask some questions about treatment options after what I’ve heard here.

Thx again to all!

Luis

15

I fractured my lower back on a trampoline at age 13 and my neck at age 23 so I've prepared for the arthritis for years and now it's here along with my PsA- yay! I walk AT LEAST every other day for 2 (hilly) miles with hand weights and GOOD tennis shoes. Started with 1 lb in each hand and have worked up to 3lbs each, doing different hand, arm, and shoulder exercises with the weights while walking. I'll jog if I'm feeling spunky but never with the weights! I still get stiff but not enough to take anything extra for it. I'm on Humira ONLY and it's working. This has kept my upper body and neck strong enough to do the things I love to do; skiing, wood cutting, hiking, loading, hauling stuff, etc...(I probably should have been a guy) HOWEVER, my life came to a screeching halt before Humira! Now I'm feeling stronger than ever- Diet and EXERCISE is key! Forget therapy unless you go to LEARN about what you can do for yourself.. You've GOT TO KEEP MOVING! (Stacking a cord of wood today!) Hope this helps..