Hi everyone! I was diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis when my son was not quite 1 year old. He’s 10 years old now, and is no longer quite a baby. I was one of the lucky people, in that I was sent to a rheumatologist right away, and she diagnosed me right away. I was started off on just NSAIDs, which never seemed to do too much. I suffered from extreme fatigue, and still do, although it’s less than it had been that first Since then, I’ve tried out MTX, leflunomide, and Enbrel. The current combination is leflunomide and Enbrel, with NSAID use only when necessary, as opposed to every day.
I struggled with the diagnosis greatly when I was first diagnosed, and had tons of questions, including “why me?” I’ve done tons of reading, tried all sorts of dietary changes, supplements, etc. As it turns out, none of these dietary changes or supplements have made any difference for me, but the meds have done a wonderful job in slowing down the progress. Please note that I said slowed down, not stopped. I continue to have joint damage, and am starting to rack up surgeries. Mostly small surgeries, thank goodness, but surgeries all the same. I also added in a second diagnosis of Sjogren’s a few years ago. I’ve been dry for years, but it took a big turn for the worse. Along with all of this I’ve also developed neuropathy.
That said, I continue to continue on. I made the decision to become a stay at home mom when my daughter (almost 15) was born. It’s worked out well, because I recognize that working full time would have become an impossibility with this. I manage to work a few different jobs. I teach online classes, and have been doing that since my daughter was a baby. I’ve also added on some childcare, and dog-walking. It’s a bit of a weird combination of jobs, but it works well, as I’m able to really fit everything in nicely.
The last few years my family also got involved in fostering and volunteering with a rescue. So we’ve seen many cats and kittens make their way through my house. Right this moment I have my own 2 cats, as well as 2 foster cats. The rescue that I volunteer with also has a cat room at the local Petsmart, so my daughter and I volunteer there to clean and help out with adoptions. There are some days where I’ve wound up responsible for over 20 animals in all, counting cats in my own house, dogs that I walk, cats in the cat room, and a house with 6 birds that I take care of. It’s a bit crazy sometimes.
Since the time of my diagnosis, my mom has also been diagnosed with PsA, partly on the basis of my own diagnosis. The shame of it was that if the doctors hadn’t been so convinced that it was “just” osteoarthritis all of these years that maybe her hands wouldn’t be so destroyed. Her DIP joints and PIP joints are all destroyed. My husband, who has suffered from psoriasis since his teens was just also diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis. Yeah, my kids are screwed. But we are forever thankful that the meds that are available are so wonderful, and hopefully my kids will have many more years of not living with any autoimmmune diseases. We’re hoping that it doesn’t become too much of a family affair.
I think that this covers the basics.
