Hi! I am new to this. I was just recently diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis. I have had osteoarthritis since I was 30 years old, diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis 6 years ago, got psoriasis 3 years ago and now just got diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis. My new rheumatologist said I have been missed diagnosed and now wants to start me on Enbrel and I am really scared to try it.
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Welcome! I know it sounds scary… but it’s really awesome that your doc wants to try a biologic right away! (Well… after being misdiagnosed for so long…)
The biologics sound scary with all the side effects… but PsA is no picknick either… people here always say “don’t fear the meds, fear the disease”
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Thanks Cynthia for the encouragement.
Seems as if we’ve all been misdiagnosed at one time or another. I guess that’s why doctors “practice” medicine!
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There certainly are people here who have been without a diagnosis or misdiagnosed for quite some time. But realistically, as long as the individual is being treated for inflammatory arthritis, the specific diagnosis may be less important.
That said, I know that my own mom was misdiagnosed with aggressive osteoarthritis in her hands for about 15 years before they got it right, and changed it to PsA on the basis of the damage. Well, it’s just too late at that point. Treatment has helped slow further damage, but her hands are already destroyed.
I wasn’t being treated for anything. I had a diagnosis of undifferentiated spondyloarthropy, which is sorta like saying there’s something wrong with you but you don’t have serious enough symptoms to be treated for anything. I was in pain. I guess they thought I was just a wimp. Wasn’t until I developed dactylitis, sausage digit and funky fingernails that they went, hey maybe we can squeeze you into this diagnostic box.
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I guess those of us who had moderate to severe psoriasis first can consider ourselves lucky. 
I saw my old charts from a different clinic and a doctor sent me to my first rheumatology visit in 2005, with “question if patient has psoriatic arthritis”. I don’t even remember a doctor discussing the possibility of having PsA with me, and my current rheumy had once told me I was diagnosed in November of 2008, but my old charts show comments about it for several years prior to that!
Don’t be it will help, I take it twice a week, you will either feel better or your symptoms will remain stable, it helps me. In been dealing with this since 2006 but I have had psoriasis all my life. Suck but I’m tougher than this just like many of you are.
Hey another doctor who will treat you before it gets worse like what I’m going through, always get a second opinion. It they diagnosed you will this spondlyosis and you getting cigar fingers I get on my feet rib cage, fingers back. I’m on embrel it does help.
So Monday I saw the neurosurgeon. Who basically said I know your doctor just sent me here to tell you that I see nothing surgical here. I replied with, yeah I already knew that. He said I know you thought that too cause your doctor told me ypu already said that. I see doctors affiliated with the University of Alabama in Birmingham. They have a really amazing Patient Portal where you can srnd email to your doctor, look at test results etc. My GP sent me to the neurosurgeon. I thought my rheumatologist had seen my MRI results but he claimed he had not, the scan was done at a different facility. I sent it to him. He responds with I’m not sure you should be treated for psoriatic arthritis after looking at the results. I have lots of wear and tear. My back hurts really bad. Neurosurgeon suggests blocks done on the sacroiliac joints instead of lumbar spine. I’ve been telling them for 20 years that’s where it hurts and finally someone LISTENED!! He also suggested physical therapy. I’m seeing my GP next week to get the ball rolling.
BTW… 12 years ago 1 rheumy diagnosed me with sero negative RA. Tried Embrel. It didn’t really help. At that time my pain was in my wrists amd I had erosion in both seen on MRI. New rheumy thinks old rheumy was dead wrong and now finding myself wishing I’d stuck with the 1st guy.
Yeah, after 20 plus years of going to rheumatology and them saying I was fine or had fibro… then 10 years ago my dr saying welcome to your 40’s when I told her how much I hurt!?! Ugh. Royal ugh.
I’m thanking God for my PA husband that came home from a women’s conference and said I think you have psoriatic arthritis. I said why, I only broke out with the skin stuff right after my dad died 25 yrs ago and it disappeared quickly, and he just said it sounds like it. THEN, the next week or 2 later, we are doing a garage sale, and my finger blows up! I gasped what is THIS!!??!! And he says dactylitis ie PsA. 
Finally, after going thru PAIN CLINIC for neck pain for 5 yrs and “flunking out” I have a diagnosis.
Wow. What a trip…
That is bizarre! I’d fire that doctor! That’s so funny (not in a laughing way) because my GP said the exact opposite to me when I had plantar fasciitis at 40. I went in with my painful feet and stated I guess it’s just a SE of my age, to which he replied age wasn’t a factor at all, and it wasn’t normal to have pain like that at 40. That’s when he diagnosed it as PF and it was something that could be treated successfully.
Yeah, well I don’t have much time to see her angiophile bcz I’m always seeing specialists! And then, I think I gave up on drs. I had bilateral plantar fasciitis from like 2015 to 17 and kept trying to treat it myself. Bought so many different shoes! More ugh. The pain clinic was my last straw for my neck. I said, well, I could get surgery for my neck but why do I hurt all over my body! My IT band, shoot even my ISCHIUM hurt! I’m like!.. I’m not a runner…IT bans are for runners and I can barely make it through a day without napping! I’m exhausted. I probably shouldn’t even write this to you today bcz I’m just in such pain from my day doing not much at work but walking like the severe lower back pain walk that everyone does when it’s impossible to walk walk. Ha. If you can follow that one…kudos! Anyhow, I’m finally in bed and hoping that humira kicks in. I’m sure it won’t until at least my next shot which isn’t until next Tuesday 
Ahhh well, there’s still the hope that it works and at least I’m finally on it.
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Thread revival!
So how are you doing now, Tina? Have you tried the Enbrel?
And you, Fatfinger? Kirky?
And LaMomma … you are so lucky you have a PA husband who just.happened.to go to a conference. Imagine! And is the Humira doing anything good for you? If it’s going to, you’d know by now.
Seenie