I am in a similar boat. I was diagnosed a few months ago and the Dr is trying different medications. She gave me a steroid injection in my arm muscle becasue I pretty much had all over pain. It worked amazing to reduce the flare. It will only last a few weeks but it brought huge relief. Perhaps the Dr could do this for you, give you some respite from the pain to enjoy your new baby. Hang in there, things will get better.
Hi
I am also from South Wales I got diagnosed in June but I had to go private as I had no confidence In my rheumatologist as its been on going for over 2 yrs he diagnosed me within 5 minutes as I had small patches of psoriasis on my back itās been hard dealing with the pain which was emmence when I had flare ups I am a carpenter so I have also had give up my business which I think was making things worse as I have always had bad backs etc
I am on sulphasalazine now so I really hope it works for me but we are all different if I can be of any help to anyone please ask
Thankyou
James
I think PsA may somehow link to sinusitis. A fair few people here mention it & I get recurrent bouts. For me though there is always quite a clear trigger, it doesn't just appear. Triggers for me are cigarette smoke, the rather rare occasions on which I drink too much alcohol and also long, stuffy journeys by car or plane. Last time I had a long-ish attack of sinusitis I was given antibiotics. I seem to have a high pain threshold for most kinds of pain below the neck, but sinusitis reduces me to a snivelling wreck, I find it extremely painful and it just make life miserable all round.
Sjogren's disease which causes dry eyes and dry mouth is a common comorbidity of PsA. My optician tells me I have dry eyes but they don't bother me much. I wonder whether PsA causes slight dryness of mucous membranes that might not quite qualify for the full Sjogren's diagnosis but nonetheless make sinsuses etc. a little dry and susceptible to infection. Do you work in very dusty environments or something similar?
JC said:
Hi, North
Thanks for that great advice, I noticed a really Hot shower helps a bit in the mornings. When you mention Sinuses does PSA affect them? as I've had Sinusitis for a few months almost now.
As PsA is an autoimmune disorder, things likes sinus infections, colds, or low-grade fevers can be common. It depends greatly from person to person. I have never had sinus irritation, but I get tonsilitis from time to time, usually when the weather is extreme (hot or cold).
Hi, North
Thanks for that great advice, I noticed a really Hot shower helps a bit in the mornings. When you mention Sinuses does PSA affect them? as I've had Sinusitis for a few months almost now.
Thanks for all the great advice guys, much appreciated. Really struggling with Fatigue atm I feel like crap. The pain is ok, varies from day to day. I just canāt seem to shake sniffles and a dryish type cough, it feels like my throat is never clear. Iāve had a month off on paternity leave and Iāve barely left the house lol. Is there anything to help for the fatigue side of things? Starting to depress me a little, I feel constantly stewed
It is depressing, with fatigue and uncertainty there are reasons for feeling that way. And as per Seeenie's link, there may be a physical basis for depression too, with PsA. Keeping fingers crossed that you will get a proactive rheumatologist who will treat your PsA as aggressively as possible from the off. That word - aggression - can sound as if the drugs are a sledgehammer, but that's not what it means. It's about getting started on the appropriate drugs with all haste rather than messing about. As a bit of an old hippy I'd have been the first person to avoid the drugs ... but my body was screaming at me that it needed help. It took a while to see improvement, but it has been massive, really life changing. Let's hope that is the same for you, that is a very possible outcome for you.
I have gotten an initial diag. of PsA I go see the rheumatologist in oct. no meds yet I take ibuprofen and acetaminophen for the aches and pains, thinking about returning to school to get my BFA in Photography, I do Tae Kwan Do will this make the symptoms worse, the m.d. said to keep doing it as he put it if you donāt use it you will lose it.
photo, I think the doc is right in saying that. The more things you stop doing, the harder it is to start again - whether sports because of knees, or playing piano because of fingers!
Use it or lose it is true, true, true and true again. And much as we have to wrap our heads around the fact that this is an all-encompassing disease, the complexity of it means that we could actually get better at some activities or tasks than we were before. Not because of PsA, but in spite of it.
If the body is still able to do sport or exercise we may not have to accept dumbing them down. Having said all that, is Tae Kwan Do the martial art in which you kick bricks in half? Scary thought with PsA lol! But I guess that kind of stunt means that doing feats of strength safely is built in, so many of the eastern approaches to sport / exercise seem to have a great angle on protecting the body.
as for bricks the only place I have seen that is on like ESPN but have broken a few boards, I work at a major retailer and a (Nurse assistant which I stopped doing about 5 years ago) in addition to TKD x2 days a week, I couldnāt begin to tell you how many steps or miles I put on in a day (working on getting a pedometer) and yes pain is uncomfortable at times and it can at times make me wobbly, I still carry on, in addition to the diag. of PsA I have dealt with pain in my legs most of my life I had braces on my legs and a bar between my feet to correct a medical defect in my feet and legs till I was about 6y/o and musculoskeletal pain and cramps till I became an adult. thank you all for being here and replying
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