If you ever hear me mention that someone 'only has osteoarthritis' please shout at me.
Just took the dog to the vet. While I was waiting I played around with the fun model dog skeleton. Then I noticed the hip joint. OMG. So that's what osteoarthritis can do ..... a total mess.
I'm glad they didn't have a doggie PsA skeleton, I'd probably be in tears by now. On the bright side I'm now vaccinated against kennel cough, the spray went everywhere including up my nose.
I'm glad we can't see our bones ..... but this arthritis lark is serious isn't it? Whatever variety someone has. And my PsA seems to cause secondary OA when it's out of control. Aggressive therapy please! Just about everything makes me think that's the way to go.
We’ve all probably seen some extreme osteoarthritis, including my parents dog that was put down a few months ago. My issue is with the people who say they know what I’m talking about because they have arthritis in their knee. I know that it hurts them, and I’m not denying their pain. However, it’s very different from a systemic disease that doesn’t just damage one knee, but many many joints, as well as eyes, organs, etc. as a matter of fact, I’ve got appointments set up now for lung function. So while I can certainly understand pain and limits that osteoarthritis can lead to, it’s definitely in a different category.
Oh yes indeed! I'm not denying that particular irritation factor for one moment! Even some of my friends are under the impression that I'm dealing with the same sort of thing as they are with their one or two arthritic fingers. Nothing I can say makes any impact. It was just that seeing what severe damage looks like that shocked me. And that could go for PsA erosion damage too, of course, it's not something I visualise and photos, x-ray images etc. haven't had the same impact on me somehow.
Good luck with your lung appointment Stoney. May I ask, what led up to the need for a lung function test .... breathing problems? I've just had a liver scan which, remarkably in my view, showed that my liver is fine & dandy despite persistently raised ALT. I'm beginning to cherish any organ that is still in good nick. Wishing you a good outcome too .... or a good treatment plan if anything is wrong.
Stoney said:
We've all probably seen some extreme osteoarthritis, including my parents dog that was put down a few months ago. My issue is with the people who say they know what I'm talking about because they have arthritis in their knee. I know that it hurts them, and I'm not denying their pain. However, it's very different from a systemic disease that doesn't just damage one knee, but many many joints, as well as eyes, organs, etc. as a matter of fact, I've got appointments set up now for lung function. So while I can certainly understand pain and limits that osteoarthritis can lead to, it's definitely in a different category.
The bad thing is, Sybil, that a lot of us with PsA-probably most of us-also have osteoarthritis, too! I know from MRI results that I seem to have more osteo damage than PsA damage. The reports always say things like questionable about osteo arthritis vs PsA damage (something like that). In my left SI joint that's the case. I think the big difference is osteo doesn't get inflamed like PsA, and there aren't the other factors like extreme fatigue, tendonitis, enthesis, weakness, depression, skin psoriasis, as Stoney said-lung, eye, and other organ involvement! PsA seems able to attack us in nearly every cell! Osteo can be repaired with surgery in a lot of cases. I know that's painful, dangerous and scary, but a lot of people are pleased with the results and have many years without pain. My mom had a full knee replacement at 80. She'll be 91 this month and hasn't had any osteo pain in that knee since the surgery!
You don't need to take biologics for osteo.
Maybe PsA should be called PsD - Psoriatic Disease. Then when we tell people we have "Psoriatic Disease" they won't even think "arthritis" and they'll ask what it is. We can tell them it's an autoimmune disease that can attack joints and tissue all over the body--even the skin and internal organs. We could explain the symptoms and they won't compare their osteo-arthritis with our PsD! Then we can add we also have some osteo to go along with it, for added pain. :-)