PsA, Swollen Joints and Osteoarthritis

General
1

Yesterday I went to the second 'Taking Control of Inflammatory Arthritis' meeting at the Rheumatology department I attend. One item mentioned during the talk about protecting joints made me really sit up and take notice. The woman giving the talk indicated a slide showing a swollen joint complete with sorry little stretched tendons and simply stated '... and of course if joints are persistently swollen you are very likely to get 'wear and tear' arthritis in them, in other words Osteoarthritis'. Then she asked me whether that was what had happened in my case. I resisted the urge to stand up and rent my garb while loudly denouncing my ex-rheumy and instead replied 'um, yes.'

This was nothing I didn't know already. But the main, virtually only source of clear information I've had about secondary osteoarthritis has been this site. And without giving a re-run of my tedious history, the medical profession's reluctance to admit that this happens has really messed me up. Basically I've been told that my sudden & severe OA in persistently inflamed, swollen joints was due to being old or alive or something, not my PsA. And that therefore my PsA did not require aggressive treatment. Fortunately I've now pitched up in this marvellous rheumy department that takes a very different approach.

The way I see it, if PsA leads to OA that can cause permanent damage to joints, damage that changes mobility forever, then the PsA needs to be treated as aggressively as that which is clearly erosive.

2

Good for you for finding a practice that takes PsA seriously!

3

That is absolutely perfect logic.

Some I wish I had understood when on my first X-ray at 36, I was told I had sugnificant joint narrowing and deterioration due to OA - possible - but awfully coincidental with my PsA, particularly given I wasn’t exactly an old chook!

4

Glad you posted this, Sybil. For those early in the disease there is often a desire to take a "cautious" approach to treatment and to resist taking medications. People figure, compared to others who have been debilitated by the disease, that they aren't so badly off and that they can cope with their symptoms without significant intervention.

What THIS site does well and is so ably highlighted by your post, is advocating that EARLY and AGGRESSIVE intervention is absolutely necessary to delay the onset of OA-type joint erosion. Many people don't get aggressive-enough treatment and will, then, have more unchecked inflammation (which they may or may not notice) and all the while their joints are slowly (or quickly) suffering.

So, to all the newbies reading, get EARLY and AGGRESSIVE drug therapy to reduce inflammation and diminish the long-term effects of PSA which will surely be expressed in OA-type symptoms. Again, thanks, for posting, Sybil. And sorry if this is a hijack of your thread!!