I am new to the group. I was diagnosed with PsA early this month, after nearly a year of unknown. All of my pain is in my lower legs, feet, ankles. With tendonititis in both my Achilles and my Plantar Fascia, and along my shins.I am 24 years old, and extremely active so it was thought that I had sporting injuries, however the pain never got better in fact it is getting worse. After many many tests the Rhemy finally diagnosed me with PsA due to my symptoms, the HLA B27 gene and the fact that my Dad has psoriasis.
I am wondering there is anyone else out there who has PsA without Psoriasis. As I have no Psoriasis on my skin at all, and have never had it. ????
I'm sorry to hear about your pain, I have pain in all my joints, my feet and ankles are the worst and they swell up everyday and ache! My Dad and Grandpa have Psoriasis of the skin, my Dad has it bad and my Grandpa has a couple patches here and there. i am only 17 and i have never had Psoriasis of the skin. You are not alone :)
Join the club. I recently joined. I have the same symptoms plus the severe fatigue. Checkout my previous post and my symptoms. I am now doing physical therapy and the ultra sound on the feet was very helpful. I too have the HLA B27. Be patient but proactive. Best of luck.
I am also new to the group and, like you, have PsA without the psoriasis. The only visible sign for me is a warped thumbnail - that is what finally clued my rheumatologist that I had PsA - that, plus pitting on other fingernails. Mine is confined mostly to my hands with my feet lately starting to get in on the fun.
I hope that you get some relief with whatever drugs your rheum. may try you out on. Wishing you many pain-free days!
Welcome! it is good to know I am not alone out there. I hope you have many pain free days too! I think after 4 weeks the Methotrexate might be starting to work, less pain then I had previously. But a lot more fatigue…
Hi all! I’m new to the site, but not to PsA, I’m 26 and I’ve had it for 19 years and it’s pretty much in every joint. Unlike most of you I am negative for everything (genes, lab work, you name it, my doc says I’m one of THOSE) which is why I went so long without a diagnosis. I don’t have any psoriasis either, but it was the pits in my nails that finally brought my docs to a diagnosis, also my dad had the same nail pitting. My brother has Crohn’s, so I think that we likely share a gene they haven’t identified yet.
I’m also HLA B27 negative and have wondered whether there is some other special gene our immune compromised family shares. All 3 brothers have some kind of autoimmune disease: 1 with PsA, 1 with psoraisis, and 1 with Crohn’s. For me, minor psoriasis started showing up about a year after I was diagnosed.
Hurtblogger said:
Hi all! I'm new to the site, but not to PsA, I'm 26 and I've had it for 19 years and it's pretty much in every joint. Unlike most of you I am negative for everything (genes, lab work, you name it, my doc says I'm one of THOSE) which is why I went so long without a diagnosis. I don't have any psoriasis either, but it was the pits in my nails that finally brought my docs to a diagnosis, also my dad had the same nail pitting. My brother has Crohn's, so I think that we likely share a gene they haven't identified yet.
I’ve talked to other groups of siblings like yours and mine and I wish someone would look into our DNA! An orthopedic surgeon who operated on me a couple years back found me REALLY interesting and said he thought my family should be in the human genome project. It’s interesting that we both have a sibling with Crohn’s too… hmm… Are your parents healthy?
My dad died 12 years ago of emphysema. He was 80 and had had asthma/respiratory problems his entire life. One of the leading causes of his decline in later years was the result of his spine crumbling from all of the corticosteriods he had taken over the years (couldn't sit up straight, putting additional pressure on his already weakened lungs). Which of course makes me wary of those drugs in my own case...
My mom is nearly 90 and has had arthritis as long as I've known her (she was 40 when I was born). Once rheumatoid arthritis was ruled out, the assumption was always that it had to be osteo. That seemed to be the thinking even for me, when I first started seeking answers about my own arthritis 5 years ago. Now knowing what I do, I suspect she has PsA as well. She will do nothing to confirm this -- doesn't see the point at her age.
And yes, it is interesting that we both have siblings with Crohn's. That fact seems to be what finally turned my doctors' thinking around about my dx. I have had a positive rheumatoid factor for years, but it was relatively low and didn't increase, and my flares were not symmetrical. When the doctor told me last year that I had PsA, I thought it was bizarre -- I had never had any psoraisis. In fact, it is only in the last few months that a few minor patches have shown up, and they've cleared up quickly.
Obviously your parents are much younger than mine. Have they had any health problems?
Like you, I hope that we will see additional genetic research in this area. I suspect there are people who are B27 negative who aren't being diagnosed and treated. I probably wouldn't have been without my brother's Crohn's dx. My oldest brother (with PsA) wasn't treated until the past few years, and his symptoms were pretty bad.
Hurtblogger said:
I've talked to other groups of siblings like yours and mine and I wish someone would look into our DNA! An orthopedic surgeon who operated on me a couple years back found me REALLY interesting and said he thought my family should be in the human genome project. It's interesting that we both have a sibling with Crohn's too... hmm... Are your parents healthy?
Hi Sam, So sorry to hear that you have this at such a young age. I was diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis in my 50’s and I was surprised because I’ve never had psoriasis either. It made me suspicious of the diagnosis because at first they thought I had rheumatoid arthritis, but I never had the rheumatoid factor in my blood. I’ve had two other autoimmune diseases starting around your age, but both went into remission. I took methotrexate for 2 years and my psoriatic arthritis now seems to be in remission, but it has left behind damage to my joints similar to rheumatoid arthritis. I get nervous whenever one autoimmune goes into remission, because every time i get a new one that seems to be a bit worse than the one I was dealing with. I’m hoping stem cell research will come up with something soon for autoimmune diseases like ours. You will certainly see it in your lifetime:)
PsAinPAris: That’s all really interesting, and makes me wonder if your mother passed on a gene then? I’m 26 and first developed rheumatic fever when I was 7. Well, one doc said I had it and one said I didn’t. Since then the criteria has changed, and according to the new rules for it, I definitely had it - so that’s what I go with. It was that that caused reactive arthritis in me when I was little. It’s been there ever since but didn’t start really developing till I hit puberty, the stress of college then just sent it out of control. I didn’t get diagnosed till I was 21 based on the pits they saw in my nails, and thus didnt receive real treatment till - anything besides pain killers and anti inflammatories. They had tried sulfa drugs before that, but they made me sick.
My parents are young 50 & 46, and have always been relatively healthy. My mom has recently developed autoimmune thyroid problems, and is just beginning to develop arthritis. Hers is osteo in her knee (from an injury), and then what seems more rhuematoid in her hands. No one else in my extended family has psoriasis or autoimmune diseases, so I’ve always maintained I’m a genetic mutation. My bro was diagnosed about a year and a half ago, and had to move back home he was so sick. My other brother has similar hip and back pain like me that he’s complained about for the last couple years, but I truly think he is trying to be tough and wants to be the one of us that’s “ok”. I’ve asked him to note it with his doc. He is hugely sensitive to magnesium deficencies and has to be careful with that, and turns out my mom and I are too. It causes 3 completely different problems in each of us.
The only solice in this is that I know that we’re all related I’ve never had a rheumatoid factor, or sed rate, or anything. It’s nuts, and that’s why I went untreated for so long. I honestly think the lack of treatment is reasponsible for the severity of my disease. I’m trying to work for better research and my blog is step one of that That keeps me going!
I am in this boat with you too. I was diagnosed with PsA last Dec and no Psoriasis. I have had pain and fatigue issues for 7 to 8 years. My PsA seems to have been triggered by a traumatic event that I had while deployed with the US Army. My family does have a history with Psoriasis, but not my mom or dad. I am not sure of the B27 gene (got to add that to my list of questions).
Just remember when you need answers, or even help with the questions to ask, this is a great place to go. You are never alone with this problem here.
Welcome! it is good to know I am not alone out there. I hope you have many pain free days too! I think after 4 weeks the Methotrexate might be starting to work, less pain then I had previously. But a lot more fatigue...
Hi,
Try taking folate or folic acid. The mtrx drains the body of folate and makes you tired. I remember taking it and getting wiped out until starting to take follate. Your doctor can verify with a blood test. Btw, your doctor should be doing regular bloodwork while you are on mtrx.
Good luck!
Hi,
I have Crohn’s and PsA. I’m not sure which is more evil of the two but they tend to be related. However, it has really has focused me on diet. It seems that diet does really effect my arthritis, though there are many things that trigger it. One of my learnings has been that cheese, and milk products have a protein similar to the protein in cartilidge. Most people do not absorb this protein as it is large and generally needs to be broken down. However, “we” do absorb it and our immune system gets triggered and unfortunately attacks cartilage and the protein. So, try eliminating cheese and milk products for a week and see if you notice a difference. It is huge for me, but only one of many triggers for PsA.
Also taking probiotics helps my Crohn’s and PsA alot! Basically growing good flora in the gut crowds out the bad flora. This really helps calm down my immune system. Also, while I’m off topic, clean air is another thing to strive for to reduce flares. It is hard to avoid allergens, pollution and volatile organic compounds (VoCs), but anything you can do hear will help.
Good Health!
Hurtblogger said:
Hi all! I’m new to the site, but not to PsA, I’m 26 and I’ve had it for 19 years and it’s pretty much in every joint. Unlike most of you I am negative for everything (genes, lab work, you name it, my doc says I’m one of THOSE) which is why I went so long without a diagnosis. I don’t have any psoriasis either, but it was the pits in my nails that finally brought my docs to a diagnosis, also my dad had the same nail pitting. My brother has Crohn’s, so I think that we likely share a gene they haven’t identified yet.
Have never had a problem with my skin. Except for the time I got poison ivy, LOL! All I have is nail involvement, and even that is only on about half of them.
I am like the rest of you I do not have psoriasis but my mom had it severe years ago and the psoriatic arthritis she was not able to walk from it. I have all the joint pain and fatigue I spent 12 years thinking I had fibromyalgia finally have a diagnose of psoriatic arthritis. Last November I started having pain in my right foot and found out that it was a tear in my tendon and wore a boot for 3 and 1/2 months which caused my knees to flare up big time and got to where I could not walk hardly then finally found a wonderful Rhemy who started doing test and diagnosed me. I know how you feel Sam even though you are quite a few years younger it is depressing to think that we have to deal with this being so young.
Hi there, just said I’d reply as I too feel there should be some more done in the
Way of genetics, I too have recently been diagnosed
With psa, both my mum and sister have crohns disease
And my other sister has severe psoriasis, my nana on my
Dads side had severe psoriasis too. I have had a lot of little issues
Ie diverticulitis and knee ops, SI joint problems but
But I reckon a lot has to do with psa at least I know now and can get
Treated for it, hope you are well
Hurtblogger said:
I’ve talked to other groups of siblings like yours and mine and I wish someone would look into our DNA! An orthopedic surgeon who operated on me a couple years back found me REALLY interesting and said he thought my family should be in the human genome project. It’s interesting that we both have a sibling with Crohn’s too… hmm… Are your parents healthy?
I’ve never had a rheumatoid factor, or sed rate, or anything. It’s nuts, and that’s why I went untreated for so long. I honestly think the lack of treatment is reasponsible for the severity of my disease. I’m trying to work for better research and my blog is step one of that 
That keeps me going!