Hello Everyone, I’m Cathy. 53 - from Atl Ga
Just diagnosed 2 months ago. But I knew for a long time something was wrong. I’ve been suffering with OA in both knees - bone on bone. Need surgery but not qualified because I’m too overweight. That diagnosis was over 2 years ago. Lost a long term job due to a merger right after that diagnosis. Spent almost a year after that without insurance and no medical care. Landed a great job with very benes and got back on insurance in Sept 2017. Spent 5 months of my primary care doc trying to figure out why my sed rate was continuing to climb. Then my feet started showing signs that I thought was athlete’s foot and began trying to treat that with OTC stuff. It continued to get worse and I showed it to my primary and that is when he sent me to Rheumatology. Just injected 1st Enbrel shot Tuesday. Both my palms, feet, ankles, and some areas on my shins are just horrible looking. I’ve been to levels of depression in the past year that I’ve never known before. Only the Grace of God has kept my job for me.
Today is my 29th wedding anniversary and my marriage has suffered alot. My husband is so tired of hearing me complain. Every ounce of my energy is spent trying to make it thru 40 hrs of work every week.
I feel like I’m never going to turn the corner for the better. I don’t want to accept this is the new normal.
Don’t despair! So many people on here will empathise with you and your situation. I’m almost 67 and also have OA in both knees. The other vague and not so vague ailments and aches and pains I’ve experienced over about 10 years I just put down to ageing. After a huge flare last June that couldn’t be ignored or put down to anything resembling just ageing I was referred to a Consultant Rheumatologist and after many tests, X-rays and scans plus medical and family history I was finally diagnosed with PsA at the beginning of August last year and started on treatment. I’ve never had typical plaque psoriasis so was stunned at the diagnosis at first, but it’s in my family (psoriasis that is). After talking with my Consultant for a long time he decided that I’d had PsA in a milder form for about 10 years, and thinks the major flare last year was triggered by extreme stress over a long period of time, which I won’t go into here.
The drugs used to control PsA vary a lot and everyone responds differently. I was told it may take a year or more to find the right mix for me - we’re all individuals after all and there’s no one size fits all in this.
In the UK where I live the NHS and NICE guidelines state that DMARDs should be tried first, so Methotrexate it was for me. Also corticosteroids by injection. After a few weeks the Methotrexate kicked in and I was responding well, although I suffered a lot of horrible side effects. After five months it wasn’t working as well and I was offered sulfasalizine instead, but my medical history contraindicated that drug. Then a clinical trial of two biologics that ended up not going ahead, then Humira injections - but I had a severe allergic reaction to the first injection and had to stop immediately. That was back in March and I’ve been in a flare since then, but another intramuscular corticosteroid injection has helped. I’m now due to start next week on a biosimilar biologic to Enbrel called Erelzi, a new drug just approved last July. The active ingredient is the same as Enbrel - Etanercept.
It sounds like a long road but I have to say I’m not depressed by that. There are so many treatments out there that really work - Humira worked immediately for me and I was pain and symptom free after just three days after the first injection. I was gutted when I had an allergic reaction to it as I thought it was the answer for me. I felt better than I had in years!
Hang on in there! There will be a treatment for you that works and will make you feel ‘normal’ again. By the way, my OA responded to the PsA treatment too strangely, but I guess the inflammation was what was helped rather than the bone on bone pain.
One other thing - healthy diet and lifestyle changes have helped me enormously. Whilst not a cure for PsA it certainly has reduced symptoms and I’ve lost weight too, always a bonus. If you’d like to, have a read of how I do this on my website (no selling, it’s just info) www.myediblejourney.co.uk
Good luck and feel free to have a good moan. You’ll get a lot of support here xxx
Thank you Katie for sharing your story. I began eating only meat, veggies, and fruit a couple months ago and have lost about 15 lbs already! And, yes quitting sugar, bread, potatoes, etc has definitely helped me. I will never go back to my insane gorging of crap food.
Hello Cathy and welcome to Living With PsA! We are glad to have found you as well - and it is great to hear that you have been getting such positive results from your new diet! Keep up the good work!
Thank you Eisi!
Hi there @CathyP, and welcome to the group 
We are pleased you found us, although sad that you needed to 
Like you, I too am fairly new here (about 2 years since a tentative PsA diagnosis) so have not had the level of experience many others here have had (thankfully)… I am fortunate to not have x-ray evidence of bony erosions yet, but do have OA in hips and maybe in knees (according to x-ray reports to date), which may, or may not, be secondary to years of mild undiagnosed PsA.
I’m keen to hear how you get on with Enbrel (am hoping to get offered it, or similar in the near future)… I have read stories here of people noticing a subtle shift of their symptoms as quickly as within days… I sure hope you find that too, and that relief is on it’s way for you now!!!
Bone on bone in your knees is hell… I watch my Mum deal with this (she did have one knee replaced, but has refused to have the other done)… while the Enbrel won’t be able fix the pain from that (at least I don’t think so) hopefully it will get other joints under control… I notice you mentioned your energy levels suffer trying to make it through 40 hours of work a week… while pain itself is very tiring, fatigue is also common with PsA (and I’d say that’s the worst symptom I have), from what I read Enbrel does seem to help that a lot for many… will keep my fingers crossed it helps ease that for you too!!!
While I am on my own I can understand how difficult it can be having a husband (or friends and family) that simply don’t understand what you are going through… I wish I had the answer for you on that one… all I can really say is that while it can be difficult for those who are suffering at times it can be just as difficult for those who are watching on too… would it be at all possible to get some information about PsA together for him to read that might help him to understand a little better or might it be possible for him to go with you to a rheumy appt. perhaps your rheumy might be able to explain it to him some… just a thought.
Please don’t give up hope on turning that corner for the better, it can and does happen for many… if you read through some of the posts here you will find many who have had great results once they got on the right med… hopefully for you that will be Enbrel, if not, there are still many options out there your rheumy can try, and more being discovered all the time… it is definitely possible to get this under control at least enough to allow you to carry on with a fulfilling life!!
I look forward to hearing that the Enbrel is kicking in and helping you heaps!!! In the meantime… big, gentle hugs to you 
Thank you so much for your warm welcome, understanding, and encouragement. Hope you are having a wonderful pain free day today!
Welcome.