Joining this wonderful and supportive list a few years ago has made me realise how minor my symptoms are. For me it’s only a couple of fingers and a few toes that have been affected and MTX is by and large keeping it under control. I am experiencing a flare up at the moment but compared with previous episodes the impact has been small. However, I have also developed some swelling on the inside of my left knee. I’ve had this problem once before and it was successfully treated with physio. At the time I put it down as an exercise injury but now I’m wondering if it could be linked to PSA. So I’m trying to decide on the best place to go for advice. If it could be PSA then perhaps I should go back to my rheumy. I appreciate I have only given a vague description of the symptoms, but is swelling on the inside of a knee a typical response to PSA in the knee itself?
You are right - not really for us to tell sitting on the other side of a screen on a Forum!
It’s a really good question though - what does PsA swelling look like? The answer I’ve seen people describe here is that it’s different for everyone. (I hardly ever get visible swelling, but at my worst my functionality - like walking more than 100m or so - can still be very limited).
I agree though, the fact that it’s happened while you are experiencing a flare up of your other PsA, is pretty suspicious. I would trust your instinct to get the Rheumy to see what they think - particularly if you don’t have an injury that might have caused it.
I’m a firm believer in sharing any symptoms related to pain or swelling with my rheumatologist. I’ll let her decide whether it’s related or not. But I agree with Jen. New pain that comes along with a flare probably means that it is part of the flare.
I know right now I’m experiencing new symptoms, but I’m also dealing with the flare up. I will start with my rheumatologist, and I will specifically ask her about some of those and whether it makes sense to wait until things quiet down or to be seen by the orthopedist for them.
Of course consultation with rheumatologists, orthopedists, dermatologists, and in general doctors expert in any one field of our bodies which are, or may be affected, by psa, is a must .
After probably 20 or more years of varying symptoms,my diagnosis of psa was made by an orthopedist, in particular due to the swelling of the inside of my right knee .
It has a medical term, baker’s cyst, in my case associated to psa according to this doctor. When psa diagnosis was confirmed by a rheumatologist, after getting treatment for psa , I now a few years later still get it occasionally off and on.
The last episode of baker cyst I fasted for two days, re fed one day with my usual carnivore diet, then fasted again for a couple of days, after a few days of this routine the swelling subsided. Am on methotrexate and cosentyx at the moment.
It most likely is if it come with a flare. If you weren’t in a flare then possibly not. Good to hear from you again but not for these reasons if that makes sense.
Being a degenerative disease as time goes on you’ll experience things more frequently. I spent 14 years in the Army and had many sports type injuries over that time. I suffer severe chronic pain from my PSA. One thing I have personally taken note of is in the places I have had injuries I don’t seem to have PSA related problems. It only seems to attack areas where I haven’t had prevous injuries.
Hello, I’m mostly affected in fingers and toes, fairly well controlled by MTX and Enbril. I also have swelling behind my left knee, which showed up around the time I started taking biologics. It was uncomfortable at first, but not now. (I had to check to see if it’s still there. It is. About the size of a bird egg.) My assumption has been that it is related to my condition or the medications I take. But I haven’t thought to ask my rheumatologist, as it isn’t troublesome.
I have a lot of tenderness in the back of my knee, I thought was enthesis(sp) a knee doc said I had a bakers cyst when I had a meniscus tear repair, during the surgery it broke and caused bruising down my leg and foot. Diclofenac gel helps.
Welcome @jdh, we look forward to your input in this community of those aching to the same music! The shared experiences are very helpful as you can see by noodling around the many old and current topics. Oh, if you come across @Poo_therapy , don’t worry, there is more to that name than a home remedy! All the best on your journey!
That made me splutter my coffee this morning in laughter! For all those who don’t know, I chose poo therapy as a name because before PsA hit me, I used to volunteer at a Rare Breeds Centre farm and muck out pigs mainly but also cows goats horses and whatever else on a Sunday morning (before it opened to the public) which I totally adored doing. And I used to call it my ‘poo therapy’. Sadly PsA made that impossible but I thought it was a good name anyway. It’s got zero to do with the human digestive function at all. For me it’s all about having a lot of fun with farm animals instead.
I confess I had assumed your name was chosen because of issues to do with gut microbiome. The real story is much more revealing and fun. It is sad that this illness spoils so much of what we enjoy. One of my earliest difficulties was trying to lamb a ewe when both my hands were badly swollen. I had to call a vet in the middle of the night to do what I should have been able to do easily myself. That was depressing, but we have to soldier on, hey ho.
The next best fun bit was invariably doing my supermarket shopping on the way home. Pig poo has a distinctive smell and whilst I was washed up as best as possible I still smelt like I have just come from the farmyard which of course I had. Made for a gloriously fast no line/queue supermarket shop I can tell you. That always made me smile too. I might now be able to clean up a sty with a shovel and a brush (thanks to PsA meds) but I still couldn’t vault a 5 bar gate if I needed to if a old boar got fed up with me pushing him about. I do really miss it.
Good point about the boar - it could end badly.
Reminds me of the last flight I took - without a plane - when I turned my back on our ram in the field. The first I knew anything was wrong was when I found myself looking at the sky. I then noticed I was on my back and the ram seemed to have a smile on his face. It was just a bit of fun for him but I was unhurt so it was a good lesson.