I'll just start off by saying I've been newly semi diagnosed.
It all seemed to start in 2012 at the age of 26 (the year after I had my daughter) I started having bad back pain and ended up being referred to a rheumatologist under the suspicion that it was fibro or RA. In 2014 I developed swelling and pain over the first dorsal compartment of my left wrist. I was diagnosed with dequervains tenosynovitis and had surgery that April after bracing and a cortisone shot didn't help. My right wrist started to bother me several months later and I had surgery on this one in October of that year as well. In the summer of 2015 I developed tenosynovitis in my left thumb (trigger thumb) and had surgery on this in November and of course the right thumb started up and had surgery on that one as well in December after conservative measures failed once again. My left shoulder started having increased pain in December and I started to question something else going on. I then developed tenosynovitis in the rest of my fingers, as of right now mostly the right middle and ring fingers are the worst. My rheumatologist ordered a high sensitivity CRP as well as some other tests for inflammatory markers. I don't have psoriasis but my little brother, father and grandfather all have it but no one in the family has PSA. My CRP came back elevated and it's suspected that I have PSA. It's labeled as "unspecified inflammatory polyarthropathy" at this point. I will have surgery on the right middle and ring fingers in the next month or so. I have also been having left hip pain as well as pain on the inside of my left ankle lately. Has anyone else had similar issues with their wrists and fingers? I'm just wondering because I've mostly only found that people with PSA have had issues with everything but the wrists and fingers.
I’m writing this with a splint on my thumb for de quervain’s. I’ve had trigger finger surgery on my thumb as well as a stabilization surgery. My mom went undiagnosed for 15-20 years and has major damage in her hands. Oh, and I’ve got damage in my mcp joints leading to mild ulnar deviation.
What’s my point? There aren’t hard and fast rules as to what joints will be affected and which won’t. It’s variable from person to person and over time. And of course, it’s not limited to joints as it’s a systemic disease. More important is making sure that you are managing your condition to slow the progression of joint damage.
Yes I have alot of pain and problems with fingers and wrists.Complicated by the fact that I also have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome,which leaves me with not too many options for treatment as cortisone injections are contraindicated as they can weaken already weak collagen.My sympathies you have,it sure makes for painful days and nights.
I had a lot of tendonitis, wrists, shoulders, hands--before I went on Enbrel. Swollen fingers and hands--lots of stiffness in my hands and feet, as well as my back. My arms and legs were very weak, and my skin would actually hurt. There are so many symptoms, which to some doctors are atypical to PsA, but my "weird" symptoms have been almost completely gone for the two years I've been taking Enbrel.
My psa diagnosis came with a majorly swollen wrist that took 3 months of mtx to get under control. Prior to this I have had swollen fingers on and off for 15 years. Because my inflammatory markers were always in the normal range, I was told it was not ra - nobody ever suggested psa was a possibility - strange really as I have always had psoriasis!
My dermatologist was the first to make mention of it, and then when I told my PCP that my shoulders were hurting she too was like, Um yeah let’s get you to a Rheumy haha. I have a lot of problems with my tendons in my elbow, and my fingers hurt a lot.
Oh for sure. I had terrible carpal tunnel syndrome in both wrists, same as my Mom had. Mom had had surgery on both and I had the release on one. It was only after her death that I was diagnosed with PsA. My treatment wasn't going well, and I ended up going to a specialty PsA research clinic. They wanted to know about my family and what their health issues had been. I described everything that I could remember about my Mother's health. It was all about aching hips, carpal tunnel and multiple trigger fingers, as well as flaky scaly patches on her scalp and ears. The researcher was confident enough to record her, post humously, as having had PsA.
By that point, I had several fingers and a thumb that would "catch" and my un-released carpal tunnel continued to be a problem. I wanted it fixed, but I decided to wait until after my hip replacement and my starting biologics. After a few months on Enbrel, my carpal tunnel stopped being a problem, and my fingers no longer did those funny "catchy" things. Clearly, it was all related to my PsA. When Enbrel started failing after a couple of years, my carpal tunnel started bothering me again. I thought it was time to book the surgery. Then I went on Humira, started feeling better and, hey wait, my carpel tunnel's no problem any more either. There's no doubt in my mind that the hand problems are because of PsA. I will also add that my blood pressure problems and depression issues get much better when my disease is under good control.
As Stoney says, this is a systemic disease, and PsA can affect you in any number of ways. We've seen people with it in their jaws. There are people here who have cardiac problems which are attributed to PsA. And also, as Stoney pointed out, PsA doesn't play by the rules. Getting attacked in the finger and toe joints is the norm and PsA information will always mention DIP, PIP and MCP joints. But with me, until well after my diagnosis, my finger and toe joints were pretty much fine. The epicenter of my disease at the beginning was the joints in the middle of my feet. That, of course, delayed my diagnosis by decades. My GP had shrugged my sore feet off for years, and it was only after erosions could be seen on x-rays that I was diagnosed with PsA.
This is a quirky disease, and a slippery fish to catch. Be glad that you are under the care of a rheumatologist who takes your symptoms seriously! BTW, fifty percent of us have inflammation markers (CRP and ESR) that are in the normal range, just to further confuse things.
Wow. Thank you all for replying. It's great to hear from others who have had similar issues/symptoms. For a few years it was frustrating getting normal results and feeling like they thought it was all in my head. I am lucky to have a great rheumatologist who didn't stop trying to figure this out. It also helps that I work with an amazing hand surgeon whom has been a great resource as well. Interesting to know that fifty percent have normal inflammation markers. I'm wondering if there is a PSA research center near me. Have to do some research. I've been on methotrexate for a couple months now and had my dosage upped to 6 tabs a week a couple weeks ago. At first I felt amazing and now I feel like I'm back where I was if not worse. I think next month I'll see about going on something like humira or enbrel, as much as I don't really want to, I think I'm at that point. I'm just glad to finally know what's going on with my body. I think not knowing was the worst part for me.
OMG, I could have written this! I was dx with PSA 15 months ago but have had trigger fingers and thumbs and torn tendons in my wrists starting 15 years ago. i also have Type 1 diabetes so it was blamed on that! I have several other dx too so never have been able to point it at one specific disease. My right hip has given me issues for 3 years but the ultrasound or MRI showed any changes whereas my feet, knees and back did show wear. I cannot take any drugs so far as I get extreme side effects so I am drug free perse. I try different herbs to see what works and that is trial and error. I currently have 2 trigger fingers, one on each hand and have stayed the same for 4 years. Haven't had them corrected due to personal reasons. So the net of this reply is YES, I do have those issues too!
Good to know I'm not alone with this! For the longest time I felt like some freak with all of this going on. lol. I just had my right middle and ring trigger fingers released on 7/8 and had the stitches taken out today. Crazy to have fingers that don't feel so stiff! Those are my fourth ones I've had done. My left ring and middle fingers are doing the same thing but I think I have a few good months before it gets to the point where I can't deal with it anymore. My right pinky has been spasming like crazy lately so I think it's the beginning of cubital tunnel. ugh. I work with a great hand surgeon at least. I have a follow up with my rheumatologist next week and I am thinking about starting Enbrel. I have researched them all and my surgeon had actually suggested it as well after I had decided on it oddly enough. Anyone on this? If so, has anyone had problems with weight gain?
Plenty of people here are on biologics, and even more of our members take biologics but don't come here too often because they are too busy living their lives. Weight gain? Nope! The biologics don't have much in the way of side effects like other DMARDs do. (And they are nothing like what that drug we love to hate, prednisone, can do!) I lost weight when I went on Enbrel because for the first time in decades, I had the energy to move, and the ability to move comfortably! If the doc is suggesting a biologic, I'd be going for it! To my mind, Enbrel is a great biologic to start with because it's the oldest of them, and we know the most about it.
Awesome! Thanks for your input! Yeah I wanted to avoid prednisone and my rheumatologist agreed that wouldn't be the best option for me so he started me on methotrexate a few months ago which has helped but not enough. My hand surgeon who I work with suggested going on a biologic and my rheumatologist had hinted at it at my last visit so I think that's where I'm headed. I'm also on gabapentin which has caused me to gain weight because of the increased appetite/thirst that's why I asked about the weight gain. I think it makes me retain so much water because I'm so thirsty when I take it but it helps a great deal. I'm at a healthy weight and would like to maintain that! I didn't know Enbrel was the oldest of them, so that's good to know too.