I'm also new :)

April 2, 2000

Hello everyone. My name is . I'm 29 years old and I have

had

psoariasis since I was two years old (after I caught pnuemonia). I

don't mean to go on and on here, but this is the first time in my

life

I feel like I have actually connected with a group of people like me,

so I apologize in advance if I write a small novel

When I was in the fourth grade, I would wake up at night with

terrible

pains in my hip. My parents took me to many doctors in the Denver

area to try to find out what was wrong with me. Well, to make a long

story short, I was MIS-diagnosed up until the age of 17. I was told

I

was simply growing too fast.. possibly had bone cancer, etc and so

on.

Not until I was 17 did I know what was truly wrong with me -

psoariatic arthritis. By this time, my right hip and sacriliac joint

were calcified and the tendons along my hip had atrophied. My pubic

bone is fused and the right side is a tad deformed as well. This

doctor then told me that I was most likely facing multiple hip

replacements and there was a good chance it would spread to my spine

(I guess you can imagine I freaked). He then topped off my day of

gloom and doom with the side statement that wheelchair life would be

a

good possibility by my mid-twenties. Thinking that my life was at an

end and just deciding that I would never be able to run again or even

sit indian style, I tried to accept it. This of course, proved more

difficult than I had thought. I went into a deep depression and my

weight skyrocketed from 135 lbs to over 200 in the span of two years.

I was taking every type of NSAID (excluding those with sulfa because

I am allergic to it) and tons of stomach medication.

When I was 25, I decided that enough was enough. I totally changed

my

lifestyle. I stopped eating meat altogether, and I took the bold

move

to completely stop my medications for the PA. Amazingly, I got

better, and lost the weight (down to 145 - perfect for my height). I

was excercising without pain for the first time since I was a child.

Note: I wasn't going to any doctors for either the PA or the P at

this time either. I think my mental attitude helped A LOT with my

" remission " , though my psoariasis was still ever present.

So here I am now, four years later and I feel like the world has just

crashed down on my shoulders again. In January, I got a terrible

pain

in my back. Thinking it I just pulled it, I treated it with a

heating

pad and tried to take it easy for a few days. Two days later, I

couldn't even stand up straight and my right leg was going numb. The

pain was so severe, I was forced to take a trip to the ER. The

result: " A Severe Lower Lumbar Sprain " . I was instructed to not lift

anything heavier than a fork for two weeks and if the pain still

persisted, seek further help. Two days later, I stood up from

sitting

at the computer, placed weight on my right foot and rolled my ankle.

My leg was completely numb.. another trip to the doctor: Torn

tendons..lovely. Six weeks in walking cast..ugh.

The pain never went away. I can't stand for more than 5 minutes

without having severe stiffness in my lower back. In tandem with my

back pain, my hip suddenly sparked back into pain fits and the

limping

began again. Because of this, I haven't been able to work or even

keep a decent apartment.. I think I became a recluse.

I set an appointment with the best arthritis doctor in my area

(southern TN), but because of their busy schedule I had to wait until

last Monday. Here is the kicker.. this doctor got my medical report

from the ER in January. NOWHERE in the report does it state a " lower

lumbar sprain " . It only states that I have " Degenerative Disc

Disease

in the 3rd & 4th lumbar discs " . I cannot even begin to tell you the

ANGER I felt and still feel about this. Had I known it was that, I

would have done everything in my power to get to a doctor immediately

instead of waiting 3 months..grr.

I have been placed back on an anti-inflamatory, " Tolmetin " 600 mg

twice a day, for three weeks. Because I don't have insurance, my

doctor is trying to treat this like arthritis first, then we will

decide when I go back if an MRI is needed to further investigate. I

regret to say this, but my back pain has not ceased one little bit.

My hip however, feels great. I have been given exercises to try to

strengthen my back, but my pain has been so terrible I can only make

a

pitiful attempt to do them. I have also noticed that I am tired

constantly. I'm not sure if this is depression setting in or if it's

the PA.

I have been treating my " moderate " psoariasis with Ultravate for

about

two months. The lesions are COMPLETELY GONE with the exception of my

scalp. I haven't seen anyone posting about his drug, and I thought I

would throw it out there because it has worked wonders for me. I

have

had the same lesions in certain areas (knees, elbows, ears) since I

was a kid and this was the only medication that completely cleared it

up (YES!).

So this is my story, not as terrible as some I have read on the PA

website.. but just as frustrating. I am trying to once again get out

of this mental funk.. and I think I have found the group to help pull

me through. Again, my apologies for the " Anthology " but I

think this was good therapy for me in a way to finally get it all off

my chest. Thank you for this forum, and I look forward to chatting

with you all soon

April 3, 2000

Hi ,

I too gave up meat a few years ago and it changed my life. I too lost 55

pounds and was drug free. This winter I had to take celebrex but just to

maintain. I am nowhere near as bad as I used to be. My P aslo improved.

Small world. Glad to hear it has helped others.

maria.

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Subject: [ ] I'm also new

Date: Mon, 03 Apr 2000 03:18:11 -0000