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[Guest guest]

Hello my friends,

I have a question that I needs some advice please!! I wrote earlier

about me having severe pain in the lower back, my right shoulder

with pain so severe that I'd like to never got dressed for work. I

could not raise my arm hardly over my head to get dressed. The pain

was so severe. I had it my knee twice that was so bad that I ended

missing at least 2 days of work. I have had it in the top of my left

hand that I could not use it. I would not touch the fingers

together. I went to the Dr with each of these flair up's and they

would give me Naproxen or Lodine. I have had Darvocet, tramadol.

None of these work fast enough it takes at least 3-4 days for them

to get into the system for them to work. My worst episode was this

past April when it was in my right ankle. It was so swollen and

warm, I could not at all rest my heel on my bed. The pain was so

severe that I told Darrell my husband that I don't remember child

birth being this painful.

I have Psoriasis in between my ring and middle finger on my right

hand and I have Psoriasis on my right elbow and I just now today

noticed a patch on my lower right jaw. Oh my goodness it can't get

all over my face!!! I guess it is Psoriasis because it is scaly,

itchy and when I scratched it before I realized what it was It was

running. It itches like poison Ivy or something. I was Dx in May

15th that I have Psoriatic Arthritis just by looking at the

Psoriasis on my elbow and in between my fingers. My blood work is

normal on all accounts. (everything) My rheumatologist said that

when I have a flair to call them and they will be able to get fluid

from the inflamation and check that. So do I or do I NOT have this

Psoriatic Arthritis? What is your opinion? I am in denial or

something. Is it safe to say to others that yes I do have Psoriatic

Arthritis? Can you have it even if the blood work is normal?

She was talking about Humira and other options. I had a company

call me from AXIS One, they are a company that works with the

insurance companies to determine if you are a candidate for the

medication. Please Help me what should I do? I am afraid of the

medication side effects. I don't want to suffer no more either. I

usually have a severe flair in the fall and maybe twice in the

winter and once in the spring. So I will have about 4 severe flairs

a year. They are so bad that I can't walk or do nothing.

I know that this is a lot to ask. I am just at the end here and I am

grabing at straws.

Take care and stay healthy

Tammy

[Editor's Note: Tammy, sorry to hear that things are so painful for you. We

all understand. PA is a clinical diagnosis - it is not something that is

identified through bloodwork or xrays or conventional tests, although those MAY

show things that can reinforce the clinical diagnosis. Once you get to the

point where you have heavy-duty pain, you likely need heavy-duty medications to

fight it. Medications such as Humira, Enbrel, Methotrexate, Arava and others

can help stem the progression of the disease as well as help to ease some of the

symptoms. The medications you have been taking so far are bandaids and bandaids

don't help serious problems. We are ALL afraid of medication side effects, but

they are RARE. What is not rare, is the pain of the disease and the potential

damage it will do to your body if you don't take REAL medications. You don't

fight an army with a water pistol. Most of us here are on the meds you are

afraid of and we do not experience serious side effects but benefit from the

good those medications can do. Kathy F.]