Re: [Psoriatic Arthritis] Advice

[Guest guest]

Hiya Todd,

My pain seems to move around too. Although I must say I have never had much

swelling before now, the only swelling I have noticed is on my ankles. My

fingers are starting to look like old tree bark - that's the only way I can

describe them!

Up until now I have not been on any strong drugs for the PA, just anti

inflammatories (excuse the spelling lol) & pain killers but then again I am only

recently diagnosed. I have managed to get my Rheumy appointment brought forward

from July it is now at the end of March, I will keep you posted what happens.

Looking at the replies I think your right about PA being unpredictable. I

think most 'normal' Doctors don't realise this.

Gentle hugs

Todd Gothelf <tgothelf@...> wrote:

,

I don't consider myself an expert on PA, but only can share my own experiences

of pains. As I try to make sense out of this terrible illness, yearn for a

pattern in how it takes hold of my joints, try to theorize how the medication is

winning the battle and I am now finally over the hill and improving everyday--

once again something else arises. I think that we all want to give our illness

a name because we think then we can predict how it will affect us, and

ultimately prepare ourselves for whatever lies ahead, good or bad. As I journey

through this disease I unfortunately don't have the luxury of a predictable

path.

It started in my right foot, and stayed there for six months. I then suddenly

developed some joint pains in my hands which are still present but thankfully

have dissipated to where I can function relatively comfortably. I have been

taking MTX which has allowed me to feel great. Levels of ESR and CRP normal and

I thought I was on my way to remission. Then, all too quickly, my L knee

swelled up and developed tremendous pains, and my CRP and ESR went up. This was

two months ago. It has since gotten slightly better as I increase my MTX, but

is no where near what I want it to be. In addition, I have noticed pains in

places I never had them before (no swelling), such as my Achilles tendon, L foot

(more of nuisances than debilitating) This leads me to my theory, which I am

curious if you have the same experience...

I feel that in my body there is a set amount of inflammatory " mules " . They

all started in my foot. When this imroved they needed to land elsewhere, so

they went to my hands. When my hands got better, they went to my L knee. If

this gets better, they will need to find another home. I just want them to

leave my body and find another home.

Sorry for my lengthy answer to your question. I wish I could give you a

straight forward " yes this is normal " or " no, this is not normal " answer, but

as you can see from my experiences I don't feel like there is a " normal " . I am

curious to see how others feel. Also curious to know if you are on medication

at this time.

Todd