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Derek and Gayle – There is a better way. You can get rid of both your psoriasis and your psoriatic arthritis by healing your body, not by taking dangerous expensive drugs. Scientific and medical research has shown your body is deficient in certain things. When you take those things your body needs, avoid the things you are allergic to, make a few lifestyle changes [no alcohol, no smoking, etc.], and reduce your stress level, you can get rid of your psoriasis. If you want to know more, check out www.psoriasiscure.net. LD – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Derek – I developed psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis and Multiple Sclerosis > all within a month of each other 13 years ago. Yes, for me, the arthritis > has stayed in my hands and feet, with the exception of one elbow of late. > I have begun taking methotrexate for the psoriasis – so far it has cleared > up my fingernails, but skin is the same. Hope more time will make more of a > difference. > Voltarin is an excellent medication (anti-inflamatory) for it, but it’s > excpensive. Hope you have prescription coverage – i don’t and had to quit > taking it. > Good luck!! > Gayle >Can anyone shed some light my way? I’m 22, and I could probably give my >grandmother’s complaints a run for their money. My knees ache all the >time, although my psoriasis is limited to my hands, face, and scalp. >Does psoriatic arthritis tend to stay in affected areas (hands, in my >case) or does it have a mind of its own?
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by healing your body, not by taking dangerous expensive drugs. Scientific and medical research has shown your body is deficient in certain things. When you take those things your body needs, avoid the things you are allergic to, make a few lifestyle changes [no alcohol, no smoking, etc.], and reduce your stress level, you can get rid of your psoriasis. If you want to know more, check out www.psoriasiscure.net. >>
sheesh, that makes it sound soooooo easy! "reduce your stress level" ?! as if it was as simple as cutting down on the amount of sugar you have in your coffee! how about some suggestions? "make a few lifestyle changes". ok, i =know= that it makes my skin worse, but it’s not easy when all your friends drink, and when much of your socialising is done in the pub. there’s nothing more boring than watching other people get drunk, is there? 
and, yeah, i have tried a no-sugar/no-salt/no-meat/-no-wheat/no-dairy diet (as reccomended by a naturopath), but it’s a =lot= easier to do that when you have someone else to do it with, or when someone is preparing your food, as in my case (i was 9 at the time) i don’t know anyone who’s prepared to make such sacrfices now, not to mention the fact that the food i had to live on then makes me feel sick now! so, any suggestions? yeah, and i’ve tried dovonex, betnovate, betcap, polytar, alphosyl and homeopathy but the steroid ointments only make it come back twice as worse, =and= mess up my hormones to boot (spots, painful periods etc) the only thing to shift it and keep it shifted is sunshine. does anybody take vitamin e suppplements and do they help? did you have to get them prescribed or can you get them over the counter (i live in the uk). and, finally getting back on-topic, i get arthritic pains in my two big toes which sometimes makes it hurt when i walk, but other than that, i’ve been lucky.
sorry this is long, thought it might help to know where i’,m coming from
Response:
As others have said, you need a rheumatologist. Other specialists will often either never have seen or never have diagnosed correctly PA in their practices. Yes, a dermatologist may well be informed about PA (unlike other kinds of physicians), but the rheumatologist is the one with experience with PA and the treatments used for it. I found my PA to start out sort of like "jumping" from joint to joint. I might be limping around with an unhappy hip for a month or two, and then it would go away. Then maybe an ankle would swell up and hurt for a while… then that would go away. However, I did reach a point where it really flared bigtime. My knees swelled up like honeydew melons and I suddenly couldn’t straighten them out (contractures). In time, I developed PA in all my joints and now have it everywhere. PA can be aggressive if left untreated. NSAID’s and over-the-counter med’s can only do so much. If you are having progression of the symptoms, flaring of the joints, heat from the joint, redness, pain, inflammation, and general increase in symptoms, DO NOT DELAY getting to a rheumatologist. NSAID’s can help with symptoms, but they do NOT treat the underlying disease progression. That requires more aggressive treatments, like the DMARD’s (disease modifying anti rheumatic drugs), such as MTX (methotrexate). You can read more about all this at the following noncommercial website: http://www.aztec.co.za/users/drdoc/ This is the site of a practicing rheumatologist in South Africa… the home page takes a minute or so to download. Then start with "Index Pages"… then click "Diseases"… then click "Psoriatic Arthritis". You will find that there are different types (5) that affect different patterns of joints typically, although there can be variation. By the way, I have had 2 total knee replacements and one total hip replacement because of my PA. If I can answer any other questions, I’ll be happy to… although I’ll be out of town for 4 days. :) Best regards,
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so, can my dermatologist tell me if it’s PA or do I get to find yet another doctor?
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My PA is also quite independent. I have it in the tendons that move the fingers, but have no P on the hands (not under the nails, either). I have P on the left knee, with no PA; but no P on the right knee, which has had PA. I have an excellent dermatologist, but I don’t think he knows much about PA at all – I’d suggest seeing a rheumatologist.
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> so, can my dermatologist tell me if it’s PA or do I get to find yet > another doctor?
I suspect that PA isn’t necessarily the strongest area of your dermy’s expertise, so chances are good that you’ll need a referal to see a rheumatologist (arthritis specialist). Your dermy might generally agree with a tentative PA diagnosis, but even if that happened you’d need to find an RD to get specific advice to move forward with treatment options. The main thing my dermy did for me was confirm the presense of psoriasis thereby opening the door for consideration of PA. Without the skin psoriasis my condition would have been very difficult to place – I got the impression that up till that point the RD was leaning more in the direction of "Reuter’s Syndrome" (a bacterial infection that typically goes after the hips and lower back). — Nathan Engle Electron Juggler Indiana University Dept of Psychology "Some Assembly Required"
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>Does psoriatic arthritis tend to stay in affected areas (hands, in my case) or
does it have a mind of its own?>> My experience is that it is unpredictable. I’ve had it in some joints chronically, then everywhere, and then it cleared up completely (with no prescription drugs) after a few years of total misery. After several years of remission, I had a relapse lasting about a few months that was severe, and now it’s gone again. It is not always the same joints that are affected, although I do notice a tendency for my left wrist to signal trouble is starting for my body. I’m still trying to figure out what triggers or aggravates it (although I have some theories, they don’t always work in practice).
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Derek – I developed psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis and Multiple Sclerosis all within a month of each other 13 years ago. Yes, for me, the arthritis has stayed in my hands and feet, with the exception of one elbow of late. I have begun taking methotrexate for the psoriasis – so far it has cleared up my fingernails, but skin is the same. Hope more time will make more of a difference. Voltarin is an excellent medication (anti-inflamatory) for it, but it’s excpensive. Hope you have prescription coverage – i don’t and had to quit taking it. Good luck!! Gayle – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – >Can anyone shed some light my way? I’m 22, and I could probably give my >grandmother’s complaints a run for their money. My knees ache all the >time, although my psoriasis is limited to my hands, face, and scalp. >Does psoriatic arthritis tend to stay in affected areas (hands, in my >case) or does it have a mind of its own?
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I have PA affecting mainly my knucle joints, feet, and to a certain extent my elbows. I also have bad nails, but no other skin related problems. I take anti-inflammatory drugs, and have just been prescribed Meloxicam, which I belive is fairly new. I have been referred, but waiting for an appointment. I am 43. Paul – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – >Can anyone shed some light my way? I’m 22, and I could probably give my >grandmother’s complaints a run for their money. My knees ache all the >time, although my psoriasis is limited to my hands, face, and scalp. >Does psoriatic arthritis tend to stay in affected areas (hands, in my >case) or does it have a mind of its own?
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Can anyone shed some light my way? I’m 22, and I could probably give my grandmother’s complaints a run for their money. My knees ache all the time, although my psoriasis is limited to my hands, face, and scalp. Does psoriatic arthritis tend to stay in affected areas (hands, in my case) or does it have a mind of its own?
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> Can anyone shed some light my way? I’m 22, and I could probably give my > grandmother’s complaints a run for their money. My knees ache all the > time, although my psoriasis is limited to my hands, face, and scalp. > Does psoriatic arthritis tend to stay in affected areas (hands, in my > case) or does it have a mind of its own?
My PA affects my knees, hips, and hands. My scaling is pretty much limited to my scalp and face, although I’ve also got disintegrating nails on both fingers and toes. So I guess the short answer is "mind of its own". — Nathan Engle Electron Juggler Indiana University Dept of Psychology "Some Assembly Required"
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