New to the forum and new diagnosis

littlemissme

Hello all,
I have recently been diagnosed and been put on Sulfasalazine, my next appointment is in May. I was wondering if it is possible for medication to make pain worse in other areas? The reason I ask is my main areas before hand was my hands and left knee, since starting my medication though I have severe pain in my shoulders and neck. I have been building up my medication gradually I am now on the full dose, most days I feel very sick and also tired.

Was after a bit of advise if possible please Thank You

dreamdaisy

Hello, I'm guessing that you have been diagnosed with an auto-immune form? I'm on sulph for my psoriatic arthritis, I have been for eleven years and one month (although for the first five years of that time I was termed as having an inflammatory arthritis. The label changed but not the meds). Arthritis is a progressive disease but the rate of progression is as individual as we are, I began with one affected joint and now, nearly seventeen years in, considerably more.

I am tired beyond all reason, I'm sorry but I have to go. I'll be back later or tomorrow, in the mean time I wish you well. Take care. DD

littlemissme

Thank you for your reply, I have been diagnosed with Psoriatic arthritis. I was hoping for the meds to make things feel a bit better and some how I feel worse. I know it cant work immediately and it takes time to get into the system, the pain in my shoulders and neck is horrible and I am having trouble sleeping as I cant get comfortable.

It was overwhelming when I was diagnosed as I was in hospital at the time because of something else going on, so I was not in the right frame of mind to ask questions etc.

constable

Sorry I can't help you. I have OA in various areas. I just wanted to welcome you to the forum. You will find many people with different types of arthritis on here. And they are a mind of information, therefore,If they can help they will. Even if you just need to let steam off, put it on here and you will be answered as we all know what it's like living with pain etc.

Hope to see you around the forum.

valval

welcome sorry you have had to find us it could be you are using body different this can cause problems in other areas i was getting shoulder pain till realised was struggling getting out of bath and using arms a lot more look how you are doing things it takes at least 3 months for meds to kick in do you need some pain meds contact rhummy nurse if things get to bad they can help and answer questions just phone hospital and ask for her val

Catie

Welcome to the forum. I have OA and not able to be of real help to you, but just wanted to say that I hope you get relief from your medication soon

Catie

barbara12

Hello and a warm welcome from me
Like some of the others I cant offer any help, but you can now talk to us all and that in itself can be a big help...you will get lots of info and advice on the forum....I do hope that things improve for you very soon...xx

ironic

Hi Littlemiss,
Yes it is a terrible shock when you first get told you have arthritis. It will take a while for you to come to terms with it all, so be kind to yourself and take it a day at a time for now.

Sorry that you are struggling at the moment. Yes you are right it does take a good while for these meds to get into your system. Are you on anti-inflammatory meds? If so you need to take them on a regular basis. Necks and shoulders are awful when they play up. You could try heat and maybe if you roll up a towel to support your neck during the night it might just help a little. Some people find that the ‘V’ shaped pillow can help when watching the tv.

dreamdaisy

Hello again, I'm not that much more awake today I've had a busy morning and now have to prepare for work. How much trouble were your painful joints giving you (and for how long?) before your diagnosis? To have this on top of something else is not fun, you must feel as though everything is being flung at you at once. I hope that you will be able to cope with the meds that you will need for the PsA, it takes time for the drugs to build up and start to make a difference. My PsA began with my left knee, that was in 1997 but it wasn't until 2002 that I was taken seriously and sulph was begun. By then it was too little too late for me but hopefully it will help you and soon. DD

littlemissme

Thank you for all your replies, sorry it has taken me a while to reply.

I have had pain in my joints for a few years, but has not been as bad as it is now. Been to rheumatology in the past, was told all was ok. I know it can take time though, there is a lot of history of arthritis in my family. My hands can be painful and my left knee. Now have a lot of pain with my neck, I can sleep with as many pillows as I did, I have one pillow now that is quite flat. It has all been overwhelming yes, and I am starting a new chapter in my life so was really worried it would affect my course.

bubbadog

Hi and welcome to the forum, I can't help you on your question regarding your medication but I can say that I get a lot of nausea due to meds I'm taking side effect, my G.P prescribed me an anti-sickness medication which does ease the nausea so it may be worth looking into with your G.P if you could get an anti-sickness medication to help you. Hope this may be of help to you.

Bioluminescence

Welcome to the forum :P
Have you talked to a GP or the specialist nurse about the new pains at all? You may also want to mention that you're feeling sick. I'm quite recently diagnosed too and I'm on sulfasalazine as well (4 months or so now). Since the time of diagnosis and now I feel I have got considerable worse in terms of pain and the joins affected, but this is down to the progression of the inflammatory arthritis.

It is a really stressful time trying to get your head around everything.... There's a lot of information out there, if you need help finding any thing in particular some people on the forum might be able to point you in the right direction.

What sort of course are you on and which parts are the most difficult for you? In most education things there is a tutor or a counselor that you can talk to or at the very least make aware that you have this diagnosis and its affecting you. I'm finding university a lot more difficult to keep up with but talking to a counselor has been of some help for me. Even with that I'm still getting behind on the workload in a way I wasn't before.

DebbieT

Hi,

I have Psoriatic Arthritis (PsA) too, along with Osteoarthritis (OA), Plaque Psoriasis & Fibromyalgia.

I was initially put on methotrexate & sulphasalazine. After about 6 months & talking it thru with my Rheumatologist, it was decided that I'd stop taking the Sulphasalazine. It made me feel nauseous all the time & generally made me feel grotty every single day. After stopping it I felt so much better!!

So the only advise I can offer is to consult either your GP or your Rheumatologist.

I have cervical spondulosis caused by PsA too, it causes me to have migraines, my shoulders, right across from side to side, gets rock solid it feels like I've got a metal plate running from one side to the other. It's awful. Heat can help a little & I invested in a tens machine, I put the pads on my shoulders & around where a bra strap would be & that can help too, well it does for me. The only thing thats truly helped long term has been a steroid injection in my back to the right of my spin level with my hip, I was able to look over both shoulders after only 5 days

As has been said tho, we all are affected differently & ure neck may not be arthritis, it could be tension for instance. So again I'd think ure best option is see ure GP or Rheumatologist.

Don't be afraid of meds, the sooner PsA can be controlled the better as it will hopefully slow down the degeneration!!
By my 1st appointment & xrays I had wot looked like a tennis ball sized hole in the butterfly shaped part of my right hip, it was where the inflamed tendons & ligaments had been rubbing the bone & so I have quite a large area with a lack of bone density. That was in 2007, I'm close to being unable to walk even with crutches so it can act really quickly.

Im in no way saying it will happen to you but like the others have said, if you aren't treated as quickly as possible it can be a problem in some cases.

All the best huni. I hope ure feeling better asap. Remember you aren't alone. Please keep us posted.x