Psoratic Arthritis without inflammation??

keesrotten

Hi my name is Gareth. I am a 32 year old dairy farmer from Northern Ireland and i am new on here. For approx the last 18 months i have been suffering with a lot of joint pain and muscle weakness. I also have Psoriasis.

This started off with me getting very stiff when i sat down or rested and has now progressed to quite severe pains in my feet, ankles, neck and hands. I occasionally get pains affecting many other joints too including my jaw, shoulders and knees. However i have not got any inflammation in my joints.

I have been referred to a Rhumatologist and have had x-rays, Mri's and bloods taken. The bloods have came back clear apart from a marker which is present in 95% of people with arthritis. The X-rays have shown nothing and the MRI has only shown some inflammation in the connective tissue in my feet. Approx 5 Months ago i was given a injection of steroids into my backside. This eased the pains for 3 weeks but then i gradually got worse and worse again.

Today my Rhumatologist has said that i am an unusual case and has given me another injection of steroid to keep me going and has put me on a course of Methotrexate. This is another "test" as if it helps me he says it is likely that i have Psoratic Arthritis.

I was wondering if there is anyone here with PA or RA who does not suffer with inflammation of the joints????? I really would appreciate any help as my job does not allow me to take time off and i am in quite a lot of pain.

dreamdaisy

Hello, it's nice to meet you but I am sorry you have had to find us. I have PsA but in my case the inflammatory markers were always sky high. My first blood tests didn't happen for five years because my then GP kept telling me that my fat left knee would sort itself out and I, stupidly, believed her. :roll: Your doctors seem to be more on the ball, obviously they believe you have some form of auto-immune arthritis (hence the meth) but, seeing as how there are close on 200 kinds of that, narrowing the culprit down can take some time. Mind you, you have begun PsA in the classic manner, with the smaller joints of the body being first affected. The meth will suppress your immune system (for people like us our immune systems are over-active and so our bodies attack us) and it may help to ease your psoriasis. which could be a bonus. I don't have much in the way of psoriasis (I never have had, either) but I was born with eczema and then developed asthma, both auto-immune conditions; PsA was a natural development for me.

You have a demanding job - is there any way in which you could employ someone to help? I wish you well. DD

stickywicket

Hello from me, too, Gareth.

From what I've read on here I'd say it's unusual but not unheard of for people to have auto-immune forms of arthritis without inflammation. Your rheumatologist sounds to be very thorough and covering all bases but sometimes our bodies just refuse to co-operate. The methotrexate should help, and will slow down the progress of the disease (I take it for R.A. and it does) but there is no cure and, even if it should be decided you don't have PsA, it's sounds as if you definitely have some form of auto-immune arthritis. The medication is more or less the same whichever it is.

If you pose your question on the Living With Arthritis forum you might get more replies as more people look in on there.

Meanwhile, I agree with DD that you have a very demanding, physically intensive job for someone with any form of arthritis. If you can look for methods of making it easier you'll be doing yourself a big favour.

keesrotten

Hi. Thanks for your reply. I don't have bad psoriasis either. Just a little on each leg and some on the soles of my feet. I didn't even realise it was psoriasis until I first saw a rheumatologist approx 9 months ago. He is unsure if I have an inflammatory arthritis so the meth prescription is another method of building up evidence to produce a diagnosis of my condition.

Thankfully I still have my father to help me, tho he is 72 now and really should be taking things easier, rather than helping me out. To pay help would not really be financially viable. I think there are some difficult decisions coming in the near future depending on how successful the meth is and what the diagnosis is.

What are people's thoughts on living with PA and having physically demanding jobs? Is it possible? Will it cause the condition to get worse? I have to spend a lot of time on my feet and it is currently causing me to be in agony and so making something which I did find enjoyable miserable to me now.

BluesWalk

hey mate, in my experience the doctors are like really horrible people sometimes when they say they cant see much inflammation. They said that to me but no one knows your body like you man and my Psoriatic Arthritis was total killing my feet hands and like my back too. So 1 year later they are like ''oh you have x amount of joints here is some special medication called biologics''....


...bloomin told you so.


The main reason I feel is that they don't wana spend their budget getting stuff done and getting you all checked out etc. Just stay with it mate and you will get sorted in the end I hope!

dreamdaisy

We are given the umbrella labels of PsA, RA, AS, etc. but no two RA-ers are the same, likewise two PsA bods etc. From what I have read you sound like a classic case of PsA but the lack of psoriasis may be fogging the diagnosis. I know it did with me, when it began back in 1997 I now know I had a bad case of psoriasis on the scalp but, because I was unaware of a possible link (and I didn't know it was psoriasis) I didn't mention it to my then GP. Mind you, even if I had it wouldn't have made any difference.

Is there evidence elsewhere in your extended family of auto-immune troubles, e.g. eczema, asthma, Crohn's, IBS, psoriasis, Lupus? Mind you these things can also arrive as a bolt from the blue which is doubly difficult. I still think it's a good thing that you are so quickly under the care of a more open-minded rheumatologist.

I had a far easier physical working life than you ( I was a private tutor for dyslexics) but I had to stop after fifteen years or so: I was hoping to continue but I had reached my physical limits. You have your Pa there to help but yes, I can understand the emotions involved. There were so many things I used to enjoy which have fallen by the wayside: if I had received better help earlier on then maybe things would have been different, but they are not and I have to get on with what's left. There is no doubt we have to adjust. It's not easy - the emotional, financial and physical impacts hit us (and those around us) hard. DD

keesrotten

I didn't realise I has psoriasis until the rheumatologist asked me if I have any rashes. I showed him the rash which I have had on my legs for 5 years and he told me it was psoriasis. My mum developed psoriasis 3 years ago but has it really bad now over a lot of her body and my bother has had it on his legs like me for 10+ years.

I'll see how the meth goes for me and you will be hearing more from me in the future I'm sure.