OA in hands/Feet and awaiting further diagnosis

Simba55

Hi, I’m new and suffered from sciatica since my early 20’s. Had psoriasis since i was 11/12, my sister too suffers badly and we both still do, and feel that was early onset because of loosing our mum at an early age. Throughout my 20’s and having 3 children i put new strain on my back. So by my 40’s and working as a primary school teacher things got worse. My job felt too difficult and while crying at the doctors they sent me for an mri which diagnosed a disc permanently out of line which can be operated on or managed and i chose to manage. I believe that was caused by a fall out of a tree when i was young. Been managing that pain for 15 years and finally retired from teaching to work 2 days with a charity at age 50. But that year i lost my dad suddenly and like you things went down hill health wise (though had hand weakness for a long time and my little fingers had started to be bent and knuckles swollen and thought oh ok i take after my dad as he had hand arthritis ) ie neck and foot pain, elbow swelling and knee pain and just before the pandemic shoulder pain which i believe all could be psoriatic arthritis. Upset at the doctors again and late 2019 was referred to rheumatologist but there was a waiting list, appointment came just as the pandemic did and everything was cancelled. Since then this January i have finally had one telephone consultation and been sent for ultra sounds x-rays on hands feet chest and back mri, plus more blood tests even though i got a positive RA test way back and that’s why i was referred (told it could be a false positive though) Since January received 1 letter outlining what i said over the phone and that in 8 weeks i’ll receive an appointment for an early arthritis clinic, 1 other letter stating i have notable degenerative OS in my hands. As it had been a month since i’d heard i rang this Monday and have now got a telephone consultation for next Thursday which i hope results will be given. A year and a half later i am no better off knowing what my whole body pain is and now one of my little fingers is not only bent but twisting round and very painful which worries me a lot. Speaking to my own doctor by telephone on Friday.

Sorry for the history of my life but i do feel forgotten and that i haven’t actually been seen by anyone, which i absolutely understand in the circumstances but worry i will be misdiagnosed because of this.

PeterJ

Hi @Simba55 and welcome to the forum. It's good to have you here and hopefully you will enjoy chatting to others with similar problems.

I understand that you have been suffering for a long time and that you have suffered from psoriasis and sciatica for a long time and that you are now suffering in your hands as well. Good to see that you finally have managed to get a doctor's appointment. Not easy in the pandemic.

Our website contains a lot of useful information which may be of help to you but can i suggest you try the following to begin with:

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/conditions/psoriatic-arthritis/

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/conditions/osteoarthritis-of-the-hand-and-wrist/

https://www.versusarthritis.org/news/2019/june/top-tips-for-emotional-wellbeing/

Please do keep in touch and let us know how you get on. Keep posting as it is a good way to chat with people going through the same as you and can share their experiences.

Best wishes and take care

Peter (mod)

Simba55

Thanks for your help earlier and your kind words. I’m finding the forum informative and reassuring and i certainly will be back with news.

airwave

And there you stand! At some point I wanted to get on with my life and not be defined by arthritis which is why I haven’t had much to do with doctors. I realised a longtime ago that I was gettin* the brush off and there isn’t much that can be done, at the end of the day there was only one group who helped me, the Expert patient Program which is now the Pain Clinic which is twenty times better and up to date and I thoroughly support. There is limited chance to go on these courses and many doctors haven’t as yet gained from them.

so, where do patients stand? With so many types of arther it is a numbers game as to whether we will all get the correct diagnosis and a further stretch of the imagination to believe we will get the correct treatment , if any. The NHS just isn’t set up to deal with us.

The virus pandemic has probably set the cause of arther back five years, at least. There are many life or death causes to play catch up before we get a chance!

Use this forum to search subjects, talk to others and read, at the end of the day we all suffer pain, concentrate on dealing with that and things will 8mprove.

its a grin, honest!