OA Newbie!

thesophiepoph

Hiya, I'm new here!!

I'm a 30 year old female, I was diagnosed with "Moderate" OA in my spine last February after countless hip and knee problems. Eventually got an Xray of my lower back last January and that's where my journey began! I lost 4 stone in a bid to try and alleviate some of the stress on my joints and I am now a "Healthy" BMI, so at least that's something!!

Unfortunately things came to a slamming halt thanks to Covid, and a house move to a new town. I was due to start physio when Covid hit, which was inevitably pushed back.

I am absolutely rubbish at actually going to the doctors about stuff, and always feel like I'm being a bit of a timewaster with silly little questions, so I'm hopeful some of you may be able to shed some light on a couple of little questions I have -

I was also diagnosed at the time with mild joint hypermobility - should I do more to follow this up? I have lots of strange goings on with bendiness and often wonder if the 2 are linked.

My rheumatologist also diagnosed me with psoriasis, something I had largely ignored for years and assumed was dermatitis, but nothing was done to investigate, is this something I should follow up on, or just trust my rheumatologist?

My knees were never followed up on, I received an xray on my lower back due to hip pain, but now feel I should have pushed for one on my knees too, should I ask for this to be followed up?

Also what on earth is classed as "Moderate"!?

Thanks to you all in advance :) And thankyou for having me!

jeddison1985

Hi @thesophiepoph firstly let me welcome you to the forum I hope you find the information and support you are after from our wonderful community.

I can see from your post that you have recently been diagnosed with spinal osteoarthritis and the treatment pathway you were on has fallen down during the pandemic. However you should definitely chase up and try and get some help / support, do not suffer in silence. It is better you chase it up and get help earlier before anything deteriorates.

From personal experience I can definitely relate to your issues as I have had Psoriasis and a form of spinal arthritis (AS) for coming up to 10 years now and after a long battle I managed through the wonderful healthcare professionals to find a good balance to maintain both conditions with the arthritis treatment completely curing my psoriasis.

The site is full of information and I wanted to signpost you to some information leaflets that could help, linked to your Osteoarthritis in your spine and to Psoriatic Arthritis:

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/conditions/osteoarthritis-oa-of-the-spine/

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

https://www.versusarthritis.org/news/2020/january/all-about-psoriatic-arthritis/

Please feel free to search the forum for others with similar experiences and I am sure that some of our community will be able to help.

Take care and I hope you get some relief soon.

Thanks

Joe