PsA Newbie!

kirstyeb

Hi guys,

I have recently been diagnosed with Psoriatic Arthritis at age 31. As pleased as I am to have an explanation for why I can’t get down the stairs in the morning, I’m struggling to see a day when things will be better ☹️ and that’s what every day is right now, a struggle.

I have a young child, a full time job and a (previously) active life and I’m having a hard time keeping up with it all. I will hopefully be starting DMARDs at the end of the month and I’m praying for an improvement. I wanted to ask, of anyone with experience of this, how long it takes to see improvements once dmards are started?

I also wondered whether I should be applying for some additional support like PIP now I have a diagnosis, has anyone had success with this?

Naomi33

Morning @kirstyeb and welcome to the online community.

Sorry to hear your new diagnosis with Psoriatic Arthritis.

The following links maybe of interest to you…..

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/living-with-arthritis/financial-support/

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

I am sure others with the same or similar arthritis will connect with you soon.

Best wishes @Naomi33

Arciere

hi @kirstyeb

I’m hearing you about stairs!

I was diagnosed in 2023. The DMARDs will help. There are lots of different types of medication so you may end up cycling through things until you find one that works and suits you.

I think there is usually a 3 month timeframe for things to work - but I guess everyone is different. I was prescribed oral steroids while the DMRDs took affect - Predisolene. These were very effective - as were steroid injections.

If something doesn’t work - my advice is to not simply stop taking it. You’ll need to agree both a taper with your medical professional and the next medication.

Methotrexate didn’t fit for me emotionally and I wasn’t convinced it was working so I moved to Sulfasalazine which I also thought didn’t work - my problem is that I came off sulfasalazine overnight which made me more unwell than I originally was, I think.

It may be a long process so keep talking to your support network and keep posting here if that helps. Things will get better.

finally - whilst it may be a coincidence of the medication I take (Yulflyma) I have felt health improvements after radically changing my diet. Removing gluten, artificial sweetner and the deadly nightshade have all really helped. I accidentally had some gluten recently (something had soy sauce in it) and I felt stiff and rough the next day. Worth looking into.

hope this helps

Arciere

sorry and I wanted to just say I think stress doesn’t help. I was I a sorry state in late 2023 and on reflection it was just a really stressful situation. Not classic work stress as such - just teeth grinding type stress! Difficult situation.

So maybe consider if there’s something causing you a great deal of stress and if anything can be done about that.

My specialist nurse was sure that the inflammatory response can be from a psychological situation, loss, stress etc

Zibbydoo

There's a Too young for arthritis group run by Versus Arthritis that is very supportive, we're meeting tomorrow on zoom if you are interested. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/too-young-for-arthritis-tickets-793111205967