another newbie
Hi everyone. Just wanted to introduce myself. I was diagnosed with PsA just last week. I had been on voltaren as prescribed by my family doctor and once I saw the rheumatologist last week he has switched me to Plaquenil and Arthrotec - his philosophy is "hit it hard and fast". I just had some follow up bloodwork done today and still need to get some xrays done ( they were closed for lunch when I dropped by today). The doc is still pretty confident of the PsA diagnosis, even though my mom has Lupus and I've had one positive ANA - he thinks that's a bit misleading since I have no other symptoms. My gut is getting used to the new meds. The fatigue is still overwhelming at times but I hope that subsides soon. I have definitely noticed a positive change in my tendinitis symptoms so I am thankful for that. Looking forward to getting to know you all and learning more about treatment options and symptoms management (as long as you don't say stop drinking wine because I have no time for that nonsense - LOL).
Oh my goodness, that last bit made me laugh so hard! Lol! Welcome to the community and we can't wait to get to know you better 😀
-Victoria, Community Moderator
Welcome to the group!
I'm in something of a similar situation where my mom was diagnosed with RA and Lupus. I had sky high SSB antibodies but everything else was negative and my rheumy said that a high SSB number by itself isn't indicative of Lupus especially since my SSA number is normal. So I also got the PsA diagnosis.
Was on NSAIDs for fhe last four years and just recently started taking Humira.
I hope things go well for you with your aggressive treatment and new medications!
(P.S. I'm with you on the no alcohol nonsense. Great thing about biologics is that you can have beer and wine!)
Thanks VIcki and Sean! Looking forward to getting to know everyone and finding similar stories and experiences. I've looked at my blood work results and most of the additional tests my rheumy ordered have come back negative (a couple are still pending). Still the same ongoing issues with low RBC and high platelets. I had all the x-rays done so will wait until I see my GP next to go over those results, if there's anything to discuss.
I've heard really good things about Humira. If I have to go the route of biologics that would be my preference. Hope you're both having a great weekend!
Leah
I'm glad you've heard good things. You have to be a bit careful about Humira when it comes to reading stuff online. The Internet being ... well, the Internet ... a small minority with negative opinions is going to make a lot of noise. the people having great experiences with it are less likely to post.
I'll admit, I was nervous about Humira. But what gave me comfort was the cold, hard science. The facts. And the those facts are best seen when you compare trials where one group took Humira and another took a placebo. And what those trials reveal is that, if you have PsA, there's only ONE THING you have a greater chance of getting than the general population and that's a UTI. And that's only a 0.3% chance. Everything else was under 0.2% which is the same as the population at large. So yeah, you hear about bad things happening with Humira but those are the very rare exception and nothing that should scare you away from a treatment that could put your PsA into remission.
I'll let you all know in a month or two how I respond to the Humira.
