Do I have this type of arthritis or is it rheumatoid ?

Hi , your concern about wanting to get a correct diagnosis is understandable. Unfortunately there is a lot of overlap between RA and PsA, which can make it tricky. And, to complicate things further, one does not necessarily have to have elevated inflammatory markers for either condition. We are not doctors and can not make diagnosis or give medical advice, but I do have a couple of questions. Is this your general practitioner or a rheumatologist that is making this determination? Do you have a dermatologist who you see for your psoriasis? I'm curious what the reasoning is about the RA diagnosis, if the doctor gave any.

I also want to share several articles with you. This one about why diagnosis PsA can be so challenging, https://psoriatic-arthritis.com/living/diagnosing-psa-challenging. This one has some information about distinguishing PsA from other forms of arthritis, https://psoriatic-arthritis.com/clinical/condition-distinguish. And finally, this one on what type of test are usually done to diagnose PsA, https://psoriatic-arthritis.com/test-diagnosis.

The one positive, if there is any, is that a lot of the treatments for PsA and RA overlap, so even if there is an element of being unsure of the diagnosis, it's possible you could still get relief, no matter which form of arthritis it is. Here is some information on treatments for PsA, https://psoriatic-arthritis.com/treatment and here is some for RA, https://rheumatoidarthritis.net/treatment. Of course, having a proper diagnosis is still very important, but hopefully that can ease your mind, at least a little bit.

I hope that helps give you some information to take back to your doctors, should you want to. And hopefully some of our community members can chime in here as well. Wishing you a gentle day. -- Warmly, Christine (Team Member)

Hi, thank you for your reply. I was referred to a Rheumatologist 3 years ago, who gave me a hand X-ray and said it was more probable that I had rheumatoid arthritis, I have never seen a dermatologist for my psoriasis. Thank you for your links, I appreciate your help.

First of all, taking Tumeric isn’t going to mask an inflammatory markers, as Tumeric really isn’t all that effective to begin with. The key distinguishing features that differentiate PsA from RA are 1.) No RA factor present in labs, regardless of presence of HLB-B27; 2.) Assymetric presentation of symptoms - PsA tends Not to effect both sides of the body equally, one side of the body will have affected joints, whereas the other side may not; 3.) PsA tends to affect the distal joints of the fingers (the very end joints), whereas with RA it is the middle joints; 4.) With PsA there is usually (but not always) skin involvement, psoriatic lesions.
Many, if not most, of us with PsA have normal labs as regards inflammatory markers, though they might be elevated during a particularly bad flare. I, for one, have never had a lab where my Sed Rate or C-RP was elevated outside if the normal range. Whether or not you are diagnosed with PsA or RA, likely the treatment will be the same, as they are both immune system diseases requiring the administration of anti-rheumatic drugs.

Thank you for your reply, I have a new referral for a rheumatologist and will discuss these points with him.