Is this a sing of psoriatic arthritis spreading to my smaller joints?
My feet and toes have been hurting all day wearing tight footwear. I don’t know if this is a classic case but you can probably see visible swelling here. My hands have been aching but never have I felt morning stiffness from all my smaller joints upon waking up. I was diagnosed with juvenile arthritis as a kid and have had this going on for almost 20 years. 
It may well be simply from wearing, as you say, tight footwear all day. Try wearing something a little less constricting.
could it be possible gout?
Not likely. Try getting yourself some good shoes before you start worrying too much. I ran half marathons for ten years with PsA, and the right shoes made that possible. I still run, albeit much fewer miles and slower now, than I did a couple years ago.
I sometimes feel like I’m at the end of my ropes it’s hard to cope dealing with this at 22. I’ve been back and forth trying to get a follow up diagnosis after bring diagnosed with juvenile arthritis long ago I don’t know why I got the short end of the stick. I genuinely don’t know why. I have tried as a 22 year old male to cope in ways to hang on to a single small frail thread that it can always be worse somehow. Going to extreme lows of comparing and contrasting my illness to other autoimmune diseases like severe Gastrointestinal issues but even those seem like sweat spots than possibly what this crippling illness of whatever I am facing could potentially present.
I don’t know if I will ever have a life a way I would want to half envision it even if treatment goes as smoothly as it can possibly be for me given my age. I have contemplated some dark thoughts that have kept me up at night. Thinking about just one day cutting my losses and kicking the bucket early for my life. I fear what my 30s and even 40s will bring with me with this even if the treatment becomes “””better”””. But what about the treatment now? I already have and had been dealing with AS issues for so long it’s a miracle prednisone has responded well enough to my larger joints like my back pain and leg pain to keep me still standing yet my smaller joints still stay stubborn and that concerns me. I don’t even know what concerns me more. It’s all hell to think about.
I watched a video last night about chronic illnesses that were debated on being potentially worse than death themselves and a lot of it was heavily biased because these autoimmune diseases range in a wide spectrum and one of them included ankle spondylitis. Needless to say I am beyond scared straight. I don’t want to lose my hand coordination function, my ability to walk. I don’t want to lose what makes me human.
But I also don’t want to inflict potential harm on myself and cause further damage. I do feel that my body is somehow a lot stronger to fight off this and potentially live a long quality of life spanning to 20+ years. My father has PSA and severe psoriasis granted he developed those when he was in his 40s and 50s and is still standing albiet with a cane every now and then.
Okay, stop and take some deep breaths. One step at a time. You can only control those things within your control, and worrying about the things beyond your control won’t help you. So focus on the things within control first. Get your primary care to get approval for rheumatology consult, and if they can’t then eat the cost out of pocket. Mentioning that your father has the disease should help, as autoimmune diseases tend to run in families. You are still young enough to see the likelihood of far more effective treatments in the future than what we have currently. But current treatments have proven efficacious, bearing in mind this doesn’t mean 100% you’ll be back like you were before. Lifestyle changes, diet and exercise in particular, are necessary, and well within your control. Many people with PsA benefit from low impact forms of exercise like swimming, yoga, water aerobics. But, just getting out and taking brisk walks every day is of great benefit as well, both physically and mentally.
the problem is that isn’t even half of my struggles. I may even have MS. Though I theorize. There is so much fundamentally wrong with me health wise that I am possibly far from saving. Damaged beyond repair.
Focus on the known issues, not the maybes and the theories. PsA causes a lot of symptoms all on its own that can be confused and conflated with other things. It is a treatable disease, but you have to advocate for yourself.
just started recently having left sided numbness. At this point I am probably going to end up in the mental hospital or suicide. Hi
, I can hear what a challenging time you've been having lately. Dealing with chronic medical conditions, especially when trying to navigate getting diagnosis, can be incredibly difficult and frustrating. Please know that you are not alone. Taking care of your mental and emotional health in addition to your physical health, is so important. If you haven't already, please consider reaching out to a mental health professional about how you've been feeling and how this has been impacting you emotionally.
I want to share a couple of articles with you about PsA and mental health. This first one is an editorial, https://psoriatic-arthritis.com/mental-health. And this next one is written by one of our health leaders about PsA and mental health, https://psoriatic-arthritis.com/living/mental-health-management.
It can be very overwhelming to be dealing with chronic pain and symptoms and trying to get a diagnosis. Please know that this community is here for you. Give yourself rest when needed, but please continue to advocate for yourself with the doctors in getting answers and getting treatment and relief. The good news is there are a lot of treatments available now days to help keep inflammation down and decrease the severity of symptoms or complications.
That being said, as Eric mentioned, there is also a crisis hotline available (if you're located in the US the number is 988 or you can chat online at, https://chat.988lifeline.org/). Please don't ever hesitate to reach out there if you're finding yourself in need of it.
Ethan, you are not alone. I'm so glad that you found our community here. Sending you gentle hugs! -- Warmly, Christine (Team Member)
