My fingers are cramping up lately...
My normal chronic pain areas are lower back, neck, shoulders. My eyes burn and the skin around each is inflamed to some degree. I have some hearing loss and sometimes pain in one of my ears.
Although I know some of my back and neck vertebrae are arthritic I think it is my ligaments and tendons are where PSA plays out mostly. I don't have swollen hands or feet, and no joint that I can see is distorted.
Occasionally I have pain in my rib cage. The first time that happened
I was driving. I told my friend to "take the wheel" because I thought
I thought I was having a heart attack. That was years before my PSA diagnosis.
My psoriasis is flaring...
So, the new thing now is that my fingers start cramping out of the blue. They make weird shapes and designs on a whim. I've been a guitarist for 55 years, a professional for some years, but no longer. I still play. So, this has me worried..
Crampin' my style, you could say...
It's just been a never ending parade of weirdness.
I experience chronic pain but I'm still active. I work 25 hrs a week. It wipes me out. Fatigue will not be denied and limits me more than any other symptom.
I had a bad reaction to methotrexate and to the doctor that gave me the shot. He was kinda a jerk, arrogant..
I haven't been back.
My heart goes out to those who are suffering more than I.
I read your stories.
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Hi
. I wish you were not on so much pain. Unfortunately, the reality is that your PsA will progress if you take nothing to slow that progression. Methotrexate is usually the first medication doctors prescribe because it is relatively inexpensive and most insurance companies require that you try it first, but there are lots of other medications you can try. All of them come with side effects, in part, because they work by suppressing your immune reaction. So you have to weight the benefits (slowed progression, less pain, possibly less fatigue) against the side effects when making a decision. Here is a list of treatment options: https://psoriatic-arthritis.com/treatment. A good doctor would have explained that to you and given you options. It sounds like you had a lousy doctor. Would you consider finding someone new? An effective treatment could allow you to keep working and keep playing that guitar. Thinking of you and wishing you the best. - Lori (Team Member) Thanks, Lori! I'm still quite on the fence about taking biologic meds although I can't help but think at some point I might have to.
I do weigh the pros and cons. I think I might be in a state of denial of sorts regarding the progression of the disease. I read other people's stories here and it scares me.
That particular doctor has an ok reputation in this area I guess..He's older and maybe headed towards retirement. He seemed uninterested and dismissive towards me.
We had a brief interview and he told, "you have PSA"
I said "but, you haven't looked at the x rays, yet"..
He loaded the x rays in the computer, looked up and said, "you have PSA"
He suggested the methotrexate injection.
"How often?"
"once a week."
"For how long?"
"The rest of your life."
($45 copay = $180 a month which I didn't have at the time.)
I was kinda shocked to hear all that, but I went with it.
I did have a negative reaction to it and the following week I told him I didn't want to take it. He seemed perturbed but didn't offer an alternative therapy. He just looked at me and said, "You'll be back"... and that was that, 7 years ago.
My understanding is that methotrexate is an older medication and it's cost to manufacture amounts to pennies per dose.
I just felt I'm getting sucked into some kind of racket and all that I am to them is a billing code for a medicare form.
So, here I am stubbornly trying to do it on my own.
Of course things on are changing for me. It's getting worse.
Funny part is, to look at me you wouldn,'t think anything's wrong. I don't look sick, and maybe that even fools me.
I'm underweight, but I've always been. I've lost even more weight and I don't know why. I don't hear much about that concern in the community here or other sources.
I do feel like I've found my flock here.
I don't think my children or remaining siblings realise what PSA is. I don't know that any have bothered to look into it. I think everyone thinks I should carry on like the old me who was always full of piss and vinegar.
I hope I don't sound as if I'm steeped in self pity. I don't think that's the case.
I do feel like I can express this part of my reality here and be understood.
I do have fears about it all.
Maybe I'll try another doctor.
I've been here for a while under another user name. ( new phone, email) thing
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I think we all go threw the family NOT understanding... They always thought I just did not want to go to gatherings and when I did I would help in kitchen even if it killed me to do it my sister who was working and health would sit on her butt and not help my mother so it was usually me... If her daughter was there she sometimes helped but not always... They thought I was okay to be the one to help my parents... I hurt like no ones business but I would be damned if I left my old Mom to do it all or My Dad My brother was never around full time and he passed in 2016... They are all 3 gone now, but again I dealt with the funeral homes, selling of their home and about 3 years ago my sister went into the hospital with a mass and now cannot walk as it damaged her back and legs she stands a bit but mostly wheel chair bound... I am her power of attorney I promised Mom I would take care of her... Now we take care of her... Wow!, that's an awful lot to have had on your shoulders and now your sister to watch over.
I was my father's caretaker for his last 3 yrs. I know how consuming it all is. I struggled at times with how hard it was to be that unselfish. I thought I'd never get my life back. He passed away in 2017. Ironically, today is his birthday.
Bless you for being so strong and loving towards others!
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thank you, Vickie. 
If you had continued on the Methotrexate therapy, things might (or might not) have worked out a little better for you. When you experience an adverse event to a medication, it's important for you to follow it up with your provider. That way, they can get it documented, and move on to the next rung of the ladder. As for biologics, they are widely prescribed for a reason; they generally work, within reason. Everyone is different, and everyone's response to medications is correspondingly different. But I think you'll find everyone on this board pretty much in agreement that, without these medications, your quality of life will greatly suffer. You will also lose years off of your life. And the one thing I caught that tells me that your disease is gaining steam is your mention of weight loss. My rheumatologists have told me that when PsA is causing such systemic inflammation, it negatively impacts the metabolism. Makes losing weight awfully easy, I know. But it's not a positive thing, and a referral to an endocrinologist would be a good idea. As for your concerns about cost, the pharma industry, etc., most (if not all) of the companies that manufacture these drugs have some kind of patient assistance program for those who cannot afford them. I, personally, am enrolled in Abbvie's PAP for Skyrizi, and receive my injections at no cost.
Thank you, Eric!
I will more seriously consider going back to a rheumatologist, start looking..
I've made positive changes in my life style and I thought I was kinda getting a grip on things. What's really going on is that I work 5 hrs a day Monday - Friday and spending the rest of my time recovering to be able to do the next day.
I have good mental energy and I'm still enthusiastic to engage in the activities that fulfill me, (not work), that's just a means to an end for a little while longer. I'm not young, I get an ssi check.
I want to get back to playing at life.
