Since your psoriatic arthritis (PsA) diagnosis, have you had an injury? Illness? How about a “simple” procedure at your doctor’s office? Even something as seemingly innocent as a stubbed toe? Chances are, you have. And if so, then you probably know where I’m going with this.

I’ve lived nearly 40 years on this earth. I’ve had my fair share of accidents, injuries, and illnesses both before and after my PsA diagnosis. Because I’ve led a fairly active life in the past, I’ve certainly had bumps and bruises. And for the most part, I’ve been able to take them all in stride. Now, not so much. There is one thing that I’ve noticed for certain and it is that when you have psoriatic arthritis, there is no such thing as a “small” injury, illness, or procedure.

PsA makes everything so much worse

Never was this made clearer to me than last week. My husband, myself, and our three kids were outside on a particularly beautiful day. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and spring had finally shown its face in our corner of the world. The kids have one of those small, battery-powered ride-on Jeeps. It was tucked behind the lawn mower and had to be lifted out. And of course, they wanted to ride on it and enjoy the beautiful day too.

Well, call it temporary amnesia (clearly I’m an idiot and must have forgot the current state of my health!), a poor choice, or simple insanity, but for some reason, I thought it was a good idea to “simply” lift the jeep up and over the mower. Sounds easy enough, right? Wrong. Oh, so wrong.

No sooner did I have the jeep up above my head, in the air that I lost my balance and down I went, jeep and all, smashing down onto the concrete. Everything went still. I think my kids were afraid to even move. It felt like forever that I just laid there, trying to process the chain of events and assess my injuries at the same time. Ouch.

Dear, sweet, pre-PsA me, I miss you

Normally, this wouldn’t have been a big deal. “Pre-PsA me” would have been sore, yes. But other than that, I should have been fine. But now, not so much. Every inch of my body, from the top of my head to the tips of my toes, screamed out in pain. Every joint, every muscle, every bone felt the effects of that “simple” fall. My body felt as if I hurtled myself at top speed into a brick wall.

Ugh. Inflammation

Because of the already inflamed state of my body (thanks a lot PsA!) every single thing my body experiences is magnified. Got a cold? Might as well be the plague. Sprained an ankle? Don’t plan on walking for a month. Get a tooth pulled? You won’t be eating solid foods for a year.

That’s. Just. Great.

Thank you, psoriatic arthritis. Thank you very much.