My Path To The Diagnosis Of Psoriatic Arthritis

My story started long before where I began to see real issues. At the beginning of 2019, I was 54 years old and laid off from my job of 23 years due to an acquisition.

Scalp psoriasis

I began to develop psoriasis on my scalp. I didn’t know what it was and thought it would just go away like all other rashes I would get. Well, it did not. Like most adults, I said I would go to a dermatologist. (Never did).

I was going to the gym 4 times a week and my right began to bother me. So, by October I finally went to the Orthopedic Surgeon because the pain was very bad. So by the end of January 2020, I went through medicines, two cortisone shots, and a hope for a gel shot if the second cortisone shot didn’t work.

Aches and pains

Now we were in quarantine and I was waking up achy and in terrible pain in my right knee. It got so bad I needed to be carried down the stairs and carried up the stairs. June rolled around and New Jersey opened. I called the Orthopedic Surgeon and cried how much I was in pain. I received the gel shot. It did not work and then my left knee swelled up so big. It was like I was a cartoon character. Went back to the Orthopedic Surgeon and he x-rayed the knee. We began discussing the pain. I told him it became an achy pain. The doctor threw his hand up and told him he could not treat me anymore. He recommended I go to a rheumatologist. Because of Covid-19, I got in three days later.

Seeing a rheumatologist

The new doctor was a rheumatologist. I had no idea what they did but hoped for some relief. By this time, the pain is so severe I couldn't walk, sleep, or do anything. I was devasted and falling apart. The doctor asked a few questions and then said I know what you have psoriatic arthritis. He needed to do some tests to verify the diagnosis and he was happy about my left knee because the fluid would be the best way to get the correct diagnosis. He prescribes some pills and sends me on my way. This was the end of June 2020. Three days later the diagnosis was confirmed.

Taltz for psoriatic arthritis

Went back to the rheumatologist and he said he wanted to start me on Taltz, and it is a biologic he explains. The process with the insurance company was complicated and overwhelming. They of course declined the medication. So, here I was trying to get on to a program to get the medicine for free with shipping charges. By this time, I was spending most of my days in bed crying in pain. By the middle of August, I started my treatment. I was hoping for immediate help. Well, not the case. I felt better, but things that I didn’t think could hurt, hurt.

Is this my new normal with psoriatic arthritis?

Now, it is November 2020. I am feeling better. I don’t need a nap, but I do get tired. My body is achy my knees are still swollen and there are good days and bad days. At my last visit to the rheumatologist, felt he wasn’t listening to me. I told him my thumb joint has been bothering me, my toes, my leg muscles, and even my tendons. He said these things have nothing to do with psoriatic arthritis. When I read about the disease, these things come up. I was disappointed by the doctor. Maybe he is hoping my next time I see him which will be 3 months and I will have been on Taltz for 6 months. By this time, he might be hoping for the medication to have worked. I believe it is. I do feel better, but I still don’t have my life back. When with this happen? I must be ungrateful that I can get up and function, but I would like to go back to normal. Is this ever going to happen? Is this my new normal? I am not sure what I can do or not. I look in the mirror at a person I don’t know anymore.