My Journey to a Psoriatic Arthritis Diagnosis

I need your help.

I’m almost 100% sure I have PsA however have not been diagnosed with it yet. When I was 45, I pulled my thumb back and injured the joint at the base. It seemed like it didn’t take much to injure it. It took about a month and healed a lot but never completely.

Living with psoriasis

I have psoriasis on the bottom of both legs. And scalp. It started just a small rash, and now I get lots of little patches and few little patches on my arms. It started small but now get many more on my legs, but I treat it well with a powerful steroid spray that goes away sometimes for a few weeks.

Pain in hands and feet

Fast forward 10 years now, I’m 55, and my other hand is showing symptoms of pain in the thumb area and both feet now just recently. I was kneeling on a hard floor barefoot with my toes bent back, and it put pressure on the pad under my toes, and the bone there got sore. Well, now it hurts a bit there, and I have trouble walking. Similar on the other foot but a bone on the right side.

Experiencing new jaw pain

I woke up one morning, and the right side of my jaw was in a lot of pain. That was the worst. It seems to have improved a lot now, but 2 months later, it still hurts but only a little tender when I chew food. I went to the hospital yesterday, and rheumatoid arthritis was ruled out. I have had a stent put in one of the arteries in my heart 5 years ago and get checked regularly with angiograms, and my arteries are staying clear now due to medication. I think I know why I got that now.

Do I have psoriatic arthritis?

Anyway, I think all the signs point to PsA. A nail on my thumb showed red patches, which slowly got bigger, then the nail separated but then grew out normal. This happened about 6 times, and it happened on my big toe as well. My question is... is this early stage PsA or advanced? The other problem is I’m in China working here, and it was difficult to get a Dr to believe me what I thought I had. I finally found a Dermatologist that said he would take a biopsy of my skin to see if it’s psoriasis. He said if it’s positive, he can give me costly injections 2 times a week for a month. They assess the situation. I will speak to him again soon and try to get more info on the injections.

Should I take those injections? Do you guys think I have PsA?