Newly Diagnosed with Psoriatic Arthritis

Hi,

I am newly diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis without the psoriasis component. For years, my rheumatologist waited for a formal diagnosis as he believed I quite possibly had gouty arthritis. That is until I had a minor injury in October of 2019.

The beginning of my PsA story

I slipped, causing my right leg to go out from under me and pulled a muscle or tendon near the top of my leg. It didn't seem to be that big of a deal. Shortly after I slipped, I was placed on prednisone for a sinus infection/asthma which masked the pain that I was in. Once I went off the prednisone, I realized that I was in pain and walked with a painful limp. I just thought I needed to heal from my injury but the pain became quite severe. My primary care physician sent me for an x-ray which showed that I had an "inflammatory process" and showed degeneration in my hip and other areas. Days later, I woke up with one eye quite red and I remembered reading something about potential eye problems and psoriatic arthritis so I went to see my rheumatologist.

Official PsA diagnosis

Apparently, I had Iritis and my doctor gave me the official PsA diagnosis after reading my x-ray results and putting it all together. He gave me an injection of Humira and then placed me on a course of prednisone to be followed by starting Otezla. A couple of weeks into the Otezla, my right knee joined the party and I could hardly bend it. I was already limping from the pain in my right hip/upper thigh, and now my left leg was causing me terrible pain. I limped into my rheumatologist, crying. My doctor wanted to put me on Humira instead of the Otezla, however, we both agreed that we would give the Otezla more time to work. I was given an extended dose of prednisone. Since the script was called in at the end of the day, I didn't want to start the prednisone at night.

Pain from psoriatic arthritis

I woke up the other night experiencing a level of pain that I hadn't experienced since giving birth. The side of my left hip, side of the upper thigh, and part of my behind were hurting so bad that I woke up howling at 2 am. I started the prednisone yesterday and by mid-afternoon have had substantial relief, although I still have pain, it is manageable.

Questioning this new life

I am 51 years old and I can't even imagine this is now my life. I have missed work and find myself reevaluating what I can really do. I doubt I can continue a 1 1/2 - 2-hour commute to work and 2-hour commute home, sitting all day in between.

Does any of this resonate with the group? Sometimes I worry that I have been put on meds that could be worse than the disease and hope that I have not been misdiagnosed...or perhaps I am just scared to death that this really is my new life.

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