I thought I just had osteoarthritis...

Hi. I am in my late 60's and have had 'arthritis' for about 20 years. I always thought it was 'just osteoarthritis' as that is what I was told after x rays and blood tests. My then rheumatologist never suggested any other form of arthritis and never ordered any other tests.
At a recent visit to my GP for another matter, I was complained to her about the pain and swelling in my hands and how difficult I was finding it to manage everyday tasks. She told me that it was inflammatory and not just osteo so ordered x rays and referred me to a different specialist. After being told I would have to wait 6 months for an appointment, I was lucky enough to be offered a cancelled appointment time last week. My diagnosis was psoriatic arthritis so I have been prescribed prednisone (to be taken over 6 weeks) and methotrexane, which I commenced 4 days ago.
Feeling very apprehensive about the medication and potential side effects.
Would be interested to hear from others with experience of these drugs.
Cheers.

By providing your email address, you are agreeing to our privacy policy.

This article represents the opinions, thoughts, and experiences of the author; none of this content has been paid for by any advertiser. The Psoriatic-Arthritis.com team does not recommend or endorse any products or treatments discussed herein. Learn more about how we maintain editorial integrity here.

Join the conversation

Please read our rules before commenting.

Community Poll

When it comes to living with multiple health conditions, I've found my: