New to PsA and here | Arthritis Information

Well I have been diagnosed with psoriasis for about two years now and in the last six months developed swollen finger joints, painful toe joints, and upper neck pain. After some nagging by my family, I went to see my dermatologist, GP, and then finally a rhuematologist. From x-rays and blood work no one could definitively diagnose me with PsA but my rhuem. says that I do have it. He put me on 6 pills of mxt. and 800mg Motrin, plus Vicodin at night to sleep. I have been on it for a month now and symptoms are not getting better, I have two new joints inflammed and hurting. I am not due to go back and see a doc until Sept., I don't want to wait 2 more months for relief. I go back to teaching Kindergartners in three weeks and need to be at the top of my game. How much longer should I let this stuff work before I bug them about something else? Also my family is flipping out about the possible side effects and I can't seem to get them to understand that I will have to take something for the rest of my life. I am lucky enough that my husband's side of the family is very familiar with it. My sister-in-law has PsA and my husband has two aunts with it, plus my mother has psoriasis.

Hang in there it take 6 months before a rheumatologist will say that a medication is not working and try something else. It may be that you need more MTX or a stronger NSAID like celebrex instead of Motrin.

It sucks to have to wait so long for relief, but you do not want to move on to the other stronger drugs unless you have to. Because eventually you will be left with nothing left to try.

try to educate your family about the need for meds and how the benefits of meds (Walking and moving with minimum pain) outweigh the risks (Hair loss, etc)

Everyone is different when it comes to getting relief. For me it took a couple months before the MTX kicked in. See if you can't get an upped dose of NSAIDS in the meantime.

Hang tight. This time will be the worst. It will get easier for you.

I've been on MTX for 17 years. Celebrex twice daily works for me.

So sorry to hear about all this. I was in the same boat when I first got diagnosed. It can be tough when you finally get some answers but the meds don't kick in for a while. You might want to ask about prednisone. Although it helped a lot for me, I can't take it due to severe mood changes.

Sometimes family members really can't understand psa. I found it helps if they go to the Dr with me so they can ask questions and get some of their fears taken care of

I hope u feel better soon. Hang in there.

From what ive read alot of people have a hard time getting relief. Im currently on 4 mtx a week hope to go up soon swelling is better but pain is not. I got psa a yr after back surgery micro discectomy l5-s1.I thought this would be the most challenging time of my life but the pain i feel in knees fingers ankles just absolutly wheres me down i use to beable to work my but of like 60-70 hrs a week i now feel pushed to my limit a 40 hrs a week. I was only sleeping 3 hrs a day due to pain when i first went to rheumy. I am on trmidol have had steriod injection and drained on knee with little reief. Mobic helped my head aches alot but not my knees. I also take 3 folic aday. I hope you get some relief soon.

If there's one thing I've learned about PsA, it's how to better manage my time and to SLOW DOWN. I left the Type A behavior not long after being diagnosed. So, PsA might have its benefits!