Ann Amerman, 46
Diagnosed at: 44
Currently taking: Ibuprofen
The backstory: Ann developed psoriasis on her scalp at 8; it came and went for years. Five years ago, the psoriasis began to spread to her elbows, stomach and forearm. Three years ago she developed joint pain, which is often debilitating.
A word of warning: Don’t miss a dose of the painkillers.
A word of encouragement: Live in reality, not denial, and you can get through this.
In her own words:
Psoriasis runs in my family. I got scales on my scalp first when I was 8. That was off and on for more than a decade, but they were always hidden by my hair, so I never treated it with anything other than some horrible brown shampoo. When I was about 21, it went into remission for about five years. Around age 26, it came back gradually, first on my head, then it started to spread.
I got patches in other places and it wasn’t possible to hide them all. But the last three years have been the worst. The psoriasis spread and I started noticing joint pain. I went to a general practitioner at a clinic. He said it was all because I was overweight. I said, "My thumbs hurt because I’m fat?"
I asked if it could be psoriatic arthritis. He said no, because I didn’t have sausage fingers. But I did. I told them I might be overweight, but my hands were always tiny, until now. So I went to a new doctor and he wanted me to see a rheumatologist. I live in Yakima, Wash. The rheumatologist was three hours away in Spokane [and] the thought of taking immune-suppressant drugs scares me. So I take ibuprofen five times a day.
My joint pain, at its worst, hurts to even lie in bed. My toes ache and curl up, it hurts to walk 10 feet to the bathroom. I’ve learned not to ever miss the ibuprofen. I don’t even miss a dose in the middle of the night. I can’t hold things; I drop them constantly. I have a really hard time removing a gas cap from a car. I’m so ticked off because I can't do hardly anything and I’m only 46 years old.
I know I’m at the point now where I’m going to have to get on whatever medicine they tell me. Up until now, I’ve been really good at denial.
My daughter was diognosed with psoriatic arthritis at the age of 16. She was a junior in high school and she started with a sausage toe. (after having psoriatic on the back of her neck and scalp)
She is 21 now and has been on the meds (methotrexate, etc.) for a few years. Her left fingers, right wrist, and now her right elbow have all been damaged. The damage would have been worse had we not gotten her help right away.
She just started last week on Embril. The damage has been controled, but there is still a lot of swelling.
We hope the Embril will help that.
SO YOU MUST SEE A RHEMUATOGIST befor your joints get worse!!!
You should be really concerned about your stomach lining after taking all that Ibuprofen! You also need to be evaluated by a rheumatologist. I don't know if you have investigated psoriatic arthritis or not, but it is an autoimmune disease and it requires immunosuppressants to treat it. These may not fix the current joint damage, but they will try to prevent it from getting any worse. No medication is perfect and they all have side effects, but you have to weigh your options. How long do you want to function? The medications will certainly help you function longer than if you do nothing. Not to mention improve your quality of life.
I was diagnosed with PSA(psoriatic arthritis) at 30 years old and have been on medications for the past 4 years. I do have some nausea associated with the Methotrexate (which is probably what they will start you on), but I have been on Enbrel in the past, but am currently on Simponi. I can't imagine going back to how I felt before my meds. I am not pain free, but much better than I was.
My biggest struggle was expecting the meds to take it all away. I kept waiting for it. When I finally asked my doc when I was going to feel like a 33 year old woman again, she told me I may never feel my age, but to expect the meds to take the edge off and keep my functioning. I am very independent and I hated having physical limitations. I hated feeling like I could no longer care for my husband and my kids as I once could. But you know what...those are the cards that were dealt to me and thankfully, my family is wonderful and supportive.
I have changed attitude about my arthritis and that has helped dramatically. I know I have limitations, but I don't let it rule my life.
Get a diagnosis, start treatment and let me know how you are doing. God will give you the strength to get through this. Good luck to you.
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