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What a year!!(18 months to be exact) Pain in my achilles tendon, neck, hips, knees, feet and all for no reason! so i thought!! This is very scary to me to have so much pain, I never had pain my entire life. guess I was spoiled! and now a diagnosis of psoriatic arthritis........hmmmmmm....took long enough to figure this one out. 3 Drs. later. I'm very scared!
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Dear Tammi, I can tell you that all of us have felt like you do right now at one time or another with this disease. I know that doesn’t make your situation a whole lot better, but at least you aren’t alone. This is a great group to find out information about psoriatic arthritis and it’s even better as a place to go for a shoulder to cry on. Finding a good doctor is the first step to getting control of your life again. It took me about 3 years and around 5 doctors before I found one I liked and one that knew what I had and how to deal with it. I also got into pain management to control the pain. Since I went so long undiagnosed, probably in reality at least 5 years, I did major damage to some joints that are painful everyday now. I also wouldn’t have made it without pain management in my life either. So don’t be afraid to ask for help if you need it. Remember that there are new drugs on the market now that really do help some people. I wasn’t too lucky with the new drugs, but a lot of people are. Even though I had two really bad reactions, I didn’t give up and finally found Arava to be my magic pill, as we call our miracle drugs here. Also new drugs and new treatments are coming out every day, so it’s probably more hopeful than it’s been in years on that front as well. In reality though, it’s not all-good news and it can and did change my life and life style very dramatically. All you can do is learn all you can about your disease, be a strong advocate for yourself with your doctors, and don’t give up the hope of feeling better one day. Sometimes I think hope is the most important of them all. Anyway, welcome to our group. If you ever want to talk personally, just email me. fran@... <mailto:fran@...> Take care and hopefully, you will not be in pain much longer. Take care, Fran in Florida What a year!!(18 months to be exact) Pain in my achilles tendon, neck, hips, knees, feet and all for no reason! so i thought!! This is very scary to me to have so much pain, I never had pain my entire life. guess I was spoiled! and now a diagnosis of psoriatic arthritis........hmmmmmm....took long enough to figure this one out. 3 Drs. later. I'm very scared!
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Don't be scared...PA is a "life" sentence, not a death sentence. It's an unfortunate fact that most of us who've been diagnosed with PA have been down a long path to get to the diagnosis. Our stories are so similar in how many doctors we saw, tests we had, pain we went through over years to finally get a definitive diagnosis. I've approached this disease in that I have to experiment with different combinations of physicians, meds, creams, p.t., exercise, rest, diet, heat/ice, education, etc., to where I can be somewhat comfortable in my own body again. Stress for me is such a big factor, but controlling it on a day-to-day basis is a real challenge (especially with a 14 year old drama princess stepdaughter). As compassionate as family, friends and co-workers can be, they have no idea what it's like to live in this body, dealing with pain, stiffness and fatigue day after day after day. It can be very discouraging and depressing when you realize there's no panacea for PA. I'm so grateful to Michelle S and our moderators for providing us with this forum where we can share information and commiserate. It's wonderful to be able to talk with others who really understand what we're feeling. Please continue to share your concerns, fears and frustrations, venting is good for stress relief :) warm blessings, jane
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Hi Tammi You've come to the right place. Most of us started out in very similar circumstances. It *is* very scary, but these days very treatable. Were you diagnosed by a rheumatologist? I assume you've been started on some medications... Are you getting any relief? Sometimes it can take a few months to get the right medication combination, but you should be able to get things to a manageable level if not better. Best wishes -David
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