Psoriatic arthritis – tell us your PA journey!

Psoriatic arthritis (also arthritis psoriatica, arthropathic psoriasis or psoriatic arthropathy) is a type of arthritis which affects around 30% of people who have been diagnosed with psoriasis.

The objective of this blog is to explore the journeys of people with Psoriatic arthritis from the appearance of the first symptoms through diagnosis to treatment and hopefully resolution.  We hope that by sharing your thoughts and feelings about Psoriatic arthritis you will be able to help others going through the same journey!
Typical symptoms can include pain, swelling or stiffness around the joints; swelling in the fingers or toes, known as dactylitis; pain in the lower back and pelvis and even problems with toe and finger nails!
Treatments may involve:-
a) Biologic therapies such as and including infliximab, etanercept, golimumab, certolizumab, pegol and adalimumab.
b) Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen
c) Disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs such as methotrexate or leflunomide
d) Corticosteroid injections
e) And in rare cases orthopaedic surgery
We are interested in all aspects of the patient journey with Psoriatic arthritis but would like to focus on the following questions in the first instance
1) What were your first symptoms of Psoriatic arthritis?  At what age did you start to suffer from Psoriatic arthritis?
2) Do other members of your family suffer from psoriasis or Psoriatic arthritis?
3) What tests were you given to diagnose you with Psoriatic arthritis?  How long did this process take?
4) What treatments have you been given for Psoriatic arthritis? How effective have these treatments been?
5) What changes has the diagnosis of Psoriatic arthritis had upon your lifestyle and your family?
6) If there was one bit of advice you would give to somebody just diagnosed with Psoriatic arthritis what would it be?
Please treat these questions just as a guide. It would be great if you could tell us any part of your story.
Thanks very much in advance for your help. Remember, a blog is really like having a conversation with lots of people at the same time and so please check back on the blog to see what others have said so that if you feel like adding to their thoughts you can. It’s a conversation and a chance to learn and share!