Update:

I had an appointment with my general practitioner today. He had taken an x-ray of my back because I had buggered my back a while back and now am 3 weeks out and still in pain. He found that I have, what he suspects, is psoriatic arthritis in my spine. I already have arthritis in the T5 and T6 vertebrae so this was a bit of a shocker. He says he will re-evaluate the arthritis in my upper spine while doing the CT Scan that he has now ordered. He feels the muscles that are still spasming a great deal could be a result of a pinched nerve. His priority is to diagnose the a possible pinched nerve, but the scanning of my entire spine will help diagnose whether there is still more psoriatic arthritis showing. I also have to see a specialist once the CT Scan is completed. 

It just gets better and better, doesn't it??

Cheers, my helpful new friends,

Wintrman

Hi wintrman I hope they don't take too long with the tests as you need to be on some kind of systemic medication to slow or stop the arthritis progression but at least they seem to be thorough with the tests what can they do for a pinched nerve ? Have they said .
Good luck and fingers crossed that whatever you get prescribed works well

(Tue-11-05-2021, 18:28 PM)jiml Wrote: Hi wintrman I hope they don't take too long with the tests as you need to be on some kind of systemic medication to slow or stop the arthritis progression but at least they seem to be thorough with the tests what can they do for a pinched nerve ? Have they said .
Good luck and fingers crossed that whatever you get prescribed works well

No, he hasn't said what the treatment for a pinched nerve is. If that is his diagnosis, though, I am sure he will tell me. He is pretty thorough in explaining things to me. While we are under even more restrictions due to Covid 19, I AM concerned that my tests/diagnosis may be farther in the future than I'd like it to be. Non essential procedures and surgeries have been put on hold. Covid strikes again!

Cheers!

Wintrman

Hi Wintrman,

At least you are making some steps now.
Did your doc also explain to you how he could see that it is Psoriatic Arthritis ?
I always wonder how they know, as it is very difficult to diagnose. So they must have ways to determine it somewhere in your spine.
I agree with Jim, he should very quickly act and give medication to at least slow down the Psoriatic Arthritis


Caroline

(Tue-11-05-2021, 15:39 PM)Wintrman Wrote: It just gets better and better, doesn't it??

Life is all about getting s**t thrown at us, it's how we mange to avoid it splattering us that counts.

The CT scan will help your doctor decide the best way to go, I've had Sciatica I don't know if it's similar to a pinched nerve but if it is I would say the psoriatic arthritis can wait for a while.

Difficult times for us all Wintrman but you are getting seen and you have got the ball rolling, so now you just need to try and keep positive.

Best of luck Wintrman, it must be going about my shoulders seem to be getting worse and worse, probably wasn't the best idea for me to be out in the bush doing doing fuel reduction burns the other week with an existing rotator cuff injury.  I hope you GP can diagnose and get you some treatment ASAP back pain is no fun, particularly on top of everything else.

(Tue-11-05-2021, 19:22 PM)Caroline Wrote: Hi Wintrman,

At least you are making some steps now.
Did your doc also explain to you how he could see that it is Psoriatic Arthritis ?
I always wonder how they know, as it is very difficult to diagnose. So they must have ways to determine it somewhere in your spine.
I agree with Jim, he should very quickly act and give medication to at least slow down the Psoriatic Arthritis


Caroline

They take a blood test. If there are no RF in the blood, then it is for sure psoriatic arthritis. If RF appears, then it tells them that somewhere in my body there is rheumatoid arthritis. The only way they know for sure is if the put a needle into my knee and test the fluid they extract. Forgive me if I am wrong here, because I was reading this a little while after taking my PTSS medications which make me sleepy, but I believe that if there is this crystalline substance in that fluid, then it is rheumatoid arthritis. That is how it is correctly identified.
Thanks for you question and your support, Caroline.

(Wed-12-05-2021, 13:48 PM)Wintrman Wrote:

(Tue-11-05-2021, 19:22 PM)Caroline Wrote: Hi Wintrman,

At least you are making some steps now.
Did your doc also explain to you how he could see that it is Psoriatic Arthritis ?
I always wonder how they know, as it is very difficult to diagnose. So they must have ways to determine it somewhere in your spine.
I agree with Jim, he should very quickly act and give medication to at least slow down the Psoriatic Arthritis


Caroline

They take a blood test. If there are no RF in the blood, then it is for sure psoriatic arthritis. If RF appears, then it tells them that somewhere in my body there is rheumatoid arthritis. The only way they know for sure is if the put a needle into my knee and test the fluid they extract. Forgive me if I am wrong here, because I was reading this a little while after taking my PTSS medications which make me sleepy, but I believe that if there is this crystalline substance in that fluid, then it is rheumatoid arthritis. That is how it is correctly identified.
Thanks for you question and your support, Caroline.

You are almost right, but I think you made a typing error.
If they find a crystalline substance then it is Psoriatic Arthritis !!! (and you say RA, but I think you mean PSA over there, otherwise your sentence makes no sense).
But further on... you are exactly right. The crystals are pyruvate.
I am very happy that your rheum does know that. It is knowledge that is by long not common over here.

Well, after a night of sitting with this information and diagnosis, I got madder and madder as the night rolled out. I was angry with myself for not going to the doctor relentlessly until I got seen and diagnosed. I am angry with the previous specialist for putting me on Dovobet for so long and not giving me the right information that I needed, so I could understand how serious psoriasis really is. Mad at my GP for not following up and educating me. Just a whole lotta mad going on. I mean, If I had known how serious psoriasis could be and that it attacks not only the skin but it attacks the organs and causes arthritis, I would have taken the bull by the horns and dealt with it in a more aggressive fashion. Guess that is part of the joys of being a procrastinator! 

Anyways, rant is done. I would probably have a drink right about now, but I am at work. lol

Cheers everyone!

Wintrman

Oh dear! I don’t know about everyone but I don’t think it’s that unusual to get ignored so long, I had to fight to see a derm so one day I took a big carrier bag to my doc and dumped out on her desk all the creams, lotions and potions I had dutifully tried over the years. That worked a treat..

I hope you don’t feel mad too long, just think you are now getting somewhere, so hopefully you’re in a better position than last week.

It might be the shock of the diagnosis that’s making you mad too, it’s quite a hard one to take even if you have suspected / known you had it for years but not really found out what it’s, for it to hit home after a proper diagnosis. But I feel confident you’ll move on and get used to it, I got over the initial shock pretty quick and hope the same for others.


We’re all here for you
Oh, and rant away, I’m pretty sure it’s a healthy activity!