Psoriatic Arthritis or not? (I need help)!

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Going Crazy - 11 Nov 2005 00:41 GMT

Hi all. I am new to this and have in fact never joined a forum in my life.
I hope you'll all forgive me because I'm not 100% familiar with how this
process works nor am I sure if I am in the right place. I hope that
physicians post here and will hopefully offer me some advice. I am 22 years
old and have lived with Crohn's Disease since I was 9 yrs. old. I’ve never
had typical symptoms, which always makes it difficult to know when I am
having a flare up. In fact, my whole immune system is a little odd and I
tend to get odd things that do not fit typical medical profiles. Therefore,
they are hard to diagnose. This brings me to my problem. I have not been
well for a couple of months now although my Crohn's appears to be under
control. For about 2 months now I have been inflicted with constant itching
all over my body. It's quite on odd sensation as it feels like it's coming
from the inside. It's the worst on my arms and my thighs. At times it's so
bad that it feels like my muscles are ripping apart and my arms even start to
swell. There are no visible bumps or rash; just redness when I scratch. I
also have a terrible rash on my face. It's actually in a circle; under my
nose and all the way around my mouth. The skin is dry and there are bumps. I
was wondering if this could be psoriatic. I have been given an erythromycin-
based ointment to treat it, but it seems to get better then just get bad
again. The last time I remember ever having a rash like that on my face was
when I was on prednisone. I am on Entocort now, but I'm not sure if it's
strong enough to cause something like that or if this facial rash is even
connected to what's going on, on my body. All I know is that I'm not used to
looking this way and am ashamed to go out and show my face. I also have a
lot of pain in my left ankle. It constantly feels like I need to crack it.
I'm not sure if that is related, but I'm also not sure what to believe
anymore. I am not unable to attend school right now, which is quite
frustrating, nor can I work. I'd like to get my life back. If anybody can
offer me an opinion or some advice it would be greatly appreciated.

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Going Crazy

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Nann Bell - 11 Nov 2005 02:41 GMT

Your description does NOT sound like psoriasis (Ps). Ps does feel like the
itching is under the skin rather than on it, but that is about the only
similarity. Also, an erythromycin based ointment should not improve a PSs
rash and steriods SHOULD improve it - in fact folks with uncontrolled Ps have
the same temptation as folks with uncontrolled arthritis and pro athletes,
namely the desire to indulge in steroid use.

Have you seen a dermatologist yet? If not, do so! And what do docs say
about your ankle? Has anyone xrayed it? Have you seen an ortho about it?

Back in high school my ankles felt like they constantly needed
stretching/cracking/rotating and also hurts like the dickens - to the point
that I regularly slept in my ankle braces as catching my toes in the sheets
was painful enough to wake me wwithout the braces. Went to a very good
ortho, was diagnosed with a chronic ankle sprain and put on a regime of PT
(and given orders to avoid surgery on it if at all possible due to the family
history of arthritis). Within 2 months my pain was 80% reduced and was even
better by the end of the prescribed 6 months of PT. I still do the exercises
when my ankle flares up (I also have hypermobile ankles, a condition that
aggravates this). It really is worth it to see a good doctor who can
diagnose you and treat you. You don't need to continue suffering!

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> Hi all. I am new to this and have in fact never joined a forum in my life.
> I hope you'll all forgive me because I'm not 100% familiar with how this
[quoted text clipped - 25 lines]
> frustrating, nor can I work. I'd like to get my life back. If anybody can
> offer me an opinion or some advice it would be greatly appreciated.

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DianeW - 11 Nov 2005 05:36 GMT

Itching can certainly drive you crazy that's for sure. I agree with
Nann that you should probably consult with a dermatologist. A good derm
can help you pin down the cause of the itching and the rash. It may be
coming from a medication you are taking or something as simple as your
laundry detergent. It can also be your thyroid. Thyroid irregularities
as well as kidney problems can both cause the type of itching you
describe which is why it is so important to get with a doctor to help
sort this out. Good luck to you and please come back and let us know
what you find out! DianeW

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Pope Pie (Sy Lehrman) - 11 Nov 2005 18:36 GMT

I have nothing useful to conribute, but since the subject has been raised
I wonder if anyone who has experience with this condition could comment
on, of all things, the only movie I know of that deals with psoriatic
arthritis, The Singing Detective, a BBC production of the late eighties
recently reissued on DVD in some six of eight episodes. This came up in a
conversation with a nurse the other day and she was asking if the
representation was accurate. I had to tell her that I really didn't
know. As I recall the treatment was represented as confinement to bed
with applications of some sort of slave and the administration of
prednisone.

The story line of this film involved a confused line of rarration that
wandered among memories, fiction, dreams, and reality. It is hard to
explain. It is worth watching.

Sorry to intrude, I'll go away now.

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Charrlygrl1 - 11 Nov 2005 20:46 GMT

Hi Going Crazy!
Psoriatic arthritis is included in a group of arthrides called reactive
athritis.
What I have, ankylosing spondylitis is also in that same group. It is a
type of arthritis that they believe is caused by a bacteria or virus.
In that same group there are at least two others that I know of: one is
arthritis that comes with Crohns and one that comes with irritable
bowel.
I believe that they are all in the same parent group:
spondyloarthropathies and I believe that they are all supposed to also
affect the lower back. Any trouble with your lower back?
Regarding treatment: my rheumatologist told me that psoriatic arthritis
is treated the same as RA. I do know that there are self injections
that are available now and approved for PA-I know that Enbrel
definitely is. There are also disease modifying agents (DMARDS) , and
antiinflammatories.
Anyway, I am not a doctor, but hope this bit of info helps you,
Charlene

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