Psoriatic Arthritis Q & A

I recently moved to Israel, and am having difficulty in getting my Enbrel prescription continued here. They just recently approved Enbrel for Psoriatic arthritis, but they want me to try Remicade first. I explained that I had been on Enbrel effectively for two years now. No luck. Can you do a comparison of the two?

I am a 49 year old woman, Dx’d with psoriatic arthritis which had gone undiagnoised and untreated for probably 5 years or more, which is in the spine, Just three months ago began seeing Rhumetalogist who put me on methotrexate, but the sed rate of 52 is not moving–he wants to put me on Humira, which I understand seems to show some significance with treating psoriatic arthritis, however, the cost to me with insurance is more than I can afford. I wonder what alternatives there might be if any, and if no real alternatives I would like to know what the long term prognosis is without treatment.

My 18 year old daughter was recently diagnosed with these 2 types of arthritis. I am really concerned about her medication that she was prescribed. Methotrexate 2.5 mg Aethopterine especially the side effects. The night my daughter was in so much pain that she went to the hospital. The dr. and nurses did not believe her. It was pretty frustrating because they did not believe her and never heard the pain she was feeling in her joints. Is there any other home remedies that I canuse to help her with the pain. Could this arthritis effect inside her bones and if the damp or cold weather could cause thie pain in her joints? iwould like to know if this disease could get any worse and if there are any more signs that we can watch out for? This is pretty scary for us especially for my daughter. can this be treated or cured? if we keep taking the medication will this prevent her from getting worse? I would like to ask more questions but I’m afraid what I will hear? Could this lead to bone cancer or should I ask the Dr. to test her for it? Is there a place where she can call to talk to others that are going through this disease? well, thank you for taking time in reading and answering my questions.

I am waiting to see a Rheumatologist, as appointments in my area are booked up over two months in advance. For 2 months, in the evening I have acute tendon pain (unilateral, each night somewhere different.) Wrist, thumb, knee, foot, shoulder, elbow. By morning it is always gone. All of my bloodwork came back normal–no to Lyme’s, 3 negative RA tests, no gout, no increased sed rate or sign of infection. My colon feels distended, and I have gained 10 pounds in the last month, which is very, very unusual for me. NSAID’s Mobic is not helping (21 days), now my family doctor wants to prescribe Celebrex. Any ideas?

My mother is a 57 yr. old who was diagnosed some 14-15 years ago with psoriatic arthritis. She has been thru literally every treatment available. Light treatments, cyclosporine, celebrex, embrel, topical steroid cream…she has been taking methotrexate, intravenous & oral for years, at very high doses. Which help short term. She has been having intravenous remicade treatments,and again, initially with results. My mother has used numerous pain medicines, lately a pain patch. Which has provided short term relief. She again is in a bad flare up, with constant pain & fatigue, right now bed ridden. She was prescribed oxycotin, with no relief. My question is this..where do we go now? I am heart broken that my mother is so debilitated at such an early age. She has had chronic every day pain for so long now, that her tolerance to pain is worn down. I realize you are limited in your recommendations, because she is not your patient, but do have any suggestions, maybe something new on the horizon? I am actually considering a long term care facility, as my father can not continue to give her the attention she needs.

Are symptoms of upper extremity enthesopathy (exercise-induced forearm pain and local tenderness at tendinous insertion points) consistent with psoriatic enthesopathy in a patient with subtle manifestations of cutaneous psoriasis or are the two clinical problems unrelated? The patient has no clinical or radiological evidence of psoriatic arthritis.