Hey I'm new here!!!

[MidnightStar]

Hello everyone, I just registered to this forum and wanted to introduce myself. My name is Dominic I'm 24 and living in NYC. My main question is about psoriatic arthritis. I wanted to know if there is anyone that could shed more "in depth" light on the subject (other than the stuff I can find on webMD or something like that). There is a strong possibility that my g/f might have this type and her Dr. said that one of the possibilities right now would be some form of narcotic, however from what I've been reading there are other medications such as biologetics (sp?) which sound like they work pretty well. Does anyone have any experience or experiment I guess I should say..hehe, with medications for this type of arthritis? Thanks a lot in advance guysjavascript:smilie(':)')
smile

Take care,
Dominic

[Tysotica2003]

Dominic,
I have heard that Enbrel works wonders for PA and even clears up the skin. Unfortunately doctors are hesitant to give Enbrel because of the long term side affects. Atleast thats what my drem told me. There is also Soriatone which costs about $700.00, the enbrel costs about $1500.00, and then theres Amevive which I think is around those price ranges also. The injections are only once a month, which is good since the price is so high. Anyways thats really the only meds I know about for PA. Sorry if I wasn't much of help.

~Sheri

[MidnightStar]

Hey Sheri, thanks for replying. I must say yeah that is pretty expensive, I dont know if she would be able to afford that with her insurance. Enbrel sounds like it has some serious side effects. I looked it up and among the side effects is death!? I dont know about that.....I think some of these side effects are ridiculous, I mean yeah it might make what you were working on trying to get rid of better, but something else more serious could arise from it. ......sometimes I wish I could just kiss and make it better....hehehe! Allright thanks again for your information.....and yes it was helpful.

Take Care,
Dominic

[JesseLou]

I am taking methotrexate (about $20/month for injections) and plaquenil (about $25/month). Both are potent, but have been around a long time, which is not true of the biologics.

In my (short) experience, docs will put you on something like this if you are having a lot of trouble with the arthritis, or are showing signs of joint damage.

Your girlfriend should go to a rheumatologist if she's having joint pain, with any x-rays she already has. That's the doctor who will make the diagnosis and decide what she needs to do.

[web63]

Your g/f needs to get to a Rheumatologist. She may just be able to get away with using Celebrex or Vioxx.
I have been on Methotrexate (MTX)(injections) for a little over a year.

I did Remicade for all of last year no relief!

I am now on Enbrel with MTX, and I am able to walk without a limp. I have not felt this good since Oct. 2000!!!!

Hopefully she can use the Celebrex or Vioxx, and not have to go through, like what I have been through the past couple of years.

Keep posting, and let us know how things turn out.

THanks,

[ladyandy]

I'm happy to hear you are so supportive of your friend and are willing to find out more about the options she has.

First, it sounds like she is being treated by a physician who is not a specialist in arthritis. She should immediately get a referral to a rheumatologist, which is the arthritis specialist.

If she is only getting NSAIDs (nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs) or narcotic pain relievers, these treat symptoms only and do nothing to control the underlying disease progression.

Although there is lots of discussion about the POSSIBLE side effects of medication, the possible side effects of the disease itself are not as often mentioned. Without control, progressing flares of psoriatic arthritis can cause severe and permanent joint damage. I know, as I have had two knees and one hip replaced so far and have also had a number of smaller procedures over the years.

I don't want to scare you without reason, as many people do not get as severe a case of PA as I have, but the possibility is there an you do NOT want to allow the disease to flare without control.

To control the disease, there are a choice of DMARDs (disease modifying antirheumatic drugs) that the rheumatologist will discuss in detail. Among those are methotrexate, probably the first choice as a starting DMARD for PA, and the new biologics.

Although there are some POSSIBLE (not everybody will get them, and many will NOT get any) side effects with the biologics, so far they are working very well with a much lower side effect profile than the traditional DMARDs.

The following link will give you lots more detail on PA and how it is diagnosed and treated: http://www.arthritis.co.za/psoriasis.html

I'm sure there is also a great deal more information on the NPF website, but I don't have the pages memorized. :)

Good luck! And have your friend come and say hi too!