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perrumpo t1_iu6iare wrote

Reply to comment by my5oh in Newly discovered species of bacteria in the microbiome may be a culprit behind rheumatoid arthritis by geoxol

It is possible to have psoriatic arthritis without any psoriasis rashes on your skin, which is the case for me. Nail psoriasis, such as pitting in your nails, is another sign and there are others.

They most certainly do perform rheumatoid factor tests. I had those tests done for it. I realize that’s not the only tests though. But my point anyway was about distinguishing PsA from RA, not how to diagnose RA.

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Hoarfrosty t1_iu6m2hr wrote

I have PSA. Sucks. My skin is good except for 3 knuckles and my lower back. My joints are in hell.

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Sheeple3 t1_iu78145 wrote

Have you tried working out? Mainly strength training, not running/traditional cardio. I have it too and when I started working out it was painful, but after awhile my joints felt better than ever! Probably due to the muscles doing more of the work and taking the strain off the joints and movement lubricates the joints as well. Start with really low weights and if an area is bugging you just do less reps or drop the weight even lower that day. Also with arthritis it’s important to not workout first thing in the morning when you’re stiff, your joints need time to warm up.

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mazurzapt t1_iu7f7lh wrote

I have some kind of arthritis- fingers wrists have been itching like crazy. For some reason I wondered if weights would help.

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perrumpo t1_iu6rjo8 wrote

I’m sorry to hear that. The joint pain really is hell indeed. Started when I was a kid.

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eatingganesha t1_iu6r4q5 wrote

Yup same. Have no psoriasis on my skin, just nails. Was dxd in June with PsA after testing negative on RF, positive on inflammatory markers.

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NasusSyrae t1_iu6yhio wrote

I went through a similar process. Are you on any sort of immunosuppressant or just taking anti-inflammatories if you don’t mind me asking. Has your treatment helped at all with pain if you are on anything?

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odhali1 t1_iu6pg5b wrote

Pitted nails for years now diagnosed with PsA

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perrumpo t1_iu6s298 wrote

That’s what happened with me, too. My primary physicians never figured out my joint pain, and then the first time I went to a dermatologist, they noticed the pitted nails. Rheumatologist after that, and I had other signs of PsA.

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Pickleodeon09 t1_iu6vmng wrote

Hi there, I'm going to my first rheumatologist appointment next week for some weird ongoing pain I've been having. I guess they'll do a bunch of test, but I have some significant dips that run horizontally across my finger nails. Is that similar to what you have? And what other symptoms alerted you to your diagnosis? Thank you!!

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perrumpo t1_iu6zaow wrote

Hello, the horizontal dips in your nails that you describe are different from the nail pitting I have. The nail pitting is like several tiny dot-shaped depressions in all fingernails.

I do not have all of the possible signs and symptoms of psoriatic arthritis, but the ones I do have are nail pitting, joint pain in fingers (they imaged my hands because of this to distinguish from osteoarthritis, and it is also not typical of RA), ankle pain, foot pain, plantar fasciitis, lower back pain, and a negative rheumatoid factor test.

Good luck with your appointment!

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my5oh t1_iu6o2ts wrote

I said often, I did not say exclusively in psoriasis patients. And there was never a rheumatoid factor test. Your doctor may call it that, but they are testing for the inflammatory markers. I have RA and have been on Humira for it for a couple years now. And I wasn’t talking about how to diagnose, I was adding to the point that you can show negative but still be diagnosed with something. And that it has an actual name, not just a misdiagnosis for another form of arthritis.

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perrumpo t1_iu6qowa wrote

Sure, but I wanted to clarify for anyone reading the comments that you can have psoriatic arthritis without psoriasis. That is part of what makes PsA hard to diagnose and to distinguish from RA.

I believe you that there are tests for inflammatory markers, but there are also antibody tests, including RF. Here is a quote from rheumatoidarthritis.org:

> “In most cases of rheumatoid arthritis, the patient tests positive for rheumatoid factor (RF) and/or anti-citrullinated peptides (CPP) antibodies.”

They have a whole page about the RF blood test, so I don’t know what else to tell you. I’m not a physician.

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