Kickas.org Forums Ankylosing Spondylitis General Discussion #1 AS Web Support Group Do you have Psoriatic Arthritis?

The line between AS and Psoriatic Arthritis seems a bit blurred. This is something I will have to read up on a bit more !

Regards,
z

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"Generally, mild disease may affect only a small portion of the body i.e. the knees, elbows, scalp, hands or feet. (...) In some cases psoriasis can also affect the nails and cause pits. It can appear like an area of weeping skin with scaling, intense inflammation with little scaling, or intense peeling of the skin with a lot of inflammation.

"People with psoriasis may develop arthritis , people with arthritis symptoms may develop psoriasis. In fact, 3 people in every 20 with AS will also have psoriasis. This could be psoriatic arthritis or AS and psoriasis. Telling the difference between these two is difficult and requires a specialist and often tests. A person with psoriatic arthritis may have arthritis in one area, in the fingers, only on one side of the body or they may have spinal and pelvic involvement as is seen in AS.
(...)
"Alcohol can make psoriasis worse and reduce the effects of treatment. Natural sunshine can be beneficial but some people report that it can make their psoriasis worse. "
http://www.asresearch.co.uk/psoriasis.htm

"Unmarried men commit ninety percent of all violent acts. They should all be jailed in advance to prevent further atrocities." -- Dogbert

Hi,

It appears that all the spondyA's can turn ankylosing, and the diagnosis is made often from history or slight radiological patterns hence in europe the increasing use of SpA axial or peripheral......and the relaxed criteria comapred to those used for AS as an effort to pick it up ealier and as recognsition that the non ankylsoing conditions are also quite a handful.

One thing I did notice whilst learning was that PsA can be pretty savage for some! (sorry got a face flare can't see properly)

David

I met a woman through the Arthritis Society who has PsA. She suffers quite horribly and before she went on Enbrel was barely able to walk five minutes because of her knees. Now, she's doing very well!

Hugs,

Kat


"I haven't failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that don't work."- Thomas Edison

I have had Psoriatic Arthritis for at least 12 years, maybe more. It comes in at least 5 forms, one of which is spine involvement, which is psoriatic spondylarthropathy. Since it has so much in common with AS, I find this group most helpful. Sometimes one moves from one type of PsA to another, in a sort of strange progression. I have had it on one side, opposite sides, etc. But the spinal involvement for me is the hardest to deal with, and without Enbrel I would be really in deep doo doo. Keep asking and you will learn a lot on this site. Blessings.

MaryD

You can't get to where you're going from where you think you should be. You have to start from where you are

Do I have Psoriatic Arthritis? In a word, Yup, (OK, it's not a word, but you get the idea), I think Psoriatic Spondyloarthropathy would be my official diagnosis.

In a letter to my GP, my rheumatologist noted that since I had been diagnosed with some prosiasis (long after my joints were causing me trouble) my seronegative spondyloarthropathy finally had an explantion.

     Loz



"Think like a wise man but communicate in the language of the people." William Butler Yeats (1865 - 1939)

Hi,


IBD is like that, 2 patterns classified in 3 types

From Therapy of SpA in IBD, [S. Generini, G. Fiori, M. Matucci Cerinic, Clinical Rheumatology 2002, Suppl 28]

Two Patterns

Pattern 1 peripheral

Pattern 2 axial resembles idiopathic AS


Recently 3 types were classified

type 1 asymetric < 5 joints, can appear before IBD is diagnosed

type 2 peripheral > 5 joints

type 3 axial SpA may have peripheral involvement usually IBD diagnosis proceedes SpA.


Type 1 usually activity reflects that of the bowel, Type 2 and 3 not always so!

David

I did have psoriatic skin lesions for many years until the NSD and antibiotics. There are so many things in common between AS and PsA that it is hard to tell the difference. I don't know whether I have PsA as a separate condition--and I'm NOT doing that experiment...

John






"Unfortunately, the soul’s need for learning often brings about the full-blown disease. And it must be cared for creatively, or allowed to take its course."
William A. McGarey, M.D., Director of Medical Research, A.R.E Clinic.

John,

when I was younger whenever I visited my parents, often nipped in and out having a shower or something, my step father (usually working shifts) his Ps used to go bannanas. This was long before I was diagnosed but when the knees etc were still balloning.

I've often wondered what that was?

David

Hi All
I'm not sure whether my mum had this. I remember she started with what I now believe to be IBS, although this was never confirmed as she never went near the doctor. She stated having minor strokes after having a hysterectomy and about 2 - 3 yrs after started with IBS. After that she started with psoriasis which was diagnosed and was given Betnovate cream for this. A few years after that she started with Arthritis. This makes me think did she have AS which went undiagnosed by her GP. He just said that it was Arthritis in both hips. I think maybe this is where my AS is from as I am HLA-B27 positive. Any suggestions?
Love
Sue

Hi Sue:

Your theory makes sense since you are B27 positive. It wouldn't be the least bit surprising if your mom went undiagnosed with AS. It probably wasn't even looked at by the GP since AS used to be considered a disease predominantly of men. Would be interesting to know though.

Catherine