Psoriatic Arthritis - Learn More About Psoriatic Arthritis
by Bertil Hjert

Psoriatic Arthritis is a medical condition that results in a lot of swelling and pain in and around the joints. The condition may also put an impact on many other joints such as toes, ankles, wrists, elbows, spine, shoulder joints and joints in the lower back.

This disease is also known to affect joint tissues such as ligaments and tendons. It may result in a lot of swelling around the affected area. This swelling is known as sausage be or finger.

One may also experience inflammation of skin, especially on the scalp, elbows and knees. Sometimes the skin may also become inflamed and fully covered with silvery or grey scales.

If you want to treat Psoriatic arthritis in an effective manner, it is very important to detect it earlier.

A) Here are some of the main symptoms:

a) Pain and swelling in the toes on fingers

b) Morning stiffness and/or tiredness

c) Reduced range of motion

d) Pitting of finger and/or toe nails

e) Swelling that give fingers and toes, a sausage appearance

f) Pain and swelling over ligaments and tendons.

The exact cause of psoriatic arthritis is not known. However, medical experts believe that a person with family history of Psoriatic arthritis have increased chances of getting this disease.

The disease can easily be diagnosed via certain X-rays, joint fluid tests and blood tests.

A) There are several treatments options available for patients once the condition has been diagnosed.

Surgery

Proper skin care

Splints

Rest

Light treatment

Exercise

Connective cosmetics

Medication as mentioned below:

1. NSAIDS - non-steriodal anti-inflammatory drug

2. DMARDS - disease modifying anti-traumatic drugs

3. Gold therapy

4. Glucocorticoids - steroid hormones

5. Cyclosporine - immunosuppressant drug

6. Methotexate

Heat and Cold

This type of arthritis can be treated via consulting a good rheumatologist. The rheumatologist can suggest you medications to reduce the pain and help you maintain function and movement.

You need to have a lot of knowledge about this disease. This will help you to make out the symptoms of this condition as soon as possible.

Your health care practitioner would be the best person to diagnose whether you have psoriatic arthritis.

This type of arthritis is very common to several other types of arthritis such as Reiters syndrome, gout and rheumatoid arthritis, your doctor may like to perform a physical examination and then order many tests in order to assist in diagnosis.

X-rays are often order to observe the changes to the bone. Blood tests and joint fluid tests are requisite and require to be under taken in order to make sure that the patient is not suffering from any other condition such as gout, reactive arthritis or rheumatoid arthritis.

As soon as the diagnosis is confirmed, many treatments can be prescribed to decrease your pain, enhance your movement and stiffness.

The treatment available for psoriatic arthritis is both for skin condition and the arthritis. For mild condition, topical treatments would work.

For severe condition, the doctor would prescribe serious medications and lifestyle changes.

For more than twenty years I suffered pain in different areas of my body and as the years went by the pain became more and excruciating. I visited several doctors and the answer was always the same-more medication.The anti –inflammatory or pain killers that were prescribed caused adverse reaction often in the form of stomach discomfort, palpitations and swelling.It puzzled me that the doctors continued to prescribe medications, without having me tested to find out what was causing the pain and discomfort. One day I decided that it is not normal to have pain and I needed to get to the root of this problem. I wanted answers.On my next visit to the doctor, I ask him if there was a test available that could help to determine what was causing the indescribable pain and fatigue. The doctor sent me to a lab for blood work and the result indicated some kind of abnormality, so he referred me to a rheumatologist.After the rheumatologist reviewed my medical history and interviewed me, he informed me that I had a condition called Fibromyalgia Syndrome, which I had never heard of before.“What is that?” I asked. Without hesitation, he explained that it is a condition causing sleep deprivation, chronic headaches, irritable bowel syndrome, tingling and numbing sensations, chronic muscular skeletal pain and chronic fatigue mainly affecting women.The symptoms are generalized stiffness or aches in at least three areas of the body, for at least three months and patients with this condition have six or more tender points. These symptoms may be related to stress, changes in the weather or trauma.Suddenly I felt my dreams tumbling down. I knew I was in trouble because I fit the criteria, he was describing and I could feel the tears streaming down my face. I asked the doctor what is the cause of this terrible condition? “The cause is unknown and there is no cure”, he replied. This was a very scary time for me. He listed some assumptions for causes and my mind I was searching to find what could have possibly caused this to happen to me.The thought of having a condition for which there is no cure and is degenerative plagued my mind, mainly because my son was only three years old. I have a husband and two older daughters whom I would like to continue enjoying life with among all the other things that I enjoyed doing.But at that moment the possibility of the great life I had always dreamed of, seemed bleak; as I started to think about all the things I would not be able to do if this condition should worsen. After the priscription medications failed I ased the doctor if he could recommend a natural healingt treatment and he told me there was none for fibromyalgia. I wanted to find natural healing, so I started to do some home-work.The pain and fatigue were so severe at times, that I was unable to do many of the activities of daily living, such as, cooking, cleaning my house, combing my hair and even climbing in my SUV. If I spent more than an hour shopping at the Mall I got extremely exhausted.I started to ask God, “why me” and “why now” and he began to speak to me and reminded me of all the children and adults with whom I have worked and was still working with, who had so many disabilities that were far worse than what I was complaining about. I knew had had to to all I could to ensure that my health was not being compromised.Fortunately I tried several natural remedies and supernatural healing and now I enjoy freedom in all areas of my life.Pauline Lewinson

At the moment of writing this article, there is not an entry in the Social Security Disability Listing for Impairment for the condition Fibromyalgia. Nor is there for its other names commonly used such as fibromyositis or Myofacial Pain Syndrome. Getting denied of claims is quite common ground for Fibromyalgia patients, but this doesn’t have to be the case.

There is hope for the fibromyalgia patient who needs to claim disability. Many fellow sufferers have gone on to win their cases, you likewise can. The trick is to pursue the claim of disability through the appeal process.

After a person files at the Social Security Office, the case is transferred to DDS, an agency responsible for making the decisions on Disability. Once it is in this agency, the claim is assigned to a specialist who then makes the determination to approve or decline the disability claim.

So why is it so hard to get approved for disability when fibromyalgia is so disabling? Well, the reasons are many. SSD will generally give very little weight to this condition because the condition is not well understood. Your chances get even less when there is not another condition that is accompanying it such as arthritis or some degenerative disease.

Part of the problem is also that the causes are not fully understood and symptoms can range from mild to severe, from one patient to the next. This is why it helps if Fibromyalgia is diagnosed in conjunction with another diagnosis. This is because Fibromyalgia will be seen more legitimately and logical if it is an extension of another “more real” diagnosis.

Another factor is who makes the diagnosis. A diagnosis coming from a Rheumatologist will hold much more weight than if made by a family practitioner or an internist. The label of a specialist holds more umph when it comes to decision time.

This, of course, is no fault of the fibromyalgia sufferer, but there are some tips you can follow to increase your chances of winning your case. The chances of winning are improving as more information about fibromyalgia comes out. So let’s get to the tips for a winning case.

If you want to claim Fibromyalgia for your disability make sure that it has been diagnosed and is in your medical records. If a doctor merely mentions fibromyalgia as a possibility without diagnosing it and charting it, you could be out of luck. So, make sure it is in your medical records.

Make sure that you have been diagnosed by a specialist. If your family doctor makes the diagnosis, have a specialist such as a rheumatologist give you the same diagnosis. Like previously mentioned, diagnosis from a specialist will hold more weight.

This sounds brutal but try not to be diagnosed with Fibromyalgia by a mental health worker. Psychiatrists and those in the mental health arena sometimes overdiagnose patients with Fibromyalgia and so it does not look valid to the SSD agents. If you are diagnosed by a mental health provider, make sure that you are also seen by a specialist such as a rheumatologist to validate the diagnosis.

Be informed and know what’s in your records. Make copies of everything. It is well known that social security disability cases are decided on records. This holds true for all levels of administration that your case will flow through. By obtaining copies of your medical records before you apply, you will have an idea of how your case looks to the decision makers and help you know if you need to see another doctor before applying.

These simple tips will help you in your fight to win your disability case. Fibromyalgia disability cases can be won and the more that do the easier it will get for our fight.

Copyright (c) 2007 Hailey Harris

Rheumatoid arthritis is one of 100 different types of arthritis. This disease is somewhat different as it is also considered an auto immune disease. An immune disease is caused when the bodies own immune system begins attacking itself. When a patient has rheumatoid arthritis the joints are primarily affected, but other organs of the body are also attacked. This disease progresses at a different rate with every patient, and can become so severe by deforming the bones, that a patient unable to walk, or use their hands. A proper treatment for rheumatoid arthritis has to be carried out by a rheumatologist, a specialist in this field of arthritis.

Some symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis include, the joints being red, swollen or warm to the touch, limited range of motion, severe pain and ability to move in the mornings. If these symptoms occur, a visit to the doctor is highly recommended.

Treatment for rheumatoid arthritis can vary greatly. The rheumatologist will put together a treatment plan, and this can change as the disease progresses. One class of drugs used as a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis is the DMAR drugs (Disease Modifying Anti Rheumatic drugs). These medications are thought to slow down the progression of the disease, but may not fully put it in remission. The medications in this class of treatment for rheumatoid arthritis include, Gold shots, Methotrexate, Plaquenil, Penicillamine and Sulfasalazine. These medications have been in use for many decades, and seem very efficient for many patients.

As with any drug protocol, the treatment for rheumatoid arthritis with this group of drugs is associated with some possible side effects. It is important to always discuss possible side effects with a doctor. Another group of drugs used for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis is a group known as Biologics. These include Enbryl, Humira and Remicade.

Often, patients with rheumatoid arthritis can end up taking a combination of drugs to help with this disease. The treatment of rheumatoid arthritis can change as the condition changes. In addition to the two main groups of drugs, there are also steroids that can be used and NSAIDs(non-steroid anti inflammatory) group of medications. These can be used in conjunction with other treatment for rheumatoid arthritis to help control the joint swelling and pain.

Getting on the right treatment for rheumatoid arthritis can help patients not only feel better, but slow this progressive disease down.

For more Details check http://www.arthritisreliefhelp.info

When you’re looking for a medical specialist, it’s sometimes really difficult because you don’t know who’s good and who isn’t. Sometimes you can rely on a friend or relative who’s seen somebody… or you can call the local hospital because sometimes they’ll give you the names of people who specialize.

Unfortunately, these methods are not necessarily the best ways to locate somebody who is really skilled.

I’ve written a previous article on how to find an arthritis expert… and that should be mandatory reading if you’re looking for a top-notch person. (The 12 Things You Must Look For In An Arthritis Expert)

This new article will add a few other things.

Do you know what training an arthritis specialist (rheumatologist) has gone through? Let me tell you… Four years of college, four years of medical school, three to four years of internal medicine residency, and three years of fellowship in arthritis training. And several board exams have to be passed along the way culminating in the internal medicine boards and the rheumatology boards. Many candidates don’t pass the first time around.

You should ask if they passed the first time or not. You can maybe excuse somebody for not passing once (although even that is a bit much) but if they have had to take the exams over and over, then you might want to be a bit leery. After all you don’t want to see a doctor who’s a few fries short of a Happy Meal!

This article will give you the essential things you need to look for in an arthritis specialist.

1. Graduate of an American medical school. American medical education is still the finest in the world.

2. Residency training at a University teaching hospital.

3. Fellowship training at a top university or better yet, a biomedical research center like the National Institutes of Health.

4. Reputation. What do you hear about the doctor from his or her patients?

5. Education. Is this specialist still doing research and continuing to publish papers… the best do.

6. How many papers published- 25-50 is a minimum.

7. How does their practice run? Is the staff courteous, efficient, and do they seem to know what they’re doing?

8. Do the employees appear to enjoy their work? There’s nothing worse than walking up to a receptionist or other staff person who treats you like a piece of chuck roast.

9. When you are in the office do the physician and the staff give you informational literature about your case? Do they answer your questions?

10. Do they return your calls the same day?

11. When you start a new medicine do they go over the things should look out for as far as side effects?

12. Do they refer tough cases out? Often, a doctor who has ego problems may not refer out a patient who should be referred out. An arthritis specialist can’t be a specialist in all types of arthritis- there are too many of them. For instance, I am an expert in rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. While I can take care of patients with mild lupus, I refer out more serious cases because I don’t really feel I have the expertise or the energy any longer to take care of these complicated patients… so I refer them to a University hospital.

13. Are they careful about checking laboratory tests regularly?

14. Is research being done? The best arthritis specialists do research. They have their hand on the pulse of what is happening in the forefront of their specialty.

15. Are they invited to speak nationally? Obviously, a person who is a nationally recognized speaker has the knowledge and respect to have earned this right.

16. Do they care? You can tell by how the doctor talks to you and follows up with you. Do they stay in touch? For instance, we send out a monthly newsletter to keep patients informed, entertained, and in touch.

17. Are they trustworthy? In your heart of hearts, do you feel they have your best interest at heart?

18. Are they cheap or are they expensive? Doctors who sign up with insurance plans are weak and usually second rate. The best arthritis experts don’t sign insurance contracts because they don’t want to work for the insurance company. They want to work for the patient and do what’s right for them. Not surprisingly, they also are expensive because they are the best. Remember… in life you get what you pay for.

Let’s face it… picking the right doctor isn’t like looking for laundry detergent. This is particularly true when it comes to arthritis, many forms of which can lead to crippling disability as well as early death.

The right arthritis expert can make the difference between your leading a long, productive, and enjoyable life… or dealing with a progressive, crippling, agonizingly painful existence.

Like Yogi Berra once said, “When you come to a fork in the road, take it…”

It’s your life and your health that’s on the line.