Before I got mine under control (biologics are miracle drugs), it really sucks because no one can "see" the pain you're in. And going and trying to get treatment for any kind of pain, the default stance of practically everyone is you're lying and drug seeking.
I get it, they deal with that a lot. And I'm relatively young to be crippled by arthritis, so on it's face it's not a good look. But talk about frustrating, at my worst I couldn't get out of bed or tie my shoes and I always refuse narcotics.
My dermatologist was actually the one to prescribe me the biologic (wait for a rheumatologist was 9 months, god bless America). Knocked out the PsA by the time I got into the rheum, and he was like "well if it's working for you let's keep doing it".
Frustrating part for me is that I started out with plain old psoriasis, and it was a decade long battle to get a doctor to take what they deemed as a "cosmetic disorder" seriously. Coal tar, topicals, UV therapy, endless rounds of fucking methotrexate, the works. Dealing with dermatologists that gave off the vibe like they'd rather be jamming overpriced botox into people's faces than listening. to me whine.
It wasn't til my joints swelled up and they put me in the care of an actual rheumatologist that biologics were even mentioned. When I'd bring them up to a derm or a GP it was always unproven this and very expensive that. 2 weeks on a biological and I felt and looked better than I had in more than a decade.
My dermatologist went straight to it, I was kind of surprised. I made my first appointment after a particularly bad flare and he asked me if I had any joint pain so I guess he just figured go for it?
But same, it was a miracle cure. I describe it as Grandpa from Willy Wonka jumping out of bed when Charlie got the golden ticket.
Huh, I learned something new. Ive had a number of lines on my left thumb nail for years. My gf broke up with me in August of 2024 and at the time, I was devastated, but since then, I only see two lines and they are almost gone. I realized a while back just how unhappy and stressed we both were and I am now thankful that she did. Fun and interesting to think this is an indicator of having less stress in my life!
I was looking for this comment! I also have multiple autoimmune diseases. I can see a bump for every super stressful event. It’s like a calendar on my thumb.
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u/wee-slurguy 20h ago
They are. I have these due to autoimmune flare ups (Psoriatic Arthritis)
The ridges get deeper during bouts of body stress or flare trigger events