I had Psoriasis as a child which was in my hair on neck shoulders and arms which went away after a few years. Over my adult life I had several health niggles such as eye / eyelid inflammations and what was diagnosed as Roseacia on my face for many years and also whenever I exerted myself I found aches and pains would come and go in muscles and joints at times. I often felt something was wrong with me but never quite able to get to bottom of it.
My brother and sister still have their Psoriasis but I never saw it again on my skin ? Another sister was diagnosed with Celiacs Disease and a related lung illness. These illnesses are widley thought to be inflammatory illnesses where the imune system goes wrong and starts attacking the body in various ways, as is P.A.
When I was 46 I had a 'heart attack' but doctors found nothing wrong with arteries etc and suggested inflammation or virus could be cause. I was left quite breathless for months by that attack but did eventually get over it. Also had experienced back troubles mainly aches for sometime, however within a few years of the heart problem my back and neck and pelvis seemed to start stiffening. I sought help from an Oseteopath but found I was worse after treament for 1-2 days or so. I also often found I lacked energy and get up and go at times and if I caught a cold it would go on for months affecting my chest.
Over this period I had started to experience fevers/sweating late afternoon and evenings particulary and I felt a little down and depressed but I think that was really fatigue settling in over last 3 years. I also had a problem with one of my knees resulting in surgery which went after I stood up from my chair at work one night !
Eventually around 51 years old I started having pain in many joints ie hands, wrists, fingers toes, knees, shoulders, hips and feet as well as the back/neck problems and it became difficult to walk at time especially as both achilles tendons were painful were they attach to the back of the heel. My fatigue by this time was quite bad and I was unable to get going for several hours each day.
I also had some bowel related bleeding start and ended up going to see a Gasterologist and then a Rheumotolgist. Had Bowel checks endoscopy, CT scans, Ultrasound and eventually the Rheumo people settled on a diagnosis for Psoriatic Arthritis.
No blood tests are available to confirm it just clinical observation and history. Now on Sulpasalazine Tabs 2000mg a day which comes at 1000mg twice daily. Been on them 6 weeks and noticed some improvement but I will need to wait a few months before real benifits come. I am walking better at times and the redness/swelling seems to have reduced in some joints.
I have also been diagnosed with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and use an inhaler. This could be related to the inflammation caused by the P.A.
The other problem I had was my Liver function tests were abnormal and this delayed by being prescribed with the DMARD drugs as they affect the liver over time. They found I had a slightly fatty liver on scans but nothing to worry about and some cysts on liver and kidneys also found. Again the cysts are nothing to be concerned about and 50% of people over 50 can get them. There is some thought that the liver and iron blood tests can be abnormal due to the inflammation in the body causing misreadings ?
I hope my story is of help to someone as I believe this illness is difficult to diagnose at first and I have been frustrated at times by the fact that other people could not understand or see what was wrong with me and doctors were not able to pick up on it earlier either ! A truely insidious illness. Unfortunately in my case I had to wait till the symptoms showed later in life to get something sorted out and a diagnosis made.