A Young Wife’s Tale

This rheumatologist did not talk over him. She asked many questions regarding David’s psoriasis, which was nice, since most rheumatologists focus on the arthritis part of psoriatic arthritis, especially since David never complains about his psoriasis. She listened to our answers and repeated back to us what she was hearing. At one point, during family medical history, she asked us to clarify if a relative had irritable or inflammatory bowel syndrome. She didn’t freak out the way other rheumatologists have when he mentioned having taken medications such as Wellbutrin and Celexa.

Towards the end of the appointment, she told David she wants him to get back to exercising. She emphasized that David do an exercise he enjoys. If you enjoy your exercise routine, you’re much more likely to stick with it. She seemed full of common sense.

‘Tis the season for parties, gifts, family, friends and everything that goes with the holidays. For many, this time of year is stressful, and for people with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, feeling overwhelmed can make their conditions worse. Here are tips and guidelines from the National Psoriasis Foundation to help you enjoy the festivities.

Know what stresses you. Is it particular people, travel, obligations or maybe finances? Knowing what triggers your stress will help you manage them. Then you can focus on minimizing your exposure to them.

Know how you respond to stress. When you feel pressured, do you get overly emotional, overeat, skip meals, focus on sweets, sleep poorly or get frustrated? Learn to recognize your own personal “stress signals.” Your goal is to catch them early, before you begin to feel too strained.

August is National Psoriasis Awareness Month. My husband, David, has Psoriatic Arthritis. We didn’t even know he had Psoriasis until he was diagnosed with the arthritis. David has mild Psoriasis on his scalp that he’d always assumed was dandruff. Once, just before his worst arthritis flare, he had Psoriasis on his knees.

If you asked me what Psoriatic Arthritis is, I’d say it’s a terrible disease that has changed my life. It’s debilitating and frustrating and taking some Aleve won’t cure it. That’s one of the biggest misconceptions. That David has arthritis like your Grandma got arthritis in her fingers when she was 80 and couldn’t knit any more until the doctor gave her Celebrex and now she’s doing great. It’s not the same kind of arthritis at all.

David has psoriatic arthritis. He was diagnosed a year ago, at age 23. The rheumatologist thinks he should go into remission. It could be today, it could be next year. There’s no time frame. The arthritis is quite a strain on our marriage…