Spondylitis Association of America Forums General Discussion General Message Board for Ankylosing Spondylitis and Related Diseases Finger swelling

I saw a hand therapist for trigger thumb, she made a splint for my thumb and a compression sleeve for my middle finger which swells

Well finally saw the new rheumatologist and I was amazed with how thorough he was. He spent almost an hour with me vs the 10 minutes with the last one. He did diagnose me (thanks to the finger swelling that was still present) with psoriatic arthritis. He ordered more x-rays of my hands, neck and chest and is going to have another radiologist review my mri. He also ordered several labs. He started me on mobic and is going to start methotrexate if my x-rays are ok, or a biologic if they are not. It feels good to finally have a diagnosis but still a little sad that its not just something that will go away.

Sounds like you found a good doctor. Keep us posted on your test results and how the meds work for you.

Did he happen to say why you have PsA not AS? I have finger swelling, although not extreme and my rheumy is still out on which one I have. I think as a female he said that its normal to get AS in peripheral joints so it can cause finger swelling too.

Glad you are on the right track

Well got the PsA diagnosis as expected. Still waiting on re-read of MRI to see if sacroilitis is present. Starting first dose of methotrexate tonight. Thanks for all the support. I have got it in my head now that I can manage this disease and remain positive.

Fingers crossed that the methotrexate works well for you.

me too

Been on the Methotrexate for 6 weeks and I really haven't had many side effects. I had one short round of stomatitis which was unpleasant but with the horror stories I read about side effects, I feel like I have been fortunate. Unfortunately, I haven't noticed much difference in my symptoms. Still waiting on my rheum to re-read my MRI (on the 3rd disk from the hospital, none have been compatible to be read so far). So i guess it's just more waiting to see if we start biologics or not. In the mean time my exhaustion is killing me, i'm so tired i can't hardly stand it. Working full time with a family and lots of activities, it's getting hard to stick to my workout routine and I just don't hardly have the energy for it anyways. Does anyone have any tips on ways to fight the exhaustion?

I've had AS for 20 years and my fingers just started hurting this year, as well as my shoulder. It's the same three fingers, one on one hand, two on the other. And it seems to come and go.