Take Time Away From Oa
We always seem to find time for the things we have to do. But itâs just as important to make time in your schedule for activities you like, such as reading, having coffee with a friend, seeing a movie, or listening to music. Not only will this help reduce your stress level, but it may also help you forget about your arthritis pain.
How many times have you sworn that a storm was coming because your arthritis pain was flaring up? How many times has a bone-chilling cold caused your joints to swell and get inflamed with pain and stiffness?
Winter weather can be especially tough for those who suffer from arthritis, and there could be some truth to the old wives tale that aching joints can be an indicator of a change in weather. In fact, the Arthritis Foundation even cites studies that show lower barometric pressure caused more aches and pains for people in barometric pressure chambers.
Arthritis can be classified as either inflammatory or non-inflammatory. Inflammatory arthritis features inflammatory white blood cells in the joint fluid. Forms of inflammatory arthritis include rheumatoid arthritis, lupus arthritis, gout, and many others. Forms of non-inflammatory arthritis include osteoarthritis, arthritis of thyroid disease, arthritis after injury and many others. Studies have shown that cold weather can affect both inflammatory and non-inflammatory arthritis.
1. Stay warm and layer up
2. Eat a healthy diet
3. Get your stress under control
4. Stay active and exercise
Living With Psoriatic Arthritis Fatigue: Amandas Story
These results are not news for blogger Amanda Steyer, who has psoriatic arthritis. Fatigue is a huge part of living with psoriatic arthritis, she says. There are days when I dont want to get out of bed and spend the entire day wishing I could get back into bed. Steyer has a lot of motivation to get going though: She homeschools three of her five children, ages 17, 14, and 12.
Steyer was formally diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis at 41 but has had symptoms on and off throughout her life. In my early twenties, I was in the process of working with doctors to get to the root of my extreme fatigue and back and leg pain and then got pregnant with my oldest child, and my symptoms disappeared, she recalls. Each pregnancy temporarily put her symptoms into remission. But after her fifth and last pregnancy, her symptoms returned with a vengeance. She takes medication to manage her symptoms, but some of her fatigue also appears to be due to her psoriatic arthritis treatment regimen.
My energy levels are better not fantastic, but much more manageable than when my psoriatic arthritis is untreated, she says. She can move more freely and even hike with her family, a pastime shes always enjoyed.
Maximize Your Psoriatic Arthritis Treatment
Few of us want to take more medication than we absolutely need to. However, if you are living with psoriatic arthritis, staying on a treatment plan that keeps your symptoms in remission is an important strategy. In at least 11 studies, those who were on biologics for psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis treatment reported reduced fatigue.
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Managing Chronic Pain And Fatigue
The key to reducing pain is reducing inflammation.
Thanksgiving 2019. Andrea Klockow of Alpharetta, Georgia, notices the middle finger on her right hand looks really âcreepyâ â like a sausage. Fortunately, it goes away, and Klockow doesnât give it much more thought.
Over the next four months, though, she starts struggling with overwhelming fatigue, sore fingers and pain in her ankles and knees. âMy joints, particularly the joints in my fingers, hurt the most,â 36-year-old Klockow recalls.
Summer 2020. Klockowâs scalp begins to itch so badly that it wakes her up from a deep sleep. âI couldnât see what was going on with my scalp, but I suspected something was up because I have always been a very sound sleeper,â she says. Klockow knows not to take all these symptoms lying down, so back to the rheumatologist she goes. This time, the rheumatologist suspects Klockow has psoriatic arthritis and suggests she see a dermatologist.
The dermatologist examines Klockow, looks at her scalp and puts her on a biologic, which works like a charm for her itching. âWithin 10 days of my first injection, I was starting to feel great,â Klockow says. The biologic doesnât help the joint pain as much right away, but her doctors tell her to be patient. With time, it will help her PsA as well, they say. They turn out to be right about that too. âNow I have all my energy back, and my joints donât hurt,â Klockow says happily.
Disease Activity And Sleep
Fatigue and sleep problems go hand-in-hand for many people with arthritis. The main culprits are the inflammatory disease process and the accompanying chronic pain.
- Inflammation. If you have an autoimmune disease, your immune system attacks your body and inflammation is the result. The body undergoes stress as it tries to cope with the release of inflammatory cytokines in the blood. That can cause fatigue, especially when disease activity is high or low-grade inflammation remains for a long time.
- Chronic Pain. The pain-fatigue connection can be a vicious circle. Dealing with arthritis pain for months at a time over many years can wear you down. It can affect your sleep habits, which adds to your exhaustion. Being fatigued, in turn, can worsen pain and make it more difficult to manage.
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Many People With Psa Have Only Nail Psoriasis
Many people responded that they have nail psoriasis but do not have skin psoriasis anywhere else on their bodies. Nail psoriasis, which causes discoloration, nail pitting, and thin, crumbling nails, is a common symptom of PsA. A physical exam of the nails can confirm nail psoriasis, which may help in getting a PsA diagnosis.2,3
Balance Activity And Rest
Instead of trying to power through a heavy workload, try breaking tasks down into 10- to 20-minute parts, then resting or completing easier tasks in between. Resting time can include anything from taking a nap, lying down, reading, or planning an activity.
You should also stay physically active. Something as simple as a daily 20- to 30-minute walk can increase the bodys natural opiates and improve energy levels and sleep quality.
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Keep A Record Of Your Fatigue
Finding the exact cause of fatigue can be a tricky puzzle, with potentially no right answer. Fatigue can come from many sources, including emotional triggers, such as depression and anxiety, dietary issues, or even environmental causes such as an uncomfortable mattress leading to sleep disturbances.
Keeping a record of your fatigue and when it rises or falls can open a window into what is causing your specific symptoms. Knowing on what is causing your fatigue can lead you to the right course of treatment.
For example, if your medication is making you drowsy around lunchtime, maybe its time to talk to your healthcare team about trying something new. Or if you notice you tend to have an incredible slump in energy after a large, sugar-heavy meal, maybe its time to cut back on sweeteners in your food.
Reducing The Stress Of Psoriatic Arthritis
- Stress can contribute to worse psoriatic arthritis symptoms.
- Stress-management techniques may help to reduce stress-related psoriatic arthritis flare-ups and symptoms.
- Exercise, relaxation techniques, and improved sleep hygiene can help reduce stress.
Stress can create a complicated cycle for people with chronic inflammatory conditions such as psoriatic arthritis. Navigating doctor visits, treatment options, medical bills, and symptoms of a chronic condition can all cause stress. In turn, increased stress levels could worsen psoriatic arthritis symptoms, such as joint pain and fatigue. Managing stress is very important for maintaining a good quality of life, especially if you have a condition like psoriatic arthritis.
Doctors and researchers are working to better understand the connection between stress and conditions like psoriasis arthritis. Scientists are also studying how different stress-reduction techniques could help to decrease psoriatic arthritis features, including joint pain and inflammation. Stress-management techniques provide a practical way to potentially disrupt the cycle between stress and psoriatic arthritis.
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Many Patients With Psoriatic Arthritis Consider Fatigue To Be One Of The Most Problematic Symptoms After Joint Pain Being Able To Identify And Describe What Fatigue Feels Like May Help Both Loved Ones And Health Care Providers Better Understand Your Experience
Check out Fight Back Against Fatigue: A Psoriatic Arthritis Patients Guidefor more information on this topic.
Wiped out. Utterly exhausted. Like youre coming down with the flu. Unable to get your head above water. Pumping gas, but the gas tank is empty.
The fatigue that people with psoriatic arthritis have is real and it interferes tremendously with daily life.
In fact, nearly 50 percent of patients with psoriatic arthritis report high levels of fatigue and consider fatigue a high-ranking problem, after joint pain and before skin issues, according to a 2016 study published in the journal Joint Bone Spine.
If you live with fatigue from psoriatic arthritis, we dont have to tell you what it feels like. However, hearing from other people with PsA who are also wrestling with this nagging, persistent feeling of exhaustion can help you feel less alone.
Talking about what fatigue feels like can also help you explain to loved ones why you arent able to do certain activities or why you turn down invitations or leave things early. Perhaps, most importantly, it can help you figure out if you need to talk to your health care provider to get better control of your fatigue.
Every Day Is Different And I Dont Know What Body I Will Wake Up To
Some days I feel fine other days its a struggle just to get out of bed. A psoriatic arthritis flare doesnt just mean painful joints, for me it also includes brain fog, fatigue, psoriasis flares, difficulty moving, and tender, swollen fingers and toes. This can have a huge impact on my mental health and self-esteem as every day is different, and I dont know what body I will wake up to.
Simple tasks become difficult during flares, and I can lose my train of thought mid-sentence, which makes me feel really self-consciousespecially at work. I worry that people take this as me being rude and not concentrating, but really its just the psoriatic arthritis brain fog and fatigue kicking in. Jude D., 28
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Ra Perception Then And Now
Back in Renoirs day, many people thought that rheumatic disorders were simply an inevitable part of aging to be tolerated. Todays research remains limited on the public perception of RA however, the few studies that have investigated this topic suggest that misinformation is still rampant, even in the present day.
One study, carried out by a rheumatology research group that is affiliated with several hospitals in the U.K., found that misconceptions about RA include the belief that the disease is a trivial condition, or even a normal part of aging.
Such misconceptions may result in people with RA not seeking medical advice because they dont take their symptoms seriously, the researchers warn. Their study found that while symptoms including joint pain, stiffness, and restricted movement were mostly identified as features of arthritis, the symptoms of RA were often confused with those of , the most common form of arthritis. In fact, the researchers point to a general confusion between RA and OA, as well as other joint-related conditions.
Patients need to be aware of the most common symptoms of RA, such as joint pain and swelling, morning stiffness, carpal tunnel syndrome , dry eyes, and fatigue, says Dr. Girnita.
Check In With Your Doctor About Your Medications And Vitamins
Lifestyle changes can help, but its also worth talking to your doctor about your medications and whether it might make sense to adjust your medication schedule or find an alternative treatment.
Years ago, when I was taking methotrexate once a week to treat my PsA, I felt constantly drained I learned a common side effect of this drug is fatigue. I talked to my doctor about this, and I found out methotrexate can deplete levels of folate in the body. My low folate levels were the reason I was feeling sluggish, and I shouldve been taking folic acid supplements! After only a few weeks of supplements, I felt peppy and could get through the day without napping.
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Fatigue In Psoriasis And Psoriatic Arthritis
Psoriasis is a chronic skin disease of immune systems, occurring in approximately 2% of the population , which has a significant impact on the patients life, especially in the case of progression of severe lesions . Until recently, psoriasis as a disease was assessed only on the basis of the surface and clinical image of affected skin. However, recent studies have shown the relation of psoriasis severity with physical, emotional and social function . Psychosocial aspects of disease so far have been the subject of many studies , while the fatigue as a symptom that accompanies the disease was less often the subject of researchers interest. Chronic fatigue associated with psoriasis may affect up to 50% of patients , and up to 25% of all patients indicated the severity of fatigue as severe . In the recently published study of Skoie et al., severity of fatigue was found to be associated with depression, pain and addiction to smoking, but, contrary to expectations, did not depend on the severity of psoriasis . No association with the activity of disease evaluated with the Psoriasis Area Severity Index was also described by Tobin et al. however, fatigue rated as severe was twice as frequent in patients treated systemically than with phototherapy .
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Sacroiliac Joint And Back Pain
Psoriatic arthritis is a type of spondyloarthritis, an umbrella term for inflammatory conditions that involve the joints and the entheses, or places where the ligaments and tendons attach to the bones. With these diseases, there is often stiffness, swelling, spine pain , and SI joint pain. For me, my left SI joint causes me a lot of pain when I have a flare.
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Diet And Psoriatic Arthritis
Eating a balanced, nutritious diet can do wonders for your body and fatigue levels. Furthermore, even if you are eating a balanced diet, there may be something in the foods youre eating that your body does not appreciate.
Check-in with your healthcare provider or a nutritionist to see if there is a food additive that could be contributing to your weariness, such as gluten, sugar, or dairy, to name a potential few.
Talk With Others Who Understand
MyPsoriasisTeam is the social network for people with psoriasis and PsA and their loved ones. On MyPsoriasisTeam, more than 87,000 members come together to ask questions, give advice, and share their stories with others who understand life with psoriasis and PsA.
Are you living with psoriatic arthritis that causes fatigue? Have you found ways to conserve your energy and manage daily activities? Share your experience in the comments below, or start a conversation by posting on your Activities page.
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How To Diagnose Psoriasis
Le diagnosis of psoriatic arthritis is difficult to ask because it combines skin disease and joint disease.
To make the diagnosis of PA, the physician must identify the characteristic symptoms of both conditions as early as possible. To do this, you must do:
- a physical examination
- imaging examinations .
These tests also help rule out other forms of inflammatory arthritis.
Corns Calluses And Blisters
Corns and calluses are areas of hard and thickened skin that can develop on the feet and toes from repeated rubbing, friction, or pressure. Corns are small, hard areas of skin typically overlying bony parts of the foot while calluses are larger patches of toughened skin. Blisters form when repeated pressure and friction cause fluid to build up under the skin.
Corn, calluses, and blisters on the toes often develop from wearing poorly fitting shoes, prolonged walking, or walking barefoot. They can cause pain when standing and walking.
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Managing Fatigue With Psoriatic Arthritis
Unlike feeling tired, a good nights sleep isnt a simple fix for fatigue, but it can help. In fact, developing good sleep habits is an important part of dealing with fatigue. Depending on the underlying cause of your fatigue, your rheumatologist may also recommend the following:
- Lifestyle changes
- Medication adjustments
- Therapy and mental/emotional help through support groups
Fatigue is complicated and feeling better is a gradual process, says Dr. Ogdie. It may take time, but it is possible to get back on track and feel better.
Psoriatic Arthritis And Brain Fog
Some people find that psoriatic arthritis leads to another kind of fatigue: brain fog. People have reported problems with concentration, memory and other thinking skills.
In part, this fuzzy-headed feeling may be the result of not getting enough sleep at night because of chronic pain. Its also possible that the inflammation caused by psoriatic arthritis may affect brain function in some way.
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What Blocks Pain Signals
Many scientists think pain control methods help reduce pain by blocking pain signals. Pain signals are sent through a complex system of nerves in the brain and spinal cord.
There are many things that can block these signals and thus prevent the pain message from reaching your brain.
Pain signals are blocked by chemicals made by the brain called endorphins. There are several things that can cause the brain to produce endorphins. These include ânaturalâ controls, such as your own thoughts and emotions, or âoutsideâ controls such as medicines.
Natural controls
A father driving with his children is hurt in a car accident. The father is so worried about his children that he doesnât feel the pain from his own broken arm. The concern for his children somehow blocked the pain signal and kept the pain from affecting him.
Outside controls
Certain medicines such as morphine imitate the bodyâs endorphins and block the pain signal. Other pain control methods, such as heat and cold treatments, physical therapy, exercise, relaxation and massage can stimulate the body to release its own endorphins or to block the pain signal in other ways.