Receiving a psoriatic arthritis diagnosis can be really difficult to process. For some people, the situation is equal parts relieving—there’s finally an explanation for all the pain they’ve been experiencing—and disheartening—there’s no cure for psoriatic arthritis, so it requires lifelong management and treatment.
You may have a hard time forming coherent questions when your head is swirling with so many feelings and thoughts after your psoriatic arthritis diagnosis, but asking your doctor questions during your appointments is really important. Doing so can help you start important conversations about the disease and make it easier to understand the process of finding a treatment that works for you. Further, asking questions and getting some reassurance about your treatment options can give you hope about getting back to doing things you enjoy but maybe have a hard time participating in because of your condition.
We asked people with psoriatic arthritis to share the most helpful questions they asked their doctors when they were diagnosed, and the questions they wish they had asked sooner. Here’s what they found useful.
1. What causes psoriatic arthritis?
“I need to understand why something is happening in order to accept it, which is especially tricky with an autoimmune disease where there are so many unknowns,” Sarah K., 35, who was diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis in 2009, tells SELF. Psoriatic arthritis happens when your autoimmune system attacks healthy cells in your body, causing joint pain, swelling, and stiffness, according to the Cleveland Clinic. There’s no explanation for why this happens, but experts theorize it may be due to genetics and environmental factors, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
“Asking my doctor to explain what we do know (often several times in different ways) helped me conceptualize what is happening and ease the self-blame that I instinctively turned to. My doctor really helped me understand that I didn’t do anything to cause the condition,” Sarah says. And knowing that she can’t control everything made it easier for Sarah to focus on doing what she can to feel better overall—like taking her medications, eating nutritious foods, and prioritizing rest—rather than worrying.
2. What are my treatment options?
There are numerous psoriatic arthritis medications, but they generally aim to control inflammation and minimize your pain and potential joint damage, according to the Cleveland Clinic. The exact type of treatment your doctor prescribes depends on the severity of your condition, but discussing your priorities with your physician and how medications can help you tackle them allows you to have some control over your medical condition.
When Gemma H., 35, was diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis in 2012, she found it comforting to learn about potential treatments, including what would happen if one didn’t work for her. “Asking about medications allowed me to research and understand things before I started taking them,” Gemma tells SELF. Discovering that there are many different medications she could try if one didn’t work helped relieve some of the anxiety she felt about running out of treatment options.
3. What are the most common side effects of this treatment?
Treatment side effects vary depending on the individual and the specific medications you take. Even though your doctor won’t know how you might react to a specific prescription, Elizabeth M. 25, wishes she asked her doctor about common side effects and whether she could mitigate any reactions when she was diagnosed with juvenile psoriatic arthritis in 2010. Elizabeth initially took methotrexate, a medication commonly used as a first-line treatment for people with psoriatic arthritis that can cause fatigue and nausea. “I came off methotrexate due to side effects even though it seemed to help, and years later, I know now that I might not have had side effects if I was prescribed folic acid in addition to methotrexate,” she tells SELF. (Taking folic acid along with methotrexate can help reduce the medication’s side effects, according to John Hopkins Arthritis Center.)
4. How can I stop my psoriatic arthritis from getting worse?
This was the first question Jennifer R., 35, asked her doctor when she was diagnosed in 2015. At the time, she was in a lot of pain and wanted to know if she would feel that way forever. “My doctor did say the condition was life-long, and the idea was to stop the disease’s current progression,” she tells SELF. “I learned that if I found medications that worked, I would be in less pain. Knowing that bit of information helped because I had hope. My doctor made sure I knew it was going to be a process and having a realistic outlook helped me move forward,” she says.
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