My sister has a terrible case of psoriatic arthritis, and it appears to be taking over her body. She is terribly itchy, and her joints are beginning to creak, and she is only 18! She is very embarassed by the rash, and the physical symptoms are a bother to her, and I hate to see her going through this. Her dermatologist has recommended a shot that she has to give herself weekly, but insurance is taking months to approve this, and I have heard this can cause acute kidney failure. What can she do until this is approved? And does anyone know of better options?

Starting when I was about 12 years old, I have occasionally had bouts with a strange, unidentified illness. It starts with a little bit of stiffness in the mornings, and progresses over a period of days until the joints are VERY swollen and aching in the mornings, along with a raised, reddish colored rash over each of the affected joints. The raised welts fade down as the day progresses, but the redness and itchiness over the joints remains, along with stiffness and joint pain. Each morning, the joint pain, stiffness, and rash over the joints is worse than the day before.
It usually starts with the knuckles and wrists of both hands, and progresses to include the elbows, ankles, toes, knees, and even the jaw. Each time the illness has presented, I have seen a doctor who has been completely mystified. I am usually prescribed an anti-inflammatory medicine of some variety to alleviate the symptoms. Once I take a few doses, all symptoms disappear. After the first onset, the length of time between symptoms has been longer each time. As a teenager, it would be a few months apart, and as I got older, more and more years pass between symptoms appearing. The only symptoms are the joint pain and raised welts over the joints – no fever or pain anywhere else.

Due to the fact that the symptoms are the worst when I first wake up and fade some during the day, along with the fact that all symptoms disappear once I take any medications to alleviate the pain and itching, no one has been able to diagnose it. When there are no symptoms, doctors can’t find a thing wrong with me. Does anyone have any idea what this could be?

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My father told me he was diagnosed recently with it, after having the skin desease that occurs before the arthritis usually. This is a recent messege i’ve sent to him over myspace with a responce. And any advice you have that i can give to him is greatly appreciated. This is a serious illness. It can be life altering for him, he’s got a wife and two children, he’s 29. So i’d love it if somehow i could help him using your advice. I have already prayed for him.