Psoriatic Arithritis ?

[titumisra]

Hello everyone,

i am posting this for a realtive. She is 35 years old and suffering from UCTD for the last 4 years, when she started having swellings on hand and foot , developed horseness of voice and used to have pain and fever.Her ANA test returned with 4+ speck and ESR of 53.

Over the last 3 years, she has been on drugs like Thyronorm 100 mg(Thyroxine sodium ), OXCQ (Hydroxychloroquine), Tacko M (Omeprazole ), Nilitis (Nabumetone ) etc. During this time she has lost some hair, and skin complexion has become darker.

About 4 months' back, she had skin eruptions mainly on her legs which was a suspected (on visual observation) to be psoriasis in the beginning.  She used some skin ointments presescribed by the skin specialist and the eruptions went away. However, dark patches remained where these eruptions came.

The paitient is distressed about the effect the disease is having on her appearance besides the pain it causes. Loss of hair, complexion and skin eruption patches to be specific.

Her latest test results are as follows :

Oct 09 :
ESR : 44
FPG : 102
TSH : 0.51
CRP : 2.74  
Hb    : 10.8

She has been taking Thyronorm 100 mg(Thyroxine sodium ) for the last 4 years now. Are her diagnosis and treatment moving in the right directions?  What can be done to make life better for her?

Please suggest.

best regards

tm

[wordfreak014]

It sounds like your relative is suffering from thyroid disease and that her meds to be adjusted.  That could account for hoarseness, loss of hair, very dry skin, achiness,  and her TSH being a .51, entirely too "high" (ideal levels are between 2.0 and 7.0).  The scarring on her legs certainly sounds like psoriasis, but it could also be discoid lupus, a different manisfestation of the lupus disease.  It's worth taking her to see a rheumy to get some more specific blood tests done.  
Psoriatic arthritis usually has these symptoms: swollen fingers but not hands (sausage fingers), swelling around joints, fingernail pitting, swelling in the sacroiliac joint,  pain upon waking that usually eases as teh day progresses, etc.  It sounds more like your relative might need to see an endocrinologist to get her thyroid back in order.   Good luck

[TrudieC]

She might want to get a 2nd opinion to see if she can get a diagnosis of psoriatic arthritis or Lupus or ?.  If they can formalize a diagnosis she can get on some other meds to suppress her immune system and hopefully stop any of the disfiguring issues.