Welcome to Living with Psoriatic Arthritis Patient Support Community!
Our mission at Ben’s Friends is to ensure that patients living with rare diseases or chronic illnesses, as well as their caregivers, family, and friends, have a safe and supportive place to connect with others like them.
This is an online support group for patients, friends and families affected by Psoriatic Arthritis.
LivingWithPsoriaticArthritis.org is powered by BensFriends.org patient support communities for rare diseases, and is run by volunteer moderators who have been affected with Psoriatic Arthritis and is free for members to join. If your family has been affected by Psoriatic Arthritis, consider Living With Psoriatic Arthritis. your second home.
Psoriatic Arthritis (PsA) is a type of inflammatory arthritis which affects people who suffer from the chronic skin condition, psoriasis. Common symptoms of psoriatic arthritis include pain, swelling, or stiffness in one or more joints that are red or warm to the touch.
Persons with psoriatic arthritis also experience pain in and around the feet and ankles, especially tendonitis in the Achilles tendon or Plantar fasciitis in the sole of the foot and in the area of the Sacrum (the lower back, above the tailbone). Changes to the nails, such as pitting or separation from the nail bed also occurs.
LivingWith Psoriatic Arthritis .org is a virtual peer-to-peer community intended to be a safe place for patients and family members as young as age 12, to visit for information, discussion, venting and mutual support. Members come from many backgrounds. Some have a strong religious faith, and others no faith; some are children and others adults, rich and poor, graduate educated or taught by life. Our common denominators are that we share a life journey, and we try to help each other.
How is Ben’s Friends Different from Social Media and Other Support Sites?
Our mission at Ben’s Friends is to ensure that patients living with rare diseases or chronic illnesses, as well as their caregivers, family, and friends, have a safe and supportive place to connect with others like them.
We’re interested in you as a person, and in your struggles as a rare disease patient. But we don’t want to know your name or where you live. We won’t even allow you to use your real name when you register for one of our communities. Because when it comes to medical things, anonymity is important in our googly universe. Your information is never shared, and your activity never tracked by adware.
When Ben’s Friends asks for the country and region you live in, that’s in case your fellow members can recommend local resources and help, and so everyone knows what kind of medical system there is where you live. That’s important when it comes to giving and getting support. Because we are all about support, and we’re all in this together..
Ben’s Friends: Safe and Supportive.
And anonymous to keep it that way.
Why create an account?
Posts on the different Ben’s Friends communities can be read by anyone on the internet. You can browse through the different topics and find most of the information you’re looking for but there are many things you won’t be able to do unless you create an account. These include:
Making your own posts. Although you’re able to find useful information just by reading other members’ posts, you might still have a lot of questions in your mind. Either you want to start a new topic to talk about them in detail or you want to reply to a comment on a thread. These won’t be possible unless you create a new user account.
Viewing other members’ profiles. Member profiles include information about the country or region they are from, whether they are a patient or a caregiver, and details about their disease and treatments. Maybe you came across an interesting post and you want to learn more about the member. Or maybe you’re looking for members who are from the same country as you. Having a user account allows you to see other member profiles and find information that may be relevant.
Sending private messages. Aside from being able to post publicly and commenting on a thread, having a user account also allows you to send private messages both to other members and moderators. In case you want to discuss a topic only with a specific person, this is possible by sending private messages when you have created your account.
Click here to create an account and join.
Latest Discussions
- Need a research partner neededby tamac on May 24, 2023
I am doing some research, and need someone that has a good understanding of neurotransmitters. The topic I am looking into is a bit more than my neurobiochemistry background. Anyone have a good handle on dopamine receptors and how they interact with chronic pain, oxycodone, and the body’s natural release of dopamine in response to pain?” I have stumbled across a possible drug interaction that […]
- Shingrix Vaccineby Grandma_J on May 21, 2023
Hi, I’ve been a stranger here for quite some time. My PsA has been well under control since starting Enbrel 7/2014, and I really don’t have many ailments associated with PsA to discuss. My question is, how do you feel about the Shingrix vaccine? My doctors have been pushing it for years, but I’m hesitant about it. Are the rewards worth the risks? I’ve had all the COVID boosters and had no […]
- Hands and pain progression questionsby tamac on May 16, 2023
I searched on hands, but most was pretty old. I want to ask everyone. My PsA seems to be doing more joint damage in the last year or two. I have one finger that has the OA bump growing in a knuckle. But my hands and fingers are really beginning to hurt. They stay swollen and stiff. At least half my finger joints now have sharp spiking pains on and off. Since I spend most of my day on a […]
- Slippers for foot painby SubliminalFlicker on May 12, 2023
Wanted to share my recent discovery. I frequently get foot pain, toe joints and the fascia on the bottom of my foot gets inflamed and swollen, planters fasciitis (or something like it) etc. I finally caved and bought a pair of those cloud slides/slippers that are like an inch of cushion off of Amazon and well, they’ve came in handy so much I now have a gardening pair and a house and everywhere […]
- A Rare Case!by nickace on May 12, 2023
Well Well Well. I’m back! Miss me? I missed you, you were all so nice to me. its been a few years since i was last here. however about a year ago Jen and i were talking, thanks for all your support Jen. xo Finally have some answers! Ive been round and round the mulberry bush so many times ive lost count. To Psa or not to Psa that is the question. ive seen 4 Rumy’s now. and everytime ive had […]