Living with Psoriatic Arthritis is an online patient support community that is powered by BensFriends.org, a network of patient support communities for rare diseases. 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.
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.
LivingWithPsoriaticArthritis.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
- SI Joints and other issuesby Northernelf on April 28, 2025
Still lurking here but wanted to throw out a question about nasty SI joint pain – I’m talking about life altering pain. It’s been just over two weeks since this started and I’m going a little crazy. Typically issues happen and start to taper off by this point, not neccessarily go away but at least reduce. Fortunately I have a rheumatologist appointment in 2 weeks. I can’t bend, I can’t […]
- Destructive benefit Changes in the UKby darinfan on March 20, 2025
I’ll confess: I don’t know if I can even post this here, but it’s something that will affect many of us in the UK going forward – in fact, the Resolution Foundation has said it will affect people with arthritis more than most. Changes to disability benefts (no, the destruction of disability benefits) were announced on Tuesday. If I’m going to lose £700 a month from my income from these […]
- Somedays I Want To Give Upby amielynn38 on March 18, 2025
Long story short: My IT band is super inflamed as is all the around tendons/ligaments on my right knee. It has been like this for at least a month. Saw Rheumy twice, he thought it was a compressed nerve in my lower spine, ordered MRI. Everything fine. So he turfs me over to neurology. **I think it is PsA and enthesitis, just a major flare. All I needed was some prednisone to calm it down, strong […]
- Volunteer Opportunity: Marketing Manager (Email + Social Media)by Ben_Munoz on March 11, 2025
Do you have experience with marketing and a knack for crafting engaging content? Ben’s Friends is seeking volunteers for two distinct Marketing Manager roles—one focused on email marketing and the other on social media. Both roles play a vital part in helping us communicate with our members and supporters. Key Responsibilities Email Marketing: Create and manage regular email newsletters, […]
- Recent robotic knee replacementby Rebel_mom on March 11, 2025
Three weeks ago I have RTK replacement due my knee just being terrible. I am getting my range of motion back and extension and everyone is excited. My only concerns my knee bend well when when I am sitting and during exercises but when I am walking, still using a walker, it has trouble with bending. I was curious if anyone else has had problems with this. I know the swelling takes time but […]
