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
- How long does it take to seize up?by Amos on July 24, 2024
I’m wondering if I am very typical. If I walk, bike ride or do any form of exercise or things like sand an antique chair or wax the car, I’m pretty pain free. But when I lay down for a nap after I’ve had movement etc, after 15-20 minutes the cloud of stiffness descends, my joints all seize up and then the pain sets in. It takes 10 minutes of hobbling around and slowly opening and closing my […]
- Bruising on fingersby Stoney on July 22, 2024
Does anybody else have issues with bruising? I’ve always bruised easily, but lately I’ve been getting bruises on my fingers. Specifically. Specifically. I’m not having any injury, it’s like blood vessels just suddenly break in my fingers. Typically on the pad side. Obviously it hurts when it happens and then it’s just a bit tender because there’s a bruise there. 7 posts – […]
- How to lose weight with PSA/Help Neededby tamac on July 15, 2024
My weight is creeping up bad. Since the PSA diag about 8 years ago, it has climbed because of inactivity. I put on the COVID 40 and that did not help. Suggestion on losing the weight, please! Please don’t say EXCERCISE, that is a dirty word. Right now, I am struggling to walk. With all the pain, I have a terrible sugar addiction. I am working on getting that under control, but my weight […]
- We Need Your Financial Supportby ModSupport on July 10, 2024
Dear Psoriatic Arthritis Community, From the beginning of Ben’s Friends Rare Disease Communities, we have desired to provide these sites free of charge to our patients and their families. However, it costs us several thousand dollars a month to keep our 40+ rare communities up and running. Would you consider a tax-deductible contribution to Ben’s Friends? Your contribution will enable us to […]
- CVS and Abbvie – Gotta Love them (or hate them)by tamac on July 10, 2024
So, CVS ships me my Rinvoq two weeks ago AFTER telling me my Abbvie Co-Pay Debit card is covering it as usual. Yesterday, I get a call from CVS telling me I owe them $4,000 because my Abbvie Co-Pay card is maxed out. I never knew the Abbvie Co-Pay cards maxed out and have never had this happen before in over a year. Or with any of Abbvie’s other biologics over ten years. My insurance […]
