Hello all --

Up until today, I had been under the belief that I had Palindromic
Rheumatitis - unexplained flaring/pain in the large joints of the
body...and also some skin allergies and eczema.

Recently I noticed some small depressions in my fingernails (I've had
them before) and finally decided to look around on the web and see
what kind of information I could gather about my nails and why they
are the way they are.

Lo and behold, was I surprised to discover that I've got all the
symptoms of PA. I've been previously diagnosed with Psoriasis (it
comes and goes) and eczema, but had never connected the horrible
periodic pain in my large joints with the skin problems until today.
I feel like I've made a major breakthrough...and I just left a
message with my doc to see if she can give me the name of a good
Arthritis Specialist who I can see and get an official diagnosis.

I've had problems with pain in my joints for most of my life since I
was about 12 years old - that's when I first began to have problems
with my knees periodically swelling. My fingernails have always been
very soft and flexible (my mom's are, too), no matter what I do to
try and strengthen them. I had no idea that was a sign of Psoriasis
as well.

I'm very excited to find out there are others out there who have the
same issues - and it's awesome to get to be a part of this group!

Currently, I do exercise moderately 4-5 days a week on a treadmill
with 3 lb hand weights, which helps me immensely with managing my
pain. I take a multi-vitamin every day, and zinc, potassium, and
acidopholus periodically. I don't use much medication (yet) to
manage my AP other than pain medication at night (usually Vicoden)
and some steroid cream for the rough patches on my hands.

I'm wondering - what are some things that you do that help you manage
your joint pain and skin trouble? I'm sure there are tons of options
out there, and I'm not always gung-ho about going the artificial
chemical route (although I don't know what I'd do without pain meds
at least once in a while). Does anyone have suggestions of things to
try?

Thanks for any information you're willing to share! :)