u/Neither-Quantity9869

I’m looking for some opinions from people with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) or similar experiences.
My rheumatologist diagnosed me with PsA, partly because my grandfather has psoriatic arthritis and I’ve had recurring knee swelling. What’s confusing me is that my two knees don’t behave the same way at all.
After my most recent flare, my right knee improved significantly. Right now I have almost no pain or stiffness in that knee. Historically, the only time my right knee really hurts is when there is a large amount of synovial fluid in it. It feels more like pressure from the swelling than joint pain itself.
My left knee is completely different. It has a lot more stiffness and tightness, and the sensation feels like it’s coming from the muscles and soft tissues around the knee rather than pressure inside the joint. Sometimes it makes me want to stretch or massage the area because it feels so tight.
What makes me question things is that the two knees respond so differently. My right knee seems to follow a pattern where it only becomes painful when there is significant swelling, while my left knee continues to feel stiff and tight even when it doesn’t seem as swollen. Because of that, I’ve started wondering if there could be something else going on in my left knee in addition to the PsA.
Has anyone with PsA had one knee behave completely differently from the other? Has anyone been diagnosed with PsA but later found out that a tendon, muscle, ligament, meniscus, or another issue was also contributing to the symptoms in one knee?
I’d be interested to hear if anyone has experienced something similar and what the outcome was.

19M dealing with recurring knee swelling/reactive arthritis — looking for advice

A few months ago my right knee got extremely swollen to the point where I could barely walk. Doctors drained the fluid, tested it (came back clean), and gave me a cortisone shot. Blood tests were mostly good and one doctor believes it’s reactive arthritis.

After the first swelling, I eventually got back to normal. I was able to work again, play basketball again, and move normally for a while.

I also play a lot of basketball, and both times the major swelling happened after basketball games. When my left knee started swelling up, my right knee also started swelling again during the same week.

After around 2 weeks on medication, I started feeling a lot better and was finally able to walk normally again. I was walking normally for around 4 days, but now my right knee has started swelling up again as well.

The fluid has gone down compared to before, but I still get stiffness, warmth, and flare-ups where it feels like fluid comes back. No redness or fever. I’m currently on prednisone, celecoxib, sulfasalazine, and hydroxychloroquine.

I also need nose surgery because one side of my sinus is blocked, and I constantly have a lot of mucus draining into my throat. I’ve been wondering if the inflammation/infection from my nose could somehow be connected to the knee swelling and flare-ups.

Has anyone here dealt with recurring knee effusions/reactive arthritis like this? Did it calm down over time with treatment?