Help. Where do I even start?!
I am hoping to get some opinions on which doctor would be the best place to start in order to get a concrete diagnosis and hopefully some relief of what I am certain is psoriatic arthritis. I have been putting this off for years but am now at a point where my mobility has become a serious issue and I’m afraid of the further damage I’ll be doing if I continue doing nothing.
Keep in mind I have not been officially diagnosed with anything, nor do I claim to be a doctor but with these symptoms I don’t think a medical license is needed to see what I’m looking at…
Years ago what I wrote off as just a summertime “itchy scalp” my hairdresser thought looked a lot more like psoriasis which I just learned to live with and used an OTC shampoo whenever I experienced flare ups. No big deal.
Then I started noticing my toenails were growing very thick. They looked to be growing in layers on top of each other rather than just growing long. Sometimes even painful to just have cut when getting a pedicure. One time my entire big toenail came off completely when I just stubbed my toe on a coffee table!
Then itchy patches of dry, flaky skin were showing up on my knees and the top and bottoms of my feet. I developed a quarter size patch of what looks to be layers upon layers of thick, dry skin on one of my knees that resembles a giant scab but white in color, not the reddish purple of a normal scab. Random tiny, itchy blisters in between my fingers and wrists would appear out of nowhere.
I have always had issues with foot pain due to being born with extremely flat feet and a drill team injury from years ago in high school, but my feet were saving their best work for now! I developed swelling in my feet and toes, and every single step I take is excruciating. My joints are so weak I feel like my feet are falling inwards, almost like I am walking on the insides of my ankles. Stepping on an elastic pony tail holder while barefoot feels like a thousand jagged rocks.
Then this past year I have noticed it was getting harder and harder for me to stand up from a seated position. When trying to just laugh it off as “getting old sucks!” I knew it wasn’t. I am 58 years old - not 88 this isn’t just from getting older, this is a real problem that I need to get a handle on today.
Lastly, my quality of life is non-existent. Most days even a quick trip to the post office is a struggle and more and more I find myself asking my husband to pick something up from the store for me rather than the effort it takes for me to just get in the car. I’m not going to lie, I feel like life is passing me by. I’m sad and depressed.
So where do I start? My problem is I haven’t been to a doctor in years - for anything. Reading everyone’s stories tells me this disease isn’t an easy one - just getting diagnosed looks to be an uphill climb. So my question is, which doctor should I start with to get the ball rolling the quickest?
General Doctor?
Dermatologist?
Foot Doctor?
Rheumatologist?
I feel like the goal is to get an appointment with a rheumatologist, but do I need one of the others to refer me to one or can I just cut out all the paperwork and start there?
When making the appointment do I just say I think I may have psoriatic arthritis? I know most doctors despise when patients come in with a self diagnosis.
I am in the US and currently have an obvious skin psoriasis lesion visible on my knee if that helps in the diagnosis.
Thanks in advance and thank you for reading my lengthy ramble.