Working with PSA

Hi Boo, Sorry to hear you're struggling with it, I'm an old timer compared to you but still, hobbling about like you're 90 when you're only in your 30's is hard to deal with too during a flare up. Unlike you I was never diagnosed with PSA officially but all the signs were there, swollen fingers and toes around the joints, always had a bad lower back, horrendous pain in my right hip where I struggled to walk for months. I wasn't working because of my psoriasis was so bad but I'd get people sniggering behind my back when I was hobbling around if I went out! I was like it for months and thought I might have to have a hip replacement on top of my other ailments it was hard to take. Late August/September 2020 I started taking a multi-vitamin with cod liver oil from tescos (their own brand) and some strong vitamin d3 soft gell capsules from a company called nu u nutrition. They are 10,000iu so about 10x stronger than you can buy in a pharmacy. After a few months taking my supplements my pain went all together. My joints still don't look the same and don't know if they ever will or not, we'll see. But I do feel back to normal at least. Do you have any other forms of psoriasis? Because all of my skin plaques have gone too, I've been in remission since January 2021. People are very ignorant aren't they when it comes to medical issues, we can't change other people unfortunately. Sorry you've felt like this. Hope you're feeling better soon.

Hi Boo, I'm so sorry that you feel misunderstood. Life is so much easier when you feel listened to and supported, and despite not having this at work I hope you have people you can talk to about this outside of work. I am in my mid-twenties and seem to be having a similar experience to you at work. On the surface my manager seems supportive regarding my psoriasis and PsA, but any reasonable suggestions I make or issues I raise are continually knocked down. It must be difficult for others to comprehend the pain that we are in, because they can't see it, or acknowledge the continuous struggle of living with chronic health conditions. Compounding this are the assumptions made about young adults, our lifestyles, health, abilities, ambitions, and priorities. The image that most people have of twenty-somethings is very different to the reality that we are living as a result of our health and PsA. If you tell your manager that you are struggling because of a health condition, they should listen to you. Once they know about your pain/PsA, any preconceived ideas about your health because of your age should have been flung out of the window, it should not cloud their judgement, and definitely should not negatively impact you at work. In a way, I'm grateful that my psoriasis flares are so visible that I don't feel the need to prove that I am struggling. But this is part of the problem: I wish it was easier for everyone to understand that chronic, non-life-threatening conditions are real and painful whether they can see it or not. The only way that people even come close to understanding is with effective communication, and if you've already got HR involved then I'm assuming you've already had discussions, emails, calls, etc where you have communicated what you are struggling with and what can be done to help. It can take a lot of courage to talk about chronic pain to people at work, and talking about it can bring up difficult emotions anyway. But when you are made to feel misunderstood, upset, and frustrated, if they haven't adequately addressed issues you have raised, or if they don't see any of this as their problem, then they are failing in their duty of care towards you as their employee. Remember to look after yourself, listen to yourself and your body even when you feel like others don't, and never underestimate the impact of stress and poor mental health on your physical health. Do what works for you, surround yourself with supportive people, and ask for help when you need it. I hope that work gets easier, that everything works out well for you, and that you put your health first. With love, itches, and aches, Scaling-up <3