What's it like to run with Psoriatic Arthritis?

I'm not actually at a point in my running fitness where the Psoriatic Arthritis and inflammation are a problem for me.  The runs I do are relatively low distance, and due to having run less than 10 miles a month this year on average, my cardio is usually the limiting factor.

My current pattern is to run Tuesday evenings while pushing my son in the stroller, Thursdays in the evening by myself, and Saturday mornings pushing my son in the stroller. We have park less than a mile from our house, so I will run past it or on it's maze of trails (depending on length of run) and then come back to it and the playground for my son to get his exercise time in.  Once he gets out of the stroller, my run is basically over, because he is never happy about getting back in. 

Every Saturday, I take a subcutaneous injection of a TNF inhibitor.  I usually do it after my run, after I shower.  I alternate injections in the top of my thighs... I don't have any track marks yet.  The weekly injection has become fairly commonplace at my house.  My wife used to request that I do it when she wasn't in the house.  I have an auto-click injector that has the exact dosage already in it, and even if she's in another room of the house, she can hear the mechanism click and knowing what is happening kind of grossed her out.  They arrive on an almost monthly basis at my house in a Styrofoam cooler with cold packs.  The medicine degrades if it isn't refrigerated, so it goes from the cooler into the back of the fridge.  I pull on out and let it sit on the counter for about 15 minutes so it gets up to room temperature (gotta keep it out of reach of the almost 2 year old).  Once it reaches room temperature, I find a place where I can sit down, swab the top of my thigh with alcohol, and then give myself the injection.  The wife isn't bothered by the noise anymore.  I then take the injector up to the top shelf of my closet and deposit it in a sharps container and go about my day.

This image is from a guide for use of these types of injectors.  It's a little better looking than my thigh.

I don't inject based off of need or feeling, and it would probably take several months of not taking the medication for me to stop using it.  Psoriatic Arthritis isn't curable, it's symptoms are sometimes manageable.  Some people will probably have to change medications or dosages as time goes on if they aren't getting what they need.  We will see what happens with me. 

As my distance increases and I make efforts to increase my speed, I will continue to update what I think is typical soreness and what is inflammation due to my Psoriatic Arthritis.  I don't know if I will be able to tell.

Introduction & History

In 2013, I was diagnosed with Psoriatic Arthritis.  I had never heard of it before I was diagnosed.  Psoriasis is probably more commonly known than the arthritic component.  I can't claim great knowledge of the facts, and if I have something more accurate than Wikipedia, then I will definitely cite my sources.  From what I understand, 30% of people with Psoriasis get Psoriatic Arthritis, and 70% of people that get Psoriatic Arthritis show signs of Psoriasis.

I've had relatives that had Psoriasis before me, and I considered myself very fortunate that I only exhibited signs of it on my scalp, which were only an inconvenience for me and not scabs and splotches on my arms that might make friends and coworkers uncomfortable.  In the end, this "luck" probably delayed my diagnosis.

Since graduating college at 23, I'm 29 at the time of this entry, I've tried to be very active.  In addition to running, I have been playing recreational soccer, ultimate frisbee, volleyball, basketball, tennis, and anything else I can play.  I started noticing strong ankle pain after soccer games in late 2012 that carried on days after games.  Of course, I loaded up Google and tried to self-diagnose, and ended up going to a doctor who was an expert in foot surgery.  Based on x-rays, the doctor determined I had bone spurs.  The advice was to decrease activity (surgery would've sidelined me for a long time).  This turned out to be the worst thing I could do.  After weeks not running, not playing soccer, and not doing any of the other things that kept me loose, my "bone spurs" pain began to manifest in back pain, sternum pain, and rib pain.  I don't fault that doctor, he simply didn't have the expertise.  To be cliche, hindsight is 20/20.  Due to my work schedule, It was 6 months before I was able to see the doctor again, and the advice then was to do physical therapy, which worked wonders.  I was even a benefit of dry needling which I might talk more about later.  Through physical therapy and stretching, I started to see positive gains, but not enough.  Thanks to a trip to another doctor for a second opinion, that doctor sent me to see a rheumatologist, and the rheumatologist prescribed TNF inhibitor, I've been able to live a pretty active life.

I know that's a big jump in the history, but I'd rather not be more overlong than I already am on this post.

My last race was in January 2012. I've only averaged about 10 miles a month this year.  I stay fairly active with playing Ultimate Frisbee and Volleyball (when I'm not chasing around my toddler), and I want to make sure running becomes a bigger part of that.  Through this blog, I will continue tracking my running progress and sharing info about what it's like to run with Psoriatic Arthritis.