Living with Psoriatic Arthritis is an online patient support community that is powered by BensFriends.org, a network of patient support communities for rare diseases. Our mission at Ben’s Friends is to ensure that patients living with rare diseases or chronic illnesses, as well as their caregivers, family, and friends, have a safe and supportive place to connect with others like them.
Psoriatic Arthritis (PsA) is a type of inflammatory arthritis which affects people who suffer from the chronic skin condition, psoriasis. Common symptoms of psoriatic arthritis include pain, swelling, or stiffness in one or more joints that are red or warm to the touch.
Persons with psoriatic arthritis also experience pain in and around the feet and ankles, especially tendonitis in the Achilles tendon or Plantar fasciitis in the sole of the foot and in the area of the Sacrum (the lower back, above the tailbone). Changes to the nails, such as pitting or separation from the nail bed also occurs.
LivingWithPsoriaticArthritis.org is a virtual peer-to-peer community intended to be a safe place for patients and family members as young as age 12, to visit for information, discussion, venting and mutual support. Members come from many backgrounds. Some have a strong religious faith, and others no faith; some are children and others adults, rich and poor, graduate educated or taught by life. Our common denominators are that we share a life journey, and we try to help each other.
How is Ben’s Friends Different from Social Media and Other Support Sites?
Our mission at Ben’s Friends is to ensure that patients living with rare diseases or chronic illnesses, as well as their caregivers, family, and friends, have a safe and supportive place to connect with others like them.
We’re interested in you as a person, and in your struggles as a rare disease patient. But we don’t want to know your name or where you live. We won’t even allow you to use your real name when you register for one of our communities. Because when it comes to medical things, anonymity is important in our googly universe. Your information is never shared, and your activity never tracked by adware.
When Ben’s Friends asks for the country and region you live in, that’s in case your fellow members can recommend local resources and help, and so everyone knows what kind of medical system there is where you live. That’s important when it comes to giving and getting support. Because we are all about support, and we’re all in this together..
Ben’s Friends: Safe and Supportive.
And anonymous to keep it that way.
Why create an account?
Posts on the different Ben’s Friends communities can be read by anyone on the internet. You can browse through the different topics and find most of the information you’re looking for but there are many things you won’t be able to do unless you create an account. These include:
Making your own posts. Although you’re able to find useful information just by reading other members’ posts, you might still have a lot of questions in your mind. Either you want to start a new topic to talk about them in detail or you want to reply to a comment on a thread. These won’t be possible unless you create a new user account.
Viewing other members’ profiles. Member profiles include information about the country or region they are from, whether they are a patient or a caregiver, and details about their disease and treatments. Maybe you came across an interesting post and you want to learn more about the member. Or maybe you’re looking for members who are from the same country as you. Having a user account allows you to see other member profiles and find information that may be relevant.
Sending private messages. Aside from being able to post publicly and commenting on a thread, having a user account also allows you to send private messages both to other members and moderators. In case you want to discuss a topic only with a specific person, this is possible by sending private messages when you have created your account.
Click here to create an account and join.
Latest Discussions
- Tips starting Humeria?by Mom_Cat on November 20, 2024
Hi there all you good people! Long time no message. Mea Culpa! After seeing 3 rheumies I finally found one who takes me seriously and who I think is FABULOUS! He’s not sure if I have PsA or seronegative RA (way my luck runs maybe both) but he prescribed sulfasalizine. I actually tolerated it fairly well. Until I developed the most HORRENDOUS taste that would not go away and could not be drowned […]
- Become a Champion for Our Rare Disease Communityby ModSupport on November 19, 2024
Thank you for being an essential part of our Ben’s Friends community. Today, I want to invite you to take your support a step further by becoming a fundraiser for our “Friends Helping Friends” campaign. What does it mean to be a fundraiser? As a fundraiser, you create your own personal fundraising page and share it with your network. It’s a powerful way to amplify our message and reach […]
- Join Us in Strengthening Our Rare Disease Communityby Ben_Munoz on November 15, 2024
I hope this message finds you well. As a valued member of our Ben’s Friends community, I’m reaching out to share an important initiative that directly impacts the support we provide to individuals like you who are affected by rare diseases. Today, we’re launching our annual “Friends Helping Friends” campaign. Our goal is to raise $50,000 by the end of the year to ensure that we can […]
- Got a new Rheumie! And adding methotrexate back inby Northernelf on November 13, 2024
Amazingly didn’t take long and now I have a rheumie a whole 8 minute drive from my house and he seems really good, knowledgeable, and proactive. He wants to keep the Rinvoq going but also add methotrexate back, at a bit of a lower dose (3 tablets weekly). He said it should help the Rinvoq work longer as I have switched biologics a few times. Anyone heard of this before ? Also – he’s going to […]
- Checking In 11/24by amielynn38 on November 13, 2024
Well hello everyone! How is everyone? Post a update so I can touch base with my favorite PsA people. For me, things are average. My PsA is active and causing me some pain but not bothersome enough to change meds. I have started perimenopause at age 43 and I think the hormone fluctuation is causing a lot of my flare symptoms. I am looking into natural and pharmacologic remedies to ease my […]
