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
- Happy January to everyone sufferingby Flin on January 15, 2025
Hi All Haven’t posted for a while as I’ve been toddling along after another steroid shot in the butt, but it’s wearing off just as I’m due another one! New rheumy not keen to start another biologic yet due to immune system issues and I think probably that I’m running out of options. Now all the symptoms are coming back something I’ve meant to ask is do others get really blurry vision? […]
- New biologic but also waiting for knee replacement after hip replacementby Rebel_mom on January 13, 2025
in September of 2024 I had a right hip replacement with two bad knees. the hip replacement went well but the left leg over compromised and now the left knee is swollen to the point I still am walking with a cane and the pain and discomfort is taxing. The Ortho wants to do the left knee first since it is very large and needs replaced but my husband is having his done this coming Monday from wear […]
- Month 8 on Taltzby Amos on January 11, 2025
Hi all, it’s been a while and I have kicked back during the busy Christmas/New Year season. Tomorrow I will use the auto-injector for my 8th dose of Taltz. I was getting discouraged at month 6 and was preparing myself for another change. But in the 6 weeks, either I am slipping into a remission or the Taltz is starting to work. The deep, tiring, aches and stiffness has subsided quite a bit. I […]
- Humira and fever blisters?by Mom_Cat on January 3, 2025
Happy New Year to all you good peeps! Got a rather strange question to ask the Humira users. Or anyone who might be in the know on such matters I did my first Humira injection 7 days ago. No problems at all. Now I know it’s WAY WAY WAY too early to know if it’s doing anything but speaking with my Nurse Ambassador yesterday, when she asked how I was doing, I mentioned that other than a rather […]
- Last Chance to Support Ben’s Friends in 2024 – Every Donation Counts!by Ben_Munoz on December 30, 2024
As we count down the final hours of 2024, I want to personally thank the 100+ donors who have already contributed over $27,000 to our Friends Helping Friends campaign. Your generosity is nothing short of inspiring, and it lays the foundation for the vital work Ben’s Friends will accomplish in 2025. While we haven’t quite reached our campaign goal yet, there is still time for you to help. 1) […]
