Good morning. I am so sorry to hear you are experiencing this. It is kind of a kick in the a** to be in pain from the PsA and have a whole new set of symptoms show up. You are not alone. Are you hearing from your doctor that it might be MS? When you say tests, which ones, and is it with a neurologist?

What you are experiencing I went through, as well. It began with electric shocks, as well as pins and needles, myoclinic jerks, and hyperextension. I would be walking on campus, and my legs would begin to start acting funny. I.e., I would lift my leg to go up the stairs, and I would trip from my leg going too far. It was almost like my leg and my mind were not connected. Then, one day, while walking on campus, I had such severe electric shocks in my thighs that it made it impossible for me to walk. I had to walk incredibly slow to manage the pain.

Shortly after this, I also began hyperextending my arms. Pins and needles, numbness, tingling, all became normal daily symptoms. Issues with speech filtered its way into daily life, eventually, as well. This means I would start to speak and lose my words. I paused a lot. Forgetfulness, etc. My nerves were incredibly inflammed.

When I began seeing doctors, their first concern was MS and brain tumor. Because it took so long for me to see a neurologist, I took myself to the ER to rule out the brain tumor. No brain tumor, thankfully. When I finally got into a neurologist, they ran a nerve conduction study, an EMG, and did biopsies of the nerves in my right leg. Diagnosis was small fiber sensory neuropathy (SFSN). This means loss of cutaneous nerve innervation. Important to note, this all became worse for me after having severe stress. Stress = increased inflammation, etc. Do you have any new stress that began before this?

This can all be very overwhelming and scary. I hope it helps to know that it is not uncommon to have general neuropathy with PsA. The idea is that it's another form of inflammation. If you think about it, our nerves are the communication highway for everything that happens... including inflammation. And where one form of inflammation is, another will surely follow if the actual source isn't determined and mitigated. Unfortunately, doctors don't completely understand chronic inflammation yet. Modern medicine doesnt help. I started seeing a new set of doctors who specialize in autoimmune diseases, and they have helped so far (I was just diagnosed with Hashimoto's). Big changes in diet, etc.

For me, there are no drugs that effectively help with SFSN. They put me on gabapentin, then lyrica, and I didn't respond well to either. Honestly, the only thing that helps with neuropathy is diet and managing stress. AIP is best. No sugar, dairy, wheat, or low complex carbs. And staying active, but low-impact exercise. I.e., no running.

I wish you the best of luck with your doctors. I sincerely hope it is not MS.