rheumatoid vs osteo vs psoriatic

For me, arthritis pain is pain! I have fibromyalgia too, but that pain is different.

When my OA or RA flares beyond what my oral medications control, I use ice, Voltaren gel, self-massage and gentle stretching to relieve the pain.

I love @sueinnm's perspective! If you read the autoimmune support posts, in time you might see that it can take years for an autoimmune illness to be diagnosed. For me it was 10-20 years before I had a diagnosis of seronegative RA. But recently my rheumatologist has said, We may have been treating your psoriatic arthritis as RA. He is kind and meant: the treatment would be similar, the important thing is to continue to see what symptoms manifest and find treatment.

You don't say why you are asking this. Maybe you've been in the same place!? with pain (is pain) that needs to be addressed.

Osteo is a clinical and X-ray diagnosis related to your age and symptoms with negative blood tests
RA has more specific symptoms and labs that help confirm the type of arthritis seen on radiology testing suggesting a pattern of erosive and inflammatory arthritis.
Psoriasis is usually apparent before onset of psoriatic arthritis.
The pattern and sites of involvement such as digits spine and neck make a difference. Labs are not helpful except to exclude positive RA tests.
It can take a long period of evolution for your rheumatologist to make a diagnosis with testing and history.

the rheumatologist felt my joints asked me about mobility and said its osteo arthritis

3 or 4 years ago I was diagnosed with sero negative, lately I am hurting, finding it hard to get moving , having issues finding meds for it , can't take methotrexate/leuflonamide or hydroxychloroquine. rheumatologist said the other meds are expensive . My family doc says some are subsidised by the government ( why didnt the rheumatologist say that)? don't know if my family doc can prescribe them often only a specialist can.

@seniormed You said "... Labs are not helpful except to exclude positive RA tests..." But many of us, diagnosed via symptoms and obvious damage, do have RA not apparent in blood tests, even the more sensitive ones than SED rates and ANA results.

According to my rheumatologist, there are roughly 200 types of arthritis, and there are not accurate tests for many of them, so diagnosis is an art - recording symptoms and eliminating other causes. So you are correct "...It can take a long period of evolution for your rheumatologist to make a diagnosis with testing and history...

To those still seeking, please don't give up. More is understood every day, and there are treatments that at least relieve symptoms for many types of RA.

@tisme You asked "...don't know if my family doc can prescribe them often only a specialist can..." The answer is that most often the doc who has led you through trials of meds that don't work is the one who must prescribe the newer, more expensive medications. It can quite a lot of work on their part to document what has been tried. And some insurers make it quite difficult to get approved.
So, if the rheumatologist feels the newer drugs would be beneficial, pleas ask him for a prescription. If he is in a clinic, or has a staff, he probably has a person whose job is to shepherd the "Prior Approval" request through the system.

I am in Australia so the rules etc are different

@jw9 Hi. You've gotten me mixed up with someone else. I'm sueinnm. You want to reply to sueinmn. Easy to get confused.

@tisme
Most pharmaceuticals offer reduced cost meds. Look at their website to see if you qualify.