Hi Everyone,
I have been reading your forum for about a week now and have gotten a lot of great info. I decided it was time to jump in and say "hi" and ask some questions. I was just diagnosed with RA 2 weeks ago and just finished a course of Prednisone which helped immediately and was a miracle. I have not been out of pain in a long time and was the first week of the pred. I cannot take any of the oral RA meds as my liver tests were a little high so my RD said I need to go with the biologics. I am so nervous about starting them with all of the side effects I have heard about.
Thanks so Much, Angie hi angie. welcome to the board! i picked humira for my first biological. it worked like the next day for me. i seem to respond well to meds. i did however have to stop taking it due to reoccuring bladder infections, but that was due to me having Interstitial cystitis (IC). hope the biologicals help you out
Welcome. Well i had some elevated liver enzymes last flare and they went back to normal? Who knows why. So i hope your liver ensymes gets better. I assure you that you can have RA and it not show up on a RF test. There is an anti-ccp test it tooks along time for it to come back from the lab. Some people get an RA diagnoses and nothing shows up on blood work. I have had RA for along time and it only showed up on the blood work recently. Some people never do. Alot of people on this board have RA and no RF positive to back it up. They call it serum negative. Very common. Welcome. I don't know anything about the biologics. Someone will and hopefully answer your question. You just ask all the questions you want. We will try to answer them for you and we are hear for you. What was your CCP? I was the oppositie, sky high RF, high SEd but no CCP. At least in the beginning. Since you're just starting out - you might check out www.roadback.org. It's an alternative to the biologics. So...what's your story? Did it just come on or are you like a lot of us with years until you got the diagnosis? Pip Welcome Angie. I'm sero-negative also; but often have an elevated SEDSrate. I took Humira with good results for two years. I also used MTX in combination with it though so your results could be different. Even if you did we all react differently to the meds. I originally choose Humira because the original dose is every other week. Being a little worried about giving the injections at home I wanted to do them as little as possible. I wish you good luck with what every you choose. Thanks so much everyone for the info!!! I didn't even know what sero-negative was so I am learning a lot. My RD did not mention sero-negative she just told me that I have Fibro and RA. I have had problems the last couple of years with pain in my joints and fatigue at different times but just attributed it to having to lose weight. About 3 months ago everything changed for me. I started getting so fatigued and had no energy!!! I started hurting all over and go to a local urgent care for a primary care doctor because nobody here takes Tricare. I was in so much pain one night and could hardly move my arms because my shoulders hurt so much that my husband took me to the ER. All they could do was give me pain meds and said I needed to see a Reumy. I made an appointment with the Reumy and had to wait 3 weeks. I was so happy to go to that appointment and had to pay out of pocket but I didn't care!!! She examined me and said that day that I had Fibro and she was pretty sure I had RA. She took tons of blood, put me on Pred for 2 weeks and I go back next week for TB test and than go on bilogics. That is my story, came on fast and furious and I was blessed to get diagnosed quickly. Thanks so much for all of the info and encouraging words. I will keep posting and reading and am so thankful I found this forum with others who understand what I am going through. Hugs, Angie Hi Angie, Hi and welcome. First I'd like to address the Tricare issue. Even though there's no provider in the area you can get special authorization to be seen and Tricare will pay. If the provider won't file a claim for services you can file. I've had Tricare Prime for 13 years and just went on Tricare for Life. I've been on DMARDS and Biologics for the last 3 years and to date I've had one infection and that was minor. The drugs are scary but for me the disease is scarier. Please make sure that you follow the advice of your doctors. I wasn't compliant for many years because of denial and fear and I have some major damage and complications because of it. Take care and keep us posted on your progress. Lindy
I am also sero-negative with RA. I have used both Enbrel and Humira. Humira worked very well fo me until I developed an allergy to it(that happens in less than 1 percent of the people who use Humira) I never had a problem with any infections while I was on Enbrel or Humira. RA is different in everyone, so I can't really tell you which one you should use. I do know people who have had great success with both Enbrel and Humira though..
Take care,
Lynn
the better. I do not take biologics so can't give much advice. Try to stay
away from the pred if at all possible. It is hard to come off of if taken too
long. Good luck and post often.WELCOME!! While you're here please remember the #1 rule: There are no stupid questions. So fire away anytime there's something you don't understand and someone here will have an answer for you.
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