Hello, been reading your posts a while now and and really like this forum. I was dx with ra in aug 07. I am currently taking 20mg of mtx & folic acid. I'm having pretty good results with the mtx I think feet are better not perfect do hurt when I'm on them too much. my hands & wrists bother me if I try to lift too much. on the pain scale I'm not hurting too bad usually don't need any pain pills other than Ibuprofen. my question is my Rd wants me to start Remicade now, I really don't like the idea of starting another drug now that I'm managing ok with the mtx. he thinks since my hands are still sensitive when you press on joints that I need to be on something else. I do have swollen knuckles and some finger stiffness all the time. my question is do you think this is too soon for me to to be on the Remicade? also my Dr has never seen xrays of my hands ortho Dr took xrays last year and has them on a cd, Rd says they have no software to read them, so he is just going by written reports on my hands. Thanks so much for listening.
Not sure if it's too soon or not. What I do think though is this...YOU need to be the one to decide what happens to your body. If you feel you'd rather see how well you'll do on the mtx, then that's what you need to do. You could also see about adding other meds like plaquenil or sulfasalazine to the mix before going to remicade. Read up on a few of these other drugs and do what YOU think is best. Be informed when you go back to talk with your doctor and ask if there are other options to look at.
Oh...and welcome!
Kelly
Welcome to AI! I'm on MTX only and found that it wasn't until I hit the usual max dose for RA of 25 mg that I found real relief. Your rheumy has reason to be concerned if you are still showing inflammation in your joints as the rate of damage is increased when inflammation is present. If you are concerned about the addition of another med, perhaps you could ask for an increase in your MTX dose to the max first. I was dx'd in Aug 2006 and didn't get full relief until Feb/Mar 07 on 25 mg (and a cortisone shot in my wrist). I started with 15 mg in pills, then increased to 25 mg injections.My hands got their worst when I had really bad inflammation and non-stop swelled fingers and knuckles. I now have decreased bone density, from pred usage, and I have little to no hand strength. My current RD is really concerned about my hands, and will be doing an MRI of them some time soon.
I can say... I wish my hands were not like they are now. I have a hard time doing things with them. Life was soo much easier when my fingers cooperated and were able to do everyday tasks, unlike now.
Best of Luck to Ya!
The drugs are not about controlling pain, they are for stopping damage. Swelling indicates inflamation and that ends up being damage - permanent damage.
Have a really intense discussion with your RD.
I wish I had done the 'more' path much sooner.
Marian that's a good point. I will be seeing my Rd in 3 weeks. we will be discussing this. Thanks again for all the replys. Janlee. I wanted to add my name to the welcome wagon. I too, am sorry