Newbie | Arthritis Information

Hello everyone,

My name is Amber and I am 21. I was just recently diagnosed with RA a couple months ago. I was taking Hydroxycloroquine 200MG and that wasn't working alone. I am now taking that medication along with Sulfazine 500MG. I just started the Sulfazine about 2 weeks ago and I haven't noticed any changes. Right now I am only taking 2 a day.I am still swollen and can't walk to well. Hopefully the new meds will work soon because I dont want to get into the "X" drugs or so my doctor calls them.
I am alittle worried about what my future holds in terms of joint deformation and not being able to things my peers are doing.
I was working out everyday doing pilates and walking around my neighborhood but since I can't walk to well at the moment I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions?
Hello Amber , I have had Ra for about 11 years now and have no joint dammage

( thank god ) you just need to get your Ra under control . Give your meds some

time to work -a few months - if they are not working you may need to go into

something stronger .

Stay possitive that you will get it under control and work out when you can to

keep those joints flexible. When my hands hurt I use stress balls to squeeze

until the pain is gone. sometimes you have to improvise what you do , be

creative .

Also it's not bad to use the X drugs if they are the ones that get your Ra

under control .

Good luck to you !!!

[QUOTE=Amberisaok]Hello everyone,
My name is Amber and I am 21. I was just recently diagnosed with RA a couple months ago. I was taking Hydroxycloroquine 200MG and that wasn't working alone. I am now taking that medication along with Sulfazine 500MG. I just started the Sulfazine about 2 weeks ago and I haven't noticed any changes. Right now I am only taking 2 a day.I am still swollen and can't walk to well. Hopefully the new meds will work soon because I dont want to get into the "X" drugs or so my doctor calls them.
I am alittle worried about what my future holds in terms of joint deformation and not being able to things my peers are doing.
I was working out everyday doing pilates and walking around my neighborhood but since I can't walk to well at the moment I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions?
[/QUOTE]

Hi Amber. I would be concerned that your doctor is not willing to treat your newly diagnosed disease as aggressively as possible, avoiding permanent joint damage. I don't really know what he's referring to as X drugs, but there are many new, very effective meds available to RA'ers now, and sticking with the old standbys are not necessarily the best approach.

I would encourage you to educate yourself as much as possible about all the available meds, and the next time you see your doc, you will be able to engage in discussions with him/her about the best approach to your treatment.

This site is extremely helpful, and there's lots of folks here who have been on a variety of these meds who can give you excellent advice.

Welcome!