Just wondering yr thoughts on Anti Inflammatories. My doctor is opposed
to them as they do nothing to halt disease and nail your stomach.
I only take if VERY bad (mobic) ---- like NOW!
Actually, come to think of it my last Rheumy insisted I took twice a day....
Does it help with joint errosion.....?
Make sure they are taken with food, very important, anti inflammatory means just that, reduces the inflammation hopefully. Does nothing to stop errosion. They are used in combination with other drugs as far as I am aware. Read as much as you can yourself, don't always rely on the doctors, go to him well prepared. Gill
So far I have taken quite a few of them and the only ones that really worked for me are no longer available. I am now using Mobic and it is doing nothing for me either. After this prescription is done. I am done with all the Anti Inflamatories...It's a waste of time for me and I am not subjugating my stomach to any more hell. Actually I am thinking about coming off the Enbrel and going back on the MTX, as soon as I am done taking the INH. Not wasting my time taking drugs than can cause some very serious problems for us that only give a smidgen more relief.
Toni
I took relafen. I think that's an anti-inflammatory? I am not sure! I am not sure if it actually did anything either... hmm. relafin did nothing for me :( Only ibuprofin sometimes works. alwaysworks for headaches, although now it wont' since i just said that.
yeah, Relafin is an af.
I too don't see a lot of use in them and told my RD years ago there was no eal reason to prescribe them. OTC advil works just as well...and no, they do nothing to slow down or stop the disease.
I admit I take more than I should if Advil, but it's the only pain reliever I'm comfortable using during the day.
Toni~I love your new aviator....how cute!!
I am taking ibuprofen, 800 mgs three times a day for pain. After examining my x-rays which were negative for RA after almost a year, my RD has put off DMARDS until she reassesses the level of progression again in February. I know that's a lot of ibuprofen, but I take 30 mg of Prevacid every morning, and I always take the ibuprofen with food. So far, no stomach problems.
I find it interesting that some of you say you don't want to take anti-inflammatories because of the side effects, when the DMARDS have far worse and more dangerous side effects most of the time, as well as severe allergic reactions, not to mention the fact that none of them seem to work for any appreciable length of time, you have to keep changing, and adding, and trying this and trying that. That's my future, I realize, depending on what my RD says in February, but I surely don't look forward to it.
In short, if you protect your stomach with one of the meds like Prevacid and take the ibuprofen with food, you should be protected from GERD or ulcers. I find a huge reduction in pain and don't think I could go without taking an anti-inflammatory.
I took heavy duty naproxyn (with a buffer drug and always with food) when I was first diagnosed. It doesn't affect the disease at all, but it was the boost I needed to have the ability to attend classes at college and keep my life going. As the DMARDs really took affect, I dropped off the anti-inflammatories, but if I hadn't had them at the beginning, my life would have ground to a halt because of the RA.I take a combination of anti inflammatories and I also have to take them twice a day. The funny thing is that I really miss VIOXX that was the best thing that had happened and they had to go take it away no I take twice as many pills. My sister found my secret stash of Vioxx and she flushed it only if she new how the difference it made. Well lets just hope that they can come up with another form of vioxx so we all can feel a little better.
Thanks Lovie I love it too...Makes me want to go out and play with the neighborhood kids, that is if we get enough snow here to do some sleding...
Gosh, over the past ten years I've been on just about every NSAID. Currently on 10 mg Mobic and Aciphex [for GERD] and 12.5 mg MTX. One thing I've noticed about NSAIDS: The seem to stop working after several months to a year. Then I switch to another until it doesn't work any longer, then another.
Recently I was waiting in the doctor's office and started to talking to manufacturer's rep who was there to see MD and drop of samples. He told me that it's not uncommon for people to find that NSAIDS stop working after a while. However, if you stop NSAIDS "A" for a while then switch to NSAID "B" for a while, and then try tNSAIDS "A" again, often it will start working again. Good to know that others found this to be true.
As of yesterday I am off the Celebrex cause it is not doing anything for me. So far I cant say I see a difference.
Lesle
You could try googling the word "inflammation." Knowledge is power!
Inflammation is the body's response to injury or irritation or disease, often manifested by pain or swelling or redness or heat. Why you should worry about it? Simple: it's your body telling you something is wrong.
She's being a smartass Lee....check her website. She's pushing her services. She does not have RA or anything like it. Search all her post....everything she says to us here leads to one thing. Her services.
She "Guarantees" a cure. Click on her link if you're interested. I for one am not...and would appreciate it if She would stop talking to us like we're a bunch of idiots!!
I'm with Lovie.
"Deep tissue massage and vitamins will cure all your problems!"
NOT! If only it were that easy! If I had a dime for every "guaranteed" cure...
I'm new to this board and obviously very naive about some of the people posting here. So thanks, Lovie and Hatari, for the heads up. It's rather disheartening to see people abuse the intent of this board and to make such baseless claims. Old saying, "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably isn't."
Lee
I've found that to be very true Lee. Some of those type treatments might help temporarilly....but they will not cure what's wrong with us. Any claims of that nature are very misleading.
Don't be dishearted....we try to stay on top of it...but some slip through. It's not your fault at all!!
I had no treatment but nsaids for most of the years I've had this disease. My tummy gets along fine with them as long as I take them with food or milk. I don't think I'd still be alive without them. I would much rather take an nsaid than a narcotic painkiller.
However just because they relieve pain and stiffness, they do not slow the distruction of your joints at all. Just because you feel better does not mean you are getting better!
I was told by the Rheumatology Nurse Pract to take Relafin 750 mg twice a day on a routine basis. I tried it but made me so sleepy I had to stop. At first it did not offer much relief, just took the edge off the pain of a severe flare. After more time on Plaquenil when I take the Relafin now it seems more effective. Strange? Maybe it works better for mild to moderate pain? I swear I saw on an information site about Relafin a warning that you had to sit up straight for 30 minutes after taking it. I have looked at other sites about this drug that did not mention that. I remember saying to myself when I read it "Oh great, another drug just like Fosamax." I have noticed that it makes my stomach growly but causes no burning.
Barbara/Tmir