Added Mtx 15 mg tabs weekly to my mix of Enbrel 50mg injection, Presnisone 10 mg. daily (tapered from 30 mg.), Celebrex 400 mg. daily. Started to have less inflammation, swelling, and pain at week 2 continued doing well till 7 days ago and swelling is back, only worse, inflammation is back, and pain is up. Very disappointed. I'm going to call my RD tomorrow and see if I should up the Mtx and maybe divide the Enbrel injections and inject 25mg. twice a week. At my last visit 2 weeks ago I still had some inflammation and swelling of my hands and my RD really pushed Remicaid but I wasn't ready to start it. I think I am now. Any suggestions out there? Should I just jump into the Remicade without trying the increase of Mxt? I just want remission. This flare has been with me for about 14 months and xrays aren't looking real good. Thanks
MTX takes about 3 months to start working...if if hasnt been that long then you just need to give it more time.i know the feeling of just wanting a remission.. i've been waiting for years.
mtx can always be increased - or you could to the injections (they dont even burn!!) and my dr says it works better. (dont know if it does or doesn't).
gotta give your meds more time, as hard as that is......
mtx takes months to work, but once it does - it DOES.
Feel better!!! I was wondering because I already have bone erosion in hands and feet and osteopenia. I' ve only been having problems for about five months. I'm scared that after all this medicine if I'm going to die for that or for this disease. Or will I be in a wheelchair within a couple of years. If you don't mind me asking are you how old are you? Hello Nichole: I've read more research and studies than I care to think about. Sometimes it makes the decisions more difficult. Ignorance can be bliss! I was diagnosed with RA 7 years ago and was in remission for about 5 years. I started to flare over a year ago and we haven't been able to find any drug cocktail that puts me in total remission. As long as you have some symptoms, the disease is active and causing damage. I'm 60 years young and at this time in my life I'll try just about any combination of drugs. I had a bone scan done 4 years ago and I had no osteoarthritis or osteopenia. The latest bone scan showed osteopenia and osteoarthritis in hands, feet, knees. Been on Pred. over a year and are relating the osteos to pred. use. I've been taking Actonel and Calcium with D for 5 years and shouldn't be showing the osteos on bone scan. I'm much too active to be in a wheelchair and if the drugs keep me moving then I'll take them. At my age I have to die of something. When I die I want to die after hiking, swimming, or making love; not die because I'm in a wheelchair and can't walk and blood clots formed due to inactivity. I almost died last year because of inactivity. I threw a clot and it traveled to my lungs. Stan and I decided that it was time to retire and enjoy what time there was left for us as a couple. I also have pulmonary and cardiac symptoms from the RA. Three months after I was diagnosed with a pulmonary embolism we were on our way to live in Mexico for 4 months. Stan and I had the trip of a lifetime. We were asked by some ex pats from the U.S. and Canada to help with fundraising for some of the villages in the mountain area. We organized fundraisers and delivered food and medical supplies to the villages and school supplies to grade schools that didn't even have running water. With grace and compassion I hope to do the same thing this year for at least 6 months. I can travel back to the states every 2 months for my Remicade infusions. So far I'm still in pain and swelling is worse. I've found if I give of myself and volunteer then I feel better and I need fewer drugs. There were days when I needed pain meds but that's ok. I feel that quality of life is what counts. If you don't smoke, drink heavily, and eat a well balanced diet, exercise when you can, and most importance live in the moment then you're way ahead of the health game, no matter what medications you have to take to function. I live in the moment. I don't worry about the past and I don't try and influence the future. I know this is a really long response but arthritis isn't just about drugs, it's about how one lives their life, and the influence that living has on the disease. I volunteer because not only does it get me out and moving and involved in the communities, it helps me mentally and physically. I know that what I do is impossible or at least tough for other people. I don't have small children to care for and I don't have to work. This works for me and makes me happy and I think in the long run it will help me deal with RA, PA, OA, and all of the complications. This is my life. I know you didn't ask for this but RA is so much more than just medication. We should be in Nevada for 3 weeks in May and I've signed up to volunteer at the Senior Center for their fundraiser for the meals on wheels program. In June, July, and August we'll be in a small town in Washington state and I'll volunteer at the Senior Center. Then I'll give myself a little rest until we get ready to leave for Mexico in October.
I hope that this makes sense to you...sometime I ramble. I hope that you're in remission. Let me know how you're doing. Lindy, Your response was an inspiration to me. I'll be 60 in a few months and have been dealing with what was probably RA for the last 8 years although I was only formally diagnosed 1 1/2 years ago. I too am on all kinds of medication without complete remission: prednisone, plaquanil, methetrexate,enbrel, folic acid etc and all kinds of other medsfor the OA, Sjogren's, fibromyalgia, and skin cancer. I agree with you completely about volunteering and being of service to others even though sick. I work with the migrant farm workers kids in a high school setting. My kids have learning disabilities and are at risk . I've been putting in 9 or 10 hour days and can't continue that any more but will hopefully teach half time next year. I get to keep my health benefits that way, but I also have a reason to get out of bed in the morning. Helping others who are more needy than us does a lot for motivation. It puts things in perspective. Sunday I went to church where I interpret for a deaf woman who is also developmentally delayed. She has been suffering grand mal seizures and had one right in the middle of the church service. When I walked to church, I was feeling sorry for myself because I was in a lot of pain. It took 4 of us to stretch this woman out on a pew and help her regain consciousness. Somehow, my troubles didn't seem so big anymore. I don't think any of us have the energy we need to lead a normal life but we have to go on living as if we did.. Lindy, I think you have the right idea about living . You have to grab the moment and take chances to have fun and keep going. Im only twenty-three and the meds haven't worked yet I still have alot of pain in feet and hands ocassional pain in my knees and shoulder. I'm sorry that nothing has made you feel better. I hope something will put us all in remission forever. I still am having trouble excepting the fact that I can't do everything I want to do . You are a great person for helping others even though you are having problems yourself. If everyone was like you the world would be a better place. I hope something puts you in remission soon.
woobie
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