Well, still battling this, pain, stiffness, swelling. My aunt, who is a nurse ask me what anti-inflammatory I was taking, told her all I am taking is MTX, predisone and Advil. She suggested celebrex, said that it does a good job for the inflammation. Anyway, I have been trying to call my doctor, but no luck so far. And to top it off, the plant where I work is shutting down and my last day is Dec 19th. My aunt said that she can get me sample packs of celebrex, my question is if I cannot get ahold of my doctor, would it hurt me to take it. I will be job hunting and walking into a place limping and on a cane, well may be a mark against me.
Thanks
Phil
Hey pbowman! I tried Celebrex because I needed an anti-inflammatory, but had given myself an ulcer from years of Advil abuse.
It worked like a charm for me: helped the stiffness and swelling without trashing my stomach. Unfortunately, it's expensive and--according to the insurance protocols--one of the last drugs in their "step protocol." As a result, I'm still trying to convince my insurance company to pay for it.
The Celebrex website specifically says it's OK to take it with methotrexate. It does slightly increase your risk of bleeding, and of course Prednisone thins your skin & blood vessels, so that might be something to watch out for. Still, it sounds like you're only going to do it temporarily until you see your doctor. I know I can't give medical advice, but I can tell you if it was me, I'd go ahead and take it. If you are going to take it, stop the Advil. Don't take any other NSAIDS or aspirin with it either.
Good luck with your job hunt!
Phil,
I agree with Blue Heron. When I switched from Advil to Celebrex it made a big difference for me. The does for RA patients is one 200mg pill once or twice a day. I have to take it twice a day, as I'm really feeling a pain surge 12 hours after a celebrex. I started with samples from the doc, then called and asked for a prescription. He called in a 30-pill prescription, and I called back to say that would only last 2 weeks since I really need the two pills a day. He then called in a 60-day prescription, had no problem with me taking that much.
Like she said, no other asprin or ibuprofen while you're on celebrex. (Though I do take one baby asprin every other day as prescribed for circulatory insurance.)
By the way, if you've been trying to call your doctor about medicine and aren't getting any return calls, that's a bad sign if this has been going on long or consistently. With RA, we need to have reasonable access to our docs if we're going to manage the disease responsibly. Next time you see your doc, ask what you should expect in terms of call back from him or his office when you need to get in touch with him. It's possible he doesn't know there is a problem in his office and needs to know.
Good luck. I hope the celebrex does as much for you as it has for me. It doesn't make my pain go away and there are still good days and bad, but it ususally lets me walk without a noticeable hobble, once the morning stiffness has decreased, more days than I would normally.
Celebrex, didn't work out so good for me. I had pretty severe dizzyness & everything that goes with it reactions. so i wasnt even on it for 2 weeks & had to be taken off of it asap. it did seem as if it helped with the pain a little bit though, not to sure on that one, dont think i was able to stay on it long enough to find out really.
Well, not due to see my doctor again until Feb 2nd, but at the end of December my insurance runs out, so will be SOL then. Trying to get registered for VA health (should of done it along time ago), to maybe help out a bit, because as of right now in this area the job market is dried up. My aunt can get me some sample packs of celebrex, so will probably have to do that, but when my current prescriptions run out for MTX and predisone, then not for sure what to do then. As of right now taking about 600-800 mg's twice a day of advil, that helps me walk better and alleviates the pain.
Phil