Hi everyone,
Found the site last night when I was feeling a bit sorry for myself & was so glad I did! Great site with plenty of useful info & lovely supportive people so here I am to introduce myself...
Diagnosed wth RA 16 years ago (age 20), treated with penicillamine, Gold injectons, prednisolone (prednisone) & methotrexate throughout this time. Had 4 of my joints replaced between years of 1996-2000 - knees & shoulders - and lived pretty much normal life after this for a while, getting back into full time employment etc, my RA well controlled ...then the dreaded flares started to raise their ugly head again in March last year.
Now I'm having my drugs reassessed again - started on triple therapy of MTX, Sulfasalazine & Plaquenil a few weeks ago but had to stop the sulf as it made me too ill. Have rheum appointment tomorrow to discuss my 'new medication' whatever that's gonna be! Just feeling pretty fed up I suppose at how that cantankerous old Arthur Itis always decides to show his face when I've almost forgotten who he is lol! I also get married in 2 months, still have loads to organise & can't be bothered doing any of it! All this combined has me feeling pretty sorry for myself again and well...scared, depressed, angry...you know the rest!
Sorry my first post is such a moany one but finding this forum has cheered me up already I promise! Here's to some cheerier posts from now on & thanks for listening!
I know how you feel....I go through a little of that "feelin sorry for myself" sometimes too.
Hang in there. Glad you're here!
We get to moan with RA. Who else would deal with us. That damn RA monster is sneaky. It loves to come around at the worse possible times - your wedding. Congratulations by the way.
I am surprised you did not mention any of the biologics. They have been lifesavers for so many of us. Has your rd mentioned them?
You can moan every day here. That makes us other moaners feel much better
Try to be positive about the upcoming appt, maybe they will find a great combo of drugs and you will be feeling great and dancing at your wedding!
Thanks everyone, your kind words do help.
Don't know too much about biologics to be honest Roxy - not sure if we in England just call them by different names but just in one day I've learnt lots about new drugs I hadn't heard of!
My RD mentioned a higher does of Mtx in injectable form a few months ago (currently take 20mg orally) so that may be a possibilty or she could be wanting to try something new altogether. Will know tomorrow either way....
Welcome. Moaning and laughing allowed here! Welcome and go ahead and moan, we understand.
Welcome
We can all understand and have been there...
Open the bottle of whine
And in we all chime.
Sit and rest a bit,
Pass the time with friends.
Here you can be
Who you are.
Tell your tale of woe,
We know it well.
We sing the same song
And cry the same tears.
But at the end,
We laugh and hug.
Here it's safe
To say it like it is.
Hi pin cushion,
I'm from St. Helens, Merseyside. Saw the specialist nurse today about new meds I need to go on & was given 2 options to chose from - injectable MTX at a higher dose or Leflunomide in combination with the mtx & Plaquenil I'm already on. So...10 hours later & after much net research I'm still unsure & pondering the usual questions..... "which of these two evil insidious poisons is the nicest?.....is it really worth going bald just to get back to work?......I wonder if Emu Oil works after all?....lol!
If I could just ask some questons about the biologics tho' - are these usually prescribed for people who haven't been able to tolerate DMARD's or are they a newer type of drug that some doctors just prefer to prescribe? Are they considered stronger drugs than traditional DMARD's & would DMARD's work at a later date for someone who had previously used biologics? I didn't ask about biologics today & they weren't mentioned to me but my medication history may suggest i'm not really ready for them yet I don't know. After initial (often quite bad) side effects I've usuallly had good response to most DMARD's I've been on & I'm thinking there are maybe more DMARD's I haven't exhausted yet. Having joint replacements early on I think helped me by not having to try (and be failed by) loads of different drugs like many other people with RA - the ops got rid of the damage done in its' early very agressive stages & my RA was then controlled for the most part by MTX alone for 6/7 years. But now I'm back to 'having to choose my new poison' stage due to flares.
Would appreciate feedback from anyone who reads this and can offer me something that may help me decide which drug to go with - I wanna go for the injectable MTX 'cause I've tolerated it ok but worry that even at a higher dose it just won't work anymore. Don't fancy the Lef/Avara at all tho' as it's a new drug for me & the Sulfaslazine side effects I had a couple of weeks ago have turned me into even more of a wuss than I already was!