I was diagnosed with ra 7 years ago. I'm in a terrible flare right now and have been off and on since Christmas. I'm starting to realize I may have been in a remission, because I had been (major) flare free for over a year.
Does anyone get affected in their upper arm? I have trouble lifting my arms up or back? (putting on my clothes is painful)
Has anyone had any luck with accupuncture for pain?
I was originally given steroids and was on for years.. helped with the pain.. but hated the balloon face and added 25 lbs. Have been taking methotrexate weekly since diagnosis. Was also on celebrex but took myself off when all the data came out. My doctor has recently started me on plaquinil.(I haven't seen any results yet)
Does anyone know if it's safe for me to be on methotrexate for so long? And does anyone take plaquinil and how do you feel it works?
Thanks.
Hi there and welcome. I am kind of new with this disease. I was diagnosed a little over a year ago. I think most of us are on mtx or have been on it. How much do you take? Some people do get higher liver levels and have to quit. Do you get regualr blood tests? I could not take plaquenil. From what I understand it can take 6 months to see results. Hope this helps you.
Hi KW...welcome!
I've been taking methotrexate for about 15 years now...it's worked very well for me with minimal side effects. I've also been taking plaquenil for about the same amount of time. Taking plaquenil alone did nothing for me and so I stopped taking it. I then went to methotrexate and then later added the plaquenil to it and it seemed to help. It'll take maybe at least 6 weeks for you to notice anything.
As far as the upper arm pain goes, when my shoulders are hurting, that's actually where I get the pain...about 4 inches down from my shoulders...hurts to lift up my arms..etc. I remember telling my doctor about it. I told her it almost felt like my arm was broken. She told me that that was usually where u get pain when the shoulder is acting up.
Hope you're feeling better soon,
Kelly
I took plaquinel years ago. It's considered one of the weaker DMARDS from what I understand. Many here take it in conjunction with MTX.
I've been on MTX for more than 4 years now and I have friends here that have been on it for as much as 15 years. It's been around a long time and although many folks can't tolerate it; for those that can it's a real life saver. Those of us that take it without problems wouldn't want to do without it.
Hope you'll be able to be one of the ones that manages well on MTX.
mtx is a long term drug - people can take it for decades. Blood work should be done at least every 8 weeks. As long as there are no big problems showing up in blood work and you can tolerate the mtx fairly well, you can take it for decades.
Prednisone and other steroids are fine to break up a flare, or get you through a bad spell when none of the medications seem to be working. But it is best to avoid long term use even at a low dose.
You might find an nsaid like alieve or ibuprofen may help with your arm pain. I really can't manage without my Clinoiral. It really relieves my stiffness as well as aching type pain.
Good Luck... keep trying new combos until you feel better.
I started taking MTX, 2 weeks after our youngest DD was born, she'll be 17 on the 5th. All through the girl's childhood I'd back off the MTX if they were sick with something, if I caught it, it'd be twice as bad and last twice as long. I had occasional flares, caused by something I ate, but had a major flare last Jan and am now on Remicade, MTX, 1.25mg Pred(down from 10mg) I can relate to the sore arm, if I can't get to sleep I use Icy Hot(in the jar) or a heating pad. As long as your liver tests are normal I think you can take MTX for a long time.Hello! i'm new to ra (I was diagnosed in october), i was put on plaquinil only, i've been taking it sense the begining of january along with mobic. i can't tell the difference but my dr says it will take at least 4 months to really go into effect. welcome and goodluck!
-Jessica
I read all the posts and agree with everything that has been said. I've taken MTX for 10 years and find it works for me. These medications take a lot of sorting out before you can find one or more that suits you. I've found RA people don't like taking meds so we tend to resist keeping on with the treatments. We must believe it is vital for our hands/feet and inside organs, as well, to stop the attack against our bodies. It is a hard concept to understand, one that your own body would have something that attacks it! Once you accept that fact and 'just take the meds' it is easier to deal with. I saw my grandmother suffer unspeakablely without the benefit of modern medications. We are lucky to have them. Good luck.I forgot to respond to your shoulder question. yes, I've had that and it really hurts. Maybe you could ask your Rhmy doctor about getting back on the prednisone (steroids) until this flare-up eases. I've found it a life saver.As far as the shoulder issue, shoulder pain refers to a different area; the upper arm usually, depending on what part of the shoulder is effected.
There is a small amount of room in the shoulder, so if you have any swelling there (which you can't see) not only does it hurt, it can effect your range of motion (ROM). Physical Therapy can help with this. I've also had trigger point injections that help...and I've had acupuncture. It really depends on the cause and the area to come up with a plan to help you. (sorry if I confused you)
I guess for me, if it's due to swelling, physical therapy. If it's a muscle, trigger point. I'm going to acupuncture 2 times a week now for the overall crap of this illness. I will say, after hurling my brains out on my first MTX dose, I went to my acupuncture guy and he worked on that with his needles. I felt better the next day. Now was this because of him? Or because I would have only been tossing my cookies for 24 hours? Guess I won't know...but I did book an appt. for this week's dose of MTX too.
KW64...I absolutely understand what you mean about pain in your upper arm. My pain was on the outside of them arm. I could not lift my arm...at all. I had great difficulty putting on clothes especially undergarments.
I did about four sessions of accupuncture. I did not find it to be of benefit and it was very expensive. the accupuncturist I saw said it would take some time to get relief. I did not feel I had time. I had just started MTX which was helping. She was trying to convince me to stop taking the MTX. The MTX was helping so much that I did not feel I could stop. It had improved the quality of my life significantly.
Thanks to everybody who responded. You were all most helpful!