Hi everyone,
I am new to this site but not to RA. I am a nurse and actively involved in the treatment of RA. It also touches my life in a personal way every day because my brother has RA more specifically Psoriatic Arthritis and I am turning to the internet to understand this disease from others experiences,and to find ways to make the lives I touch every day better. I have been reading and learning from your posts and am thankful that you are here for us. I will share a site that I have found in my travels through the net. I have not had a chance to read all the postings yet but I have learned from what I have found. www.jrheum.com
Thanks for making a difference!
THANKS FOR CARING LINDA; BOTH FOR YOUR PATIENTS AND MORE IMPORTANTLY YOUR BROTHER. WE HAVE A HARD TIME COMMUNICATING WITH OUR FAMILY MEMBERS JUST WHAT THIS DISEASE IS LIKE. YOUR BROTHER IS VERY FORTUNATE TO HAVE A SISTER THAT CARES AND IS TRYING TO GET INFORMATION ABOUT HIS CONDITION! GOD BLESS YOU!!I am lucky that I have him as a brother he is probably one of the most loving people I know. I wish that this was not happening to him (or you) but I know that he is handling the process as best he can. It is a kind of process isn't it? I just have this need to find as much information as I can. I have alway found my cure for anxiety to be information. Lots and lots of information.
Thanks for being there.
Thanks for that. I need all the blessings I can get sometimes.
The event that I find most difficult to understand for my patients, and my brother Matt, is that the DMARDs miraculously work for a time and then there is this "failure" of treatment, and then on to the next DMARD. We are looking at Prosorba Column Therapy for Matt. It has worked for other Rheumatoid patients and it is a non drug therapy that communicates directly with the immune system to correct the problem at a cellular level. The goal here is to get off of Prednisone (The love/hate drug... It works so you love it, It has so many side effects both long and short term so you hate it) I have taken Predisone myself for an autoimmune issue and know first hand how he feels about it. I also know his experiences with the DMARDs and the failures are wearing on him. What has been your best DMARD? The one that lasted the longest?
Thanks for your input!!
Best to all of you
Linda
Linda we've all just recently been discussing DMARDS and how what works for you so well right now probable won't in the near future.
I've gone through several over the last 11 years....most starting out fairly well (after a certain period of time; they all take a little while to become effective) and then we have to increase, and increase and increase the dosage until we finally have to add another drug to it to see results. Then the same thing; increase and increase and increase until finally they switch you to something else entirely.
I've been on MTX for about three years now; with the same results....increase and increase and increase until we finally added Humira. I've already increased the Humira to twice the dose I started with.
I'm having good results with the current combination; but how long before it stops working like everything else I've been on over the years? If experience has tault me anything it's that eventually you'll work yourself right out of every combination that works for you.
It's a life of unexpected ups and downs. I think that's what makes it so difficult for all of us to deal with. Just when you think things are going well....here we go again.