Rheumatoid Arthritis

goodburger

Hi there

Just wondering how people are affected by their RA and how well your medication works.

I was diagnosed 4 years ago, was on solazopyrine and celebrex, it stopped working after roughly 8 months, also this was the time i gave up smoking also. I am now on Methotrexate and either celebrex or difene, I have been on mex 3 months now and i'm still in pain, has mex not worked for some people, i'm just curious.

angeldelight

I don't have RA, but I was just wondering if you know that Methotrexate is not a pain killer? It's part of a class of Disease Modifying drugs... it slows the progression of the disease to try and stop it from getting worse. It won't do the same as the difene or the celebrex which are painkillers. ALso are you aware that you can use paracetamol for pain as well as your difene/celebrex? Obviously don't exceed the stated dose for paracetamol but your doctor should be able to prescribe it for you or you can buy it in the pharmacy... check with the pharmacist if you want to double check.

goodburger

hi

yes i know all about methotrexate being a disease modifying drug its the second type i've been on and hopefully once it kicks in fully i can discard the difene or celebrex til i get a flare up. What i was hoping to find out was how others were getting on with their mex and if the side affects had an effect on them, also, at what stage did they have to progress to a stronger dose or stronger dmard. Personally, i am now immune to celebrex and my disease is so strong my prescription painkiller only takes the very top edge off the pain, however, i shall live in hope that in a week or two the mex will have kicked in and i will be bright and breezy once again :-)

star-pants

Everyone is different, with RA it also depends on the person, what level of it you have etc. You get flare ups, and your drugs may not work as well at these times.
My mother's had it for about 24 years, and it's very bad, she's been on all of those before, different combinations, and it's true you body may build a slight tolerance for them, or after long use, some may make you ill, my mother can't take difene anymore for example.

Methotrexate, my mother used to take 7 every friday I think when she used to be on them or something like that, she's been off them a few years so it's hard to keep up with what she's on. She'd feel very unwell on fridays, they used to be her extra bad days.
RA is somewhat non exact, it's hard to predict what will and what won't work. It's a case of trial and error and juggling of doses etc.

Swimming is meant to be very good for the joints, along with glucosamine/chondroitin suppliments(obviously consult your doctor) and gentle exercise all help.

You may just be having a bad patch, and things will settle again, I'm sure you're used to the ups and downs of it by now. Is it all over or have you areas worse than others?
I apologise for the possibly badly articulated post, I'm very tired at the minute, but do ask Qs if you have them and I can always ask my mother for her thoughts (again, it's only personal experience, not medical advice)
It's not a nice thing to have and I do sympathise.