Rheumatoid arthritis - cost of treatment

lurker2000

I have been having a few aches and pains in multiple areas of the body over the past few months. I went to the doctor who did some blood tests and I've been told I have raised markers for RA. I don't have any of the classic signs (pain in joints, swelling, redness, heat etc but I know there's something not right either) I am waiting to see a consultant now.

In the mean time I've been reading up on treatments and am reassured that medication used early enough can help prevent degeneration. But now I'm wondering and worrying as this is Ireland, the medication although vital may be very costly. I'm in the VHI, but not sure if they would cover costs. Can anyone who is in the early stages and receiving medication tell me what the normal procedure is. I am aware that no two patients are ever the same but there is probably an average course of medication that most people take. tks

homenotaway

lurker2000 wrote: »

I have been having a few aches and pains in multiple areas of the body over the past few months. I went to the doctor who did some blood tests and I've been told I have raised markers for RA. I don't have any of the classic signs (pain in joints, swelling, redness, heat etc but I know there's something not right either) I am waiting to see a consultant now.

In the mean time I've been reading up on treatments and am reassured that medication used early enough can help prevent degeneration. But now I'm wondering and worrying as this is Ireland, the medication although vital may be very costly. I'm in the VHI, but not sure if they would cover costs. Can anyone who is in the early stages and receiving medication tell me what the normal procedure is. I am aware that no two patients are ever the same but there is probably an average course of medication that most people take.
tks

Hi there lurker 2000, sorry to hear that you might have rheumatoid disease but honestly there are great treatments available today that our forefathers didn't have access to.

The short answer to your question is that it all depends!

Depends on what plan you have in private insurance and depends on what medication you are prescribed.

The most you will have to pay per month is €144 under the drugs payment scheme, you can claim a percentage of this back from Revenue.

Depending on which private health insurance plan you have you can claim back a percentage of the cost of doctors/consultants visits.

Some plans completely cover scans etc but you will need to check what is covered by which hospital/clinic.

One of the best pieces of advice I was given was that anyone with a chronic condition should get themselves into the public health system.

Hope this is of some help to you.

lurker2000

Thanks 'homenotaway' I'm beginning to buckle now - the news I may have it was taken stoically but now the realisation of constant hospital/doctor visits and medication not to mention the costs has thrown me I know there are other ills much more serious and debilitating and I'm grateful for that but it's all a bit raw and therefore I appreciate you taking the time to post your helpful reply.

homenotaway

lurker2000 wrote: »

Thanks 'homenotaway' I'm beginning to buckle now - the news I may have it was taken stoically but now the realisation of constant hospital/doctor visits and medication not to mention the costs has thrown me I know there are other ills much more serious and debilitating and I'm grateful for that but it's all a bit raw and therefore I appreciate you taking the time to post your helpful reply.

Fully understandable. Takes time to come to terms with this disease, you know it's possible you may have a mild form. PM me if you wish and take care.

huskerdu

lurker2000 wrote: »

Thanks 'homenotaway' I'm beginning to buckle now - the news I may have it was taken stoically but now the realisation of constant hospital/doctor visits and medication not to mention the costs has thrown me I know there are other ills much more serious and debilitating and I'm grateful for that but it's all a bit raw and therefore I appreciate you taking the time to post your helpful reply.

I suffer from a form of rheumatroid arthritis and I understand the blow of being told you have a serious illness which will mean ongoing doctors visits and medication. Give yourself time to get used to it. It is a controllable disease and early treatment is vital, so you are doing the right thing.

Hopefully, you will be able, like me, to live a very normal life for many years.

As was said before, even the new biologic treatments are covered under the DPS so the cost will be €144 month and if you pay tax, you can get 20% back at the end of the year.

One of the other common treatments , methotrexate cost 30 a month.

All of these treatments involve a consultant visit every six months and regular blood tests.

If you are currently a private patient, ask your GP for a referral to the public clinic. There is a waiting list to get it in St Vincents, but you will then be able to go to to the clinic for free.

lurker2000

Many thanks to you both. 30 a month for the medication sounds very reasonable. The tip to go public has been heeded. But for the initial consultation, I have already said I'll go private as I thought that would be the quickest. Hopefully once I'm assessed I could put my name down for the public system but it seems that catching this early is the key, hence going private. In the meantime I'm going a bit loopy reading 'Dr Google', which is making me conscious of every twinge and fearing the worst.

I'm very active and self sufficient and feel this is being swiped away although I'm trying to stay positive but its becoming a strain doing this and keeping others in the family positive too. it only really hit me last night that its not just about having it but dealing with it (on going doctor/hospital visits) and the financial strain it might place on us, we're already stretched but in that middle bracket that we aren't so bad that we would get financial assistance - we have kids in college etc and I work part time.

I had been hoping to get a job with more hours next year but now that's probably not going to happen as no new employer would want to take me on if I have RA. Sorry for rambling but as I said, I haven't been able to discuss this openly yet as I'm putting on the happy face.... your kind replies have been a tonic however. Thanks ...

huskerdu

One step at a time. You are right to go private in order to get a diagnosis and treatment quickly.

Give yourself a few months to get this done, hopefully the medication will settle your symptoms.
After that, think about a new job.

If you are fit to do the job, RA should not be an issue. Why even bring it up when applying for jobs ?
I know it all seems negative now, but the condition is controllable and I hope you get relief.

Good luck

OMD

FFS.
I hate GPs doing this and scaring people.

Approx 1 in 20 people have raised Rheumatoid Factor (presumable the marker for RA you are referring to). This rises to 1 in 5 older people.
But only 1 in 100 people have rheumatoid arthritis (and 20-25% of these don't have raised Rheumatoid Factor).

Therefore around 80% of people with Rheumatoid Factor do not have Rheumatoid Arthritis.

You are jumping the gun massively by assuming you have rheumatoid arthritis based on a blood test especially when you "don't have any of the classic signs".

lurker2000

Thanks for the post OMD. I need to get back to the doctor and ask exactly what the results were but they were the general blood tests including looking for RA so I presume it's the RF that she meant. I have signs of Osteoarthritis, no doubt. It turns out my Gran had OA not RA and my mother has OA too - both were mild with no real adjustments needed to their lives. I've always assumed I'd get OA some day.

The first post here was the initial meltdown reaction to the fear I felt on being told the news. Not knowing much on the different symptoms I've looked into it more now and am perplexed that I don't tick most of the boxes for RA (no joint swelling, no pain at all, no tenderness, redness or fatigue, no stiffness in the morning etc) I do have twinges in a lot of places though and that's why I thought there was possibly a connection. But there could be other explanations. For the past 15 years I've walked about 5km a day and sometimes with a heavy backpack - two years ago my lower back started to hurt if I used the back pack and I had to give it up, if i don't wear it the back is generally ok but prone to twinges (no pain or swelling) my feet also have problems like sore heels if not properly supported with insoles, recently the ankle joints have gotten slightly stiff after exercise. Additionally In the last few months I was told by the dentist I had a clicky jaw on the right side - so when finally my right thumb and index finger were unable to twist jar lids like they used to I wondered were all these connected, hence the request for blood tests. Obviously i can't rule out RA as there is a chance I am at the very start of it, but your post gives me hope that there may be a different outcome. In any event, the consultant will hopefully get to the bottom of it. Thanks to all who have replied - it's been a real help.

Berberis

A lot of posters here advising public, but just to give you my experience.

I was diagnosed with RA over 3 yrs ago due to recuring severe flare ups on lower back and raised RA levels in my blood count. Not in private insurance scheme so had to go public.

3 years ago I was experiencing chronic back pain for a number of months and paid for a private MRI scan to see wat problem might be as RA was not a suspicion at the time, any way MRI showed a few disc prolapses and degenerative of some of the joints and at the same time I had some blood test done and my blood levels showed marked increase of RA.

So referral made to Rheumatology tallaght and I get to see someone 8 months later. They wanted their own mri scans so had to wait 13 months for that to happen.
After they see results of their MRI which was the same as the one I had done privately 18 months previously, they offered no real treatment due to allergic to anti-inflammatories, so just physio and pain killers which the latter are no use at all.

Now I have problem with shoulder. I paid for a private MRI recently to investigate that and result is severe RA there plus ligamnet and bone damage.
GP referrel made to orthopedics Tallaght 6 weeks ago as he said MRI shows I need surgery there.
And as of yet I have not heard from them to give me any idea of when I might get an appointment to see someone and more than likely when I do I will probally be given the run around for next few years before I get anything done.
GP said if I was private I would be seen within weeks.

So if can afford private I would advise go that way.

lurker2000

That sounds like a pure nightmare Berneris. It's so unfair that people in pain are left so long waiting. I hope you're on medication for RA to stop the progression ? I lucky that I do have private insurance despite the huge increases every year. I hope you get sorted soon. Take care.