Re: Re: I Have Severe RA & A Question To As

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Dear Barbara- I have been on a combo of mtx and remicade. It works very well for me despite my severly aggressive disease. It is a miracle. Its also convenient to have an infusion once every 8 weeks. Its a TNF binding agent. You might consider cyclosporine. Its an older med with has anti malarial and TNF binding properties and is used when the body rejects itself. I used it for many years before it stopped working on me. It can affect your kidneys if you are on high doses of Nsaids like Ibuprofen. Hugs, Deborah

On 6/1/07, dordale8 <dordale8@...> wrote:

BarbaraI'm on Enbrel, not Remicade. I was hesitant to go on it when my doc suggested it. I thought I was doing fairly well on MTX alone. There were things I couldn't do, but I didn't feel like I was ready for one of the big guns. My rheumy finally convinced me that since I still had visible immflamation, joint damage was still occuring and I needed stronger meds.That was about nine months ago, and I'm glad I listened to him. Enbrel has helped me more than I thought it would. I'm almost, not quite, but almost back to where I was pre-RA. After being on Enbrel for about two months, I was able to take my rings off my finger for

the first time in a year and a half. I'm also able to get up and down off of the floor fairly easily now--something that was quite a struggle before. I can actually see my ankles!I think it's worth a try, if for nothing else to stop or slow down the progression of joint damage. Once you have joint damage it's there. Personally I want to prevent or postpone the damage as long as I can.Good luck with your decision!dordale

>> Hi everyone. My name is Barbara. I'm 41 years old. I was diagnosed > with RA 6 years ago (I still work full time). My RA is severe. I > have good days & bad days.> > I take Plaquenil, Methotrexate, Naprosyn, Darvocet, Medrol & Folic > Acid. So far, that combo seems to be working & I haven't had any > major side affects from the medication. My rheumatologist is > considering adding Remicade because the xrays of my wrists show > arthritic erosion, so he wants me to get them xrayed every 6 months > to watch for any changes. Right away I thought...oh great, more > medication. > > I see the commercials on tv for various RA meds showing people who > have severe RA & couldn't do " anything " before taking the advertised > medication. They took this miracle drug & now they can go water > skiing and get on their knees to do gardening. First of all, water > skiing is out of the question for me as I cannot swim. If I could do > that before my RA diagnosis, I definitely could not do that now & > would probably end up at the local E/R from excruciating pain in > every joint of my body. I cannot get on my knees with my RA, so I > cannot imagine one with severe RA able to do gardening on their knees > & to be out in the direct sunlight for an extended time period. > > When I go to church, I cannot kneel to pray so I position myself on > the edge of the pew to " kneel " as best as I can. Of course I am > speaking from my own experience with my severe RA. Is it me or does > it seem like the people in these commercials advertising these > (expensive) RA drugs that the activities they're able to do since > taking that medication are somewhat unrealistic?

> > If anyone here is on the combo of Methotrexate & Remicade, please let > me know how that is working for you. I would appreciate any advice.> > Best wishes to all of you for a pain free day,

> > Barbara> > email: ash_belle@...>