RE: New, grateful and cautious

[Guest guest]

Welcome to the board. For some reason your post didn’t

appear till May 20. The Cortisone is a corticosteroid that is a strong

anti-inflammatory but does little to stop the permanent damage that comes from

RA without adequate treatment. Methotrexate is the most common medication

to try first to actually slow or stop the damage to your joints. Unfortunately

it usually takes several months to show much effect, and it is usually started

at a fairly low dose (7.5 mg once a week) and then if you can tolerate the side

effects it is increased to perhaps as much as 25 mg once a week. Mouth

sores are a common side effect of Methotrexate and Folic Acid at 1 mg per day or

more often helps this. Sometimes they get better as your body adjusts to

the treatment. Also Methotrexate is available by injection, and that

usually has much less side effect than the oral form. My guess is that

you didn’t take the Methotrexate long enough to give it a chance.

If Methotrexate is not enough, many people go to the much more

expensive biologics (Enbrel, Humira, Remicade, Orencia, or Rituxan) but it is

common to try the less expensive treatments first. I am doing well on

Methotrexate and Remicade. I hope you get relief some way. God

bless.

From: Rheumatoid Arthritis

[mailto:Rheumatoid Arthritis ] On Behalf Of Daleen

Spalletta

Sent: Friday, May 01, 2009 6:55 AM

Rheumatoid Arthritis

Subject: New, grateful and cautious

Hi

all

Sorry,

this is long.

My

name is Daleen and I am forty years old and last year round June started to

have swollen wrists and fingers. My gp treated me

with Cataflam and sent me to the rheumatologist, who diagnosed

me with ra. Before I continue, I must say that I am nowhere in a lot of

pain and am very grateful for it.

I only found out about the importance of aggressive treatment of ra after I

went and did some reading on the internet. My gp did the right thing, but

I fear I messed around with my medication a bit after the rheumatologist saw

me. I was put onto cortisone and Cocksflam and was told to see him in

three months. I found that the cortisone was the only thing keeping me

from having stiffness and some swelling in my fingers and wrists, but thought

that it would be better than the long term side effects of cortisone. I

was using the cortisone every second day, but still had some stiffness, and my

left fingers at that stage had lost some feeling. The rheumy then put me

on trepilene 10 mg every night and methotrakcsate, once a week and the folic

acid.

After a month I found that I got a sore tongue that would make my ear and

throat ake as well. By then I still had some stiffness and decided to go

back to 5 mg cortisone every day and stopped the methotracksate and folic

acid. Everything went fine for a wile, but it is now our winter here in

South Africa and I am experiencing soreness and stiffness in my wrists

again. I don't know if I must now go back on the methotracksate or bare a

little pain, can it cause permanent dammage to my joints? I can try the

methotracksate again, but did not find that it helped before. I might not

have used it long enough?

I know that no one on this list can take the place of the rheumy and only want

to try and find some advice from people that have the same problem. I

will go back to the rheumy, but as you all know, that is expensive and I

want to try and limmit my visits to him.

If you are still reading, thanks, and thank you for any help.

Daleen

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