Help Please! RA questions!

[Guest guest]

My wife, who is 48 was diagnosed with RA when she was 38. Since then

she has tried several doctors and several treatments. The NSAIDS

either did nothing at all or caused severe rashes. It seems that any

drug that MIGHT cause a rash will have her in head to toe hives every

time. For this reason, and because of the hideous list of other

possible side affects, she is terrified of trying the more traditional

drugs like methaltrexate or gold salts. What seems to have worked

somewhat for her is a low dose (5mg/day) of prednisone, a cortical

steroid. Unfortunately, it too has its risks over time, even at low

doses. Every doctor she goes to immediately tries to put her on the

things she's afraid of, which has her in tears. To make matters

worse, recent family problems (her family, not ours) have caused her

family doctor to begin prescribing a pain killer, a muscle relaxant

AND valium. I am afraid that she is becoming physically and/or

emotionally addicted to them, but she claims they help her deal with

her RA. I guess I'm just looking for someone who can either allay our

fears about the treatments, or offer a safer alternative. Thanks in

advance.