Charlotte

[Guest guest]

Hello, Charlotte!

Sorry that you are facing so many unknowns right now - and pain, too.

I would say that x-rays are a good idea. Most often, they are done early on for

two reasons: to rule out any other sort of problem and also as a baseline.

Although many people don't have damage apparent on x-rays in the early stages,

it is useful to have x-rays to compare to later. Those patients who do show

erosions early in the course of RA usually have more aggressive disease and

should be treated accordingly.

I understand your hesitation regarding the drugs, but treating early and

aggressively is currently the favored approach to RA.

Methotrexate would probably be a logical next choice of DMARD for you, but each

doctor has his or her own preferences depending on his or her experience and the

patient's situation.

Pain is something else that should be taken seriously and treated effectively.

Don't suffer needlessly. Your doctor should be willing to try to treat the pain

he is attributing to your fibromyalgia as well.

If I were you, I would tell your doctor pretty much what you've told us here and

hope that he understands and that he can help treat you with a regimen that you

can accept and that will likely be effective.

Good luck!

[ ] (unknown)

Good morning, I hope everyone is doing well.

I've only been dealing with RA (and also fibromyalgia according

to my rheumatologist) since March but I already feel like I've been

dealing with this forever.

I'm seeing the doctor again on Monday and I wanted to see if any

of you have any comments on how I could get the most out of

this appointment.

I've been on plaquinel since April, had a month of prednisone

and also spent about 10 days taking sulfasalazine along with the

rest of the stuff. I couldn't tolerate the GI side effects of the

sulfasalazine and had a really severe and frightening reaction to

it after spending some time in the sun (covered with a hat and

30spf everywhere). So, at this point I'm just taking plaquinel.

The pain, which was never completely gone, has returned to

joints in my hands and feet and I have some swelling, but not the

worst it has been. I also have lots of pain in the elbows, hips and

shoulders - the doc says it's the fibromyalgia there.

Anyway, my concern is that if I complain of the joint pain on my

next visit, the doc will prescribe another DMARD to take on top of

the plaquinel or perhaps prednisone again. I've only had this

diagnosis for a few months and I am torn between wanting relief

and NOT wanting more medication. The experience I had with

both the prednisone and the sulfasalazine was enough for me.

I'm considering asking the doc for xrays to sort of get a baseline

picture of my joints, some pain medication for really bad days

(ultram or something) and maybe try to sit with it for 3 months or

so before adding more drugs.

Does that sound reasonable? If the primary concern aside from

pain is preventing joint damage, why wasn't an xray one of the

1st things the doc ordered? I did have blood work which revealed

rheumatoid factor, but a very low tider. If the doc offers another

DMARD at this point, what's next on the list?

Thanks for listening

Charlotte in mass.