New to the Group & Rituxan question

[Guest guest]

Hi..

My name is & I am 27. I have been living with RA since I was

16. I have been on so many different meds & they either don't work

at all, or just give temporary relief. I believe in the begining

they started me on Naprosyn & a low dosage of Prednisone. The RA

progressed and throughout the next 2 yrs I developed limitations in

my knee & elbows. Now, I can't straighten any of them..they are

permanently bent. Over the years, I have tried many different

meds. I have been on Celebrex, MTX (which caused a 10 days long

hospital visit from drug induced hepatitis), Plaquenil, Enbrel & Im

sure a few others Im forgetting. All of which I haven't had any

major results from. I am currently on Arava, Prednisone 10 mg,

Cymbalta for the depression that comes along with this, and now

Rituxan. My Rhuematologisy just put me in a study to see how the

Rituxan will help. I had to have a PICC line put in because my

veins are really bad. And nobody can ever stick me for an IV. I

actually just finished my 2nd infusion today. So far, so good- with

the side effects. The dr says it generally takes about 1 mth to see

any results. I have never really talked to anyone else about having

RA. I don't know anyone in my area that has it. So I was wondering

if anyone else has been on Rituxan that has had any (good or bad)

results.