Guest guest Posted October 15, 2008 Report Share Posted October 15, 2008 Leonie I took MTX working my way up to 10 tabs weekly for about 6 mos, made me sicker then a dog for at least three days of the week even though I took Folic Acid 1000mcg daily. I was also on Plaquenil 200mg 1 tab 2x daily along with other meds at the time. That all was stopped and was put on Humira (8/'04), Tramadol 50mg (4/'05) then later Arava 20mg (12/'06) was added. I haven't experienced any hair loss with the Arava. Best of luck to you. Judy in Oklahoma From: mumpup2000 <leoniecent@...> Subject: [ ] Arava ? Date: Wednesday, October 15, 2008, 4:49 AM Hi all, My GP told me that Arava is better than MTX. Does anyone take it ? Does it cause hair loss as well ? Thanks again... Leonie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 15, 2008 Report Share Posted October 15, 2008 thanks for the info gina but my doc has been a rheumy for 30 y and he's found arava does interfere with his patients ability to have children after they have stopped it. i'll stick with his experience since he seems very cautious which i appreciate. monique As far as I know, Arava doesn't interfere with a woman's ability to have children. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 16, 2008 Report Share Posted October 16, 2008 , I'm all for being cautious. If your rheumatologist has treated patients with Arava who then developed new fertility problems, I hope he has reported his findings. A lot of people are taking Arava, including children. The manufacturer's monograph on Arava doesn't list anything regarding fertility but this: " Leflunomide had no effect on fertility on male or female rats at oral doses up to 4.0 mg/kg (approximately 1/30 the human M1 exposure based on AUC). " http://products.sanofi-aventis.us/arava/arava.pdf I couldn't find any case reports or other information about Arava affecting fertility in the research literature either. Not an MD On Wed, Oct 15, 2008 at 6:41 PM, Sauve <moniquesauve@...> wrote: > thanks for the info gina but my doc has been a rheumy for 30 y and he's > found arava does interfere with his patients ability to have children > after they have stopped it. i'll stick with his experience since he > seems very cautious which i appreciate. > > monique Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 16, 2008 Report Share Posted October 16, 2008 I was never warned about fertility issues with Arava but did not begin it until I was post menopausal. However, Methotrexate was an issue that led me to request my ex-husband get a vasectomy. Ironically, he left me married a " child " himself and wanted to have kids with her. On of his reasons for our divorce was his inability too deal with my RA. Methotrexate combined with Enbrel in years later almost killed me. Suz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 16, 2008 Report Share Posted October 16, 2008 - I'm chiming in late on this and I can't find your original post (other than that, I'm batting 1000!) but I wanted to cheer you on if you're concerned about having babies later on while coping with RA. That's an issue I'm passionate about and with the right rheum and GYN you can absolutely manage your disease while building your family. I'm a huge fan of biologics (the group is probably tired of hearing my rants of enthusiasm!) and I took Enbrel and pred through my pregnancy with #2, enrolling in the OTIS studies so they will follow the baby and include him in a database of Enbrel safety. The pregnancy and delivery were great and Tommy is coming up on 4 months of age. Other than making him extra smiley and hugable, the Enbrel had no effects. I've joked that the tetrologist is going to fly out, examine Tommy, and declare all babies should be exposed to Enbrel because it makes them extra nice Kidding of course, but we've done great and I wanted to encourage you. Kate F Re: [ ] Re: Arava ? , I'm all for being cautious. If your rheumatologist has treated patients with Arava who then developed new fertility problems, I hope he has reported his findings. A lot of people are taking Arava, including children. The manufacturer' s monograph on Arava doesn't list anything regarding fertility but this: " Leflunomide had no effect on fertility on male or female rats at oral doses up to 4.0 mg/kg (approximately 1/30 the human M1 exposure based on AUC). " http://products. sanofi-aventis. us/arava/ arava.pdf I couldn't find any case reports or other information about Arava affecting fertility in the research literature either. Not an MD On Wed, Oct 15, 2008 at 6:41 PM, Sauve <moniquesauve@ shaw.ca> wrote: > thanks for the info gina but my doc has been a rheumy for 30 y and he's > found arava does interfere with his patients ability to have children > after they have stopped it. i'll stick with his experience since he > seems very cautious which i appreciate. > > monique Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 16, 2008 Report Share Posted October 16, 2008 Kate, Rant on, I love hearing how wonderful things turned out and about your beautiful healthy baby. I am sure that it brings comfort and hope to some of our younger members also about starting a family or adding to their family. Shirley > > thanks for the info gina but my doc has been a rheumy for 30 y and he's > > found arava does interfere with his patients ability to have children > > after they have stopped it. i'll stick with his experience since he > > seems very cautious which i appreciate. > > > > monique > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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