Rheumatoid Arthritis Support Group

Hi Christine as one Christine to another, what meds is your Rheumatologist afraid of.. all of them? Biologics, Dmards? Maybe you could see a juvenile Rheumatoid arthritis doctor who is used to treating children and young adults under 21. He would be more familiar with the dosages ( even though you are already a young lady). Good luck with everything.

I was Dx'ed at 18 and my doctors only put me on anti-inflam's and started with plaquinil, a disease modifyer,(which holds a possible loss of eye sight warning) ive been on it for 6 years and i go 2 times a year to have my eyes checked just to make sure the medication isn't messing with my vision. so far nothing. we also have to remember that we are our own advocates if your current med's aren't working well for you then you may need to consider another route. My mindset is we have a very bright future, and luckily have been diagnosed early enough that we should be able to keep our joint damage under control. some of the biologics hold the increased risk of infection since it suppresses your immune system. every medication holds risks, just depends if the pro's weigh out the con's in your case :)

Hi Christine - many of the medications used to control RA have side effects that can be potentially damaging. Each one contains its own unique set of warnings, etc. I would ask your dr. which medication he would like to put you on (but it sounds like planquenil because of the eyesight complication, which I have heard is rare but you must get your eyes checked 2x a year) - after you know the possible types of medication you can do the research on side effects and weigh that against the potential good it can do you. The goal would be (in my opinion) to limit joint damage as quickly as possible. That would probably be one of the Disease Modifying Anti Rheumatic Drugs (DMARDS) and not just a steroid (such as prednisone - which carries its own set of side effects) or an NSAID (ibuprofen and the like).

Tort

Thank you all.. you all are very helpful too. I am allergic to most medications that any doctor gives me so I think tthats also why hes afraid. I have a greater risk of having bad allergic reactions... I was taking anti- inflam's... but They were giving me severe nosebleeds.. so he is staying away from them now... I have trouble taking over the counter meds.. so I think my Rheumatologist is more scared of the fact about my history with all the medications. I was on predisone for a little bit, then put me on plaquinil but after my toungue was bleeding and the rashes... he is being even more careful..

Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis doctor.. i didn't know they could still take me. thank you VERY much!

Hi Christine,

My guess is he's probably worried about giving you methotrexate in fear that it will affect your ovaries. (there is some speculation that it damages ovaries.) Or he may be worried that you could get pregnant on methotrexate (by mistake) and that you'll have a very unhealthy pregnancy...deformities, etc.
In case you don't know...I take alternative therapies and you can find out more by going to my blog.
http://gentlehugscafe.com
best of luck!
-Sarah