Kathy,

Welcome! I am so sorry that you are dealing with multiple health issues as are many of us here. [[HUGS]]]

I have not used Rituxen but have used other 'chemo' drugs for RA including methotrexate. As many here have described, by injecting the methatrexate (MTX) subcutaneously we avoid the nausea that sometimes occurs by taking it orally. MTX is recommenced along with Rituxen and many other RA DMRADS. Rituxen targets B-cells, other drugs to treat RA are TNF inhibitors. I am not that totally up on the exact difference but that is something you need to look into and then dicuss with your rheumy. if you are not comfortable with Rituxen,

There ARE other options: Humira, Remicade, Enbrel, orencia, Simponi. They are all biological TNF inhibitors but all are recommended to be used with MTX.

Now...for your other issue, the TYPE of pain you are having. Have you had positive blood word for RA? It's not conclusive but helps in the diagnosis. Burning is atypical of RA pain which is usually described as stiffness often accompanied by inflammation (redness and/or being hot tot he touch) and is usually symmetric (e.g. BOTH hands, or both feet). It is also limited to the JOINTS as opposed to muscle. Burning sensations can be neurological pain, however...

Sinus and throat issues are more typical of Sjogren's Syndrome (SS) than RA and you would test positive on some of the same tests. SjS can also cause joint pain or ache-all-over, flu-like feelings. There is a SS board here and you will quickly learn it is one of the hardest of the autoimmune diseases to get diagnosed (7-10 years) unless you are fortunate enough to live on one of coasts where there are major SS centers.

Hope this has been somewhat helpful.

More at RA-SS.blogspot.com

Hi Kathy,

Welcome to this place, and sorry about your *stuff*.

I'm sure you must know that Rituxan was originally developed for NHL. Most of the people I know taking Rituxan are NHL patients. It sounds that if your RA has never really been controlled, and you've been through a long list of drugs, it sounds like you probably need to consider something new. I don't know which biologics you've been on, but I would suspect the TNF-inhibitors. Beyond those and kineret, you've got Orencia, and 3 monoclonal antibodies, Cimzia, Actemra, and Rituxan. Of those, Rituxan is the only chimeric (partially derived from mice, as opposed to fully humanized). That scares a lot of people. I've been taking it for 28 months, and it's done me a world of good. I seem to be the only one posting, who's been using it for very long, but there are a lot of people who have started in the last few months, and their reports will be extremely useful in the next few months. There's a recent thread (titled "Retuxan") and some older ones that may be helpful.

I've had similar pain to what you're describing, but not "all over" and not related to RA, to my knowledge. Back when fibromyalgia was doing a number on me, my feet started burning. It was initially diagnosed as plantar fasciitis, and NSAIDS, rest and orthotics were supposed to knock it out in 6 weeks. Six months later, it was still raging, and spreading up my legs. Acupuncture helped for a while, but it kept going. I briefly had the same sensation in my shoulders, and down my back, but all of it faded away, shortly after that. I always attributed that to fibromyalgia, and surmised that it was inflamed fascia, which surrounds individual muscle fibers, whole muscles and groups of muscles.

BTW, RASS mentioned that MTX is recommended to be used in conjunction with Rituxan. That statement is true for just about all the biologics, partly because most all the drug trials are conducted with MTX or sometimes ARAVA. However, some of us have been failed by MTX, and it's not an option. I was also failed by Remicade in such a way that my rheumatologists feels I'm at risk with all TNF-inhibitors. Since I was on Arava at the time, and Arava also carries a warning about drug induced bone marrow suppression, that was ruled out, as well. So, I've been on Rituxan alone for all this time, except for brief trials of Plaquenil and sulfasalazine. I've been able to stop prednisone and prescription pain meds, and the secondary benefits from being free of RA symptoms, are wonderful.

I understand your being scared of Rituxan; I was, too, as well as MTX. I wish you all the best in your research, decisions and getting your RA under control.

doug

Peppy,
We have a rituxan thread, check it out. I just started it last week. I too am a RN, diagnosed after my triplets were born.... challenging, but I am blessed. I've had a poor response to TNF blockers and mtx, so I am praying this helps, but it's too early to tell.
I understand your hesitation, especially considering your history, but don't let the "label" of chemo scare you off. It sounds like you are a soul with fortitude! I say go for it!

Kathy,
Welcome, I am new as well, however I am a newly diagnosed RA, I understand your fear of "chemo" drugs because my Doctor told me Mtx is a good drug and it is also used for cancer..so that freaked me right there...Hang in there Kathy. This community here is really informative and alot of kind folks here... :) Good Luck with all Kathy
Jane

Welcome! So sorry to hear of all you are going through, 60 mgs of prednisone with no relief- have mercy! It must be hard dealing with the prednisone side effects without getting good benefit from it. Hope the Rituxan is your silver bullet should you try it. All the best to you.

Welcome Kathy! I am truly sorry that you need to be here but hopefully we can offer some support. I can't speak to the use of Rituxen as I have been on Humira for 3 years and was just recently started on Cimzia.

As far as the burning you describe, it sounds very like what my daughter was recently describing to her rheumatologist at her last visit. She has Fibromyalgia as did Doug (and me too) and has also had the burning and pain of plantar fasciitis.

I can't imagine being in your place and trying to decide on using a med that may bring on cancer after having already had to deal with it before. I have to say that I don't know how we all hang on to our sanity. There is so much going on in our bodies and our lives that half the time I can't tell which end is up, lol.

I hope you figure out where the burning pain is coming from and get some relief soon. In the meantime, we'll do what we can do to help...hugs jilly

Welcome! i have never taken that but am interested in the response! i was on enbrel, i know all pain meds are going to be bad one way or another but i look at it like this.... everything is bad but if i found something that allows me to forget that i have ra for at least a few days then honey im going for it! lol! well you have found a great site here! i searched for the first yr of dealing with ra all alone had family but its not the same! here we can help you help us! we are family! we wish you well!

Welcome from one of the "down under" contingent. Like Erica I felt really isolated with this disease until I found this site. Everyone I have any dealings with are really nice (one of my cynical musings is that nasty stuff happens only to nice people..) And cancer earlier too - getting through that would have been tough.
Re the burning pain. Like Buddha Cat that exactly describes the kind of pain I had a lot in the beginning in my feet and now get sporadically. Dont get that sort of burning pain anywhere else. I dont know if this would help at all but the homeopathic remedy for burning pain is urtica urens - it has just come to me so I am going to get some myself for those burning feet days and try so just a thought currently untested on myself.

Welcome Kathy. I've not had any experience with the drug you are mentioning, so I am of little help. I can only emphathize with your situation. It's through sharing that we are stronger!

Welcome Kathy: I am 56, work as a Physical Therapy assistant. Diagnosed 12 years ago or so. I have been on Relafen, methotrexate, embrel, humira, and prednisone and recently started Retuxan. I am no longer trying embrell or humira, and relafen raised my BP. I found hope on this site, hope that the retuxan would help me and support of others who know how I feel. I find it curious so many of us are or were in the medical field....Welcome and I hope you too can find relief.