i was told, when I was put on it, that is is methotrexate's equivalent but the newer model. I was not on it long, because i happened to be allergic. so back to the old fart, methotrexate.

it's a dmard, first line with your plaquenil.. i still think this type of DMARD , my methotrexate is helpful, when it is not hosing my lungs or affecting my liver numbers, and I like having it in the mix.

hope the arava works for you. the pharmarcist has never prescribed it? is this a young pharmacist ? (smile) do you live in a city or a rural area? i would like to think most of the disease modifying anti rheumatic drugs (dmards) are pretty blase and common in dispensing to a pharmacist.

sorry you are tackling this at the age of 20. keep on pushing through!

depot

I was on it only for a short time because it gave me horrible headaches that i just couldn't bear to be on it any longer. I was on it for probably 2 to 3 months. Wasnt helping either. Good luck to you

I have been taking Arava for over15 years. It worked really well in the beginning and was the only med. for me that didn't have side effects. I now have to move on to a biologic because it no longer seems to be helping. Best of luck to you.

Arava made my heart race. Stopped taking it after 10 dats

I have been taking the generic version of Arava for a few years now. My liver numbers were too high on methotrexate. I take 20mg per day along with Orencia. I can more or less function, without these drugs I would be unable to do anything.
Give it a try, and I hope you feel better soon.
Lynne

I have been on Arava for over 6 months. Not long, in the grand scheme of things. It does work a lot like Mthx, except it doesn't give me as much energy. It is supposed to be hard on the liver. At about 3 or 5 months, my liver enzymes started to rise, so my RD put me on 2 pills and then skip a day. The enzymes went nicely down.

But for the last three weeks I have been taking the Arava every day, because I am so impatient with over a year of being flared. I seem to be doing a bit bettr, but that could be Orencia working with it.

I guess it all comes down to the fact that we all respond differently to these meds, and you are just going to have to try it out. I do hope it will help you, and be the med change you need.

Were you taking a lot of prednisone, that you are getting thinning of the joints, or does he think this is caused by the RA?

I loved Arava and Plaquenil combo. They worked great for me for quite a while. Now I'm on Humira.

But I felt better on them than I had since being diaged w/ RA. Had little to no problems. But finally a biologic was in order.

Good luck

Be sure to check your BP twice a day on Arava. I seem to recall that it made me feel better, but raised my blood pressure. Not a good thing if you want to avoid a stroke.

I am on the generic version of Arava, Plaquenil, and Sulfasalazine, and have been for slightly over a year. Other than some issues with diarrhea for the first six months (and which I powered through at the suggestion of someone here)and that has now subsided, this combo seems to be working for me. I was on MTX two years prior to that and it just did not work as well for me, thus the change.

Arava changed my life. It took a while to build up but made an enormous difference for me. At first it was in addition to plaquenil and sulfasalazine. Now the sulfasalazine has been dropped. My only problem is that a few months back the generic was very hard to find nationwide. Luckily my insurance approved the actual Arava for me. I hope it works as well for you as it has for me.

I've added Arava to my plethora of RA drugs for about a year now. Haven't noticed anything in the way of side effects.

I think Arava is a good med but, unfortunately, it shot my blood pressure up to 210/120 (a walking stroke, as the nurse said). My blood pressure had always been in the normal range previously and went back once Arava was stopped.
Just worthwhile to keep your eye on your blood pressure while taking Arava, I'm sure my experience is not a common effect. Good luck

Any issues with being out in the sun like (Plaquanil)?? I didn't like Plaq due to the sun sensitivity & that's coming from someone with darker skin, I typically have absolutely zero issues with being all day in the sun. It also gave me the itchy's & rashes like crazy especially on my face! I can't have that! LOL

I was just put on it to replace MTX on which I did very well but my liver enzymes were too elevated for my Rheumy's liking.

I also like to have a Friday Happy Hour beer or 2 or 3. Obviously this is not a great idea on Arava too but I'm wondering if it's more or less sensitive to alcohol