Rheumatoid Arthritis Support Group
Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic, inflammatory, multisystem, autoimmune disorder. It is a disabling and painful condition which can lead to substantial loss of mobility due to pain and joint destruction. The disease is also systemic in that it often also affects many extra-articular tissues throughout the body including the skin, blood vessels, heart, lungs, and...
I'm wondering what the pattern/consensus is on how long a person's body takes on average to repel a biologic?
And I wonder how long they live within us.
My doctor has stated that going on/off biologics gives the body the opportunity to develop antibodies to them. It just seems that there must be a way to load up on a biologic then wait as long as possible before using it again to 1.extend the lifetime you can use a particular biologic (so instead of 3 yrs, maybe you'd get 5) and 2. allow your own immune system a little time to rebound from suppression to discourage disease/viruses/bacterias/etc
It'd be great if we could take an infusion or injection and wait til we feel the RA creeping before we go again.
I suppose this is more of a rant than a question since we are all different. Just don't like the idea of regular intervals of med w/o it being personalized to need.
And I wonder how long they live within us.
My doctor has stated that going on/off biologics gives the body the opportunity to develop antibodies to them. It just seems that there must be a way to load up on a biologic then wait as long as possible before using it again to 1.extend the lifetime you can use a particular biologic (so instead of 3 yrs, maybe you'd get 5) and 2. allow your own immune system a little time to rebound from suppression to discourage disease/viruses/bacterias/etc
It'd be great if we could take an infusion or injection and wait til we feel the RA creeping before we go again.
I suppose this is more of a rant than a question since we are all different. Just don't like the idea of regular intervals of med w/o it being personalized to need.
I guess I've been lucky in that I've been taking the same biologic since 2008. I have made a conscious effort not to skip or delay a dose because I know that's when the antibodies have a chance to build up, making the drug less effective. It's as if I have to constantly beat down my immune system to keep the drug working longer. Sad but true.
I guess the good news is that I've had only one really bad cold (plus a couple cases of sniffles) during the entire time I've been taking DMARDs/biologics. The bad news is that I've been dropping things more often and feeling more overall stiffness in the past couple of months, so I wonder if I have to start thinking about switching drugs.
I also am beginning to wonder if some of us with undefined inflammatory arthritis are also what the labs call "responders". Our bodies respond to a LOT as "foreign", even ourselves (hence the autoimmune condition) . . . .we have antibodies to a LOT of "stuff" . . .
I know that my body is very efficient at making scar tissue. I have had two surgeons tell me this. I am suppose to take an NSAID at the slightest joint twinge (in the affected joint, where I have had surgery before) to prevent scar tissue . . . of course that recc was 6 years ago. Now I just take it daily, no matter what . . .
the Memory cells in our immune system are amazing, but for many of those in our shoes, they are also a pain in the butt. They hang out waiting to see if we take something that they recognize and then they begin to multiply. :( good for when we are sick, bad for our joints and connective tissues.