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...

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How do I know if the meds are actually working??

KBaug
KBaug

Hi everyone,



Im new to the group and full of questions, but this one has been boggling me the most. I have been diagnosed for just over a year - but suffering since highschool (26yrs old now)


I was started on x6 tablets of MTX per week, folic acid daily and pain/anti inflam meds when needed. My dose was raised 3months ago to .8 injections...becuase  my RA is pretty bad I guess. and I just dont feel any different.....Should I be able to feel better on the meds? Or is the only way to tell if the meds work when they do the Inflammation blood tests?



I feel absolutely ROTTEN the day  of and the day after my meds....but I dont feel any better during that week anyway...I will be asking my Dr at my follow up next week, but Im surious to know what people suffering with this illness think - Does anyone else feel this way?



Lots of love

depotblue
depotblue
i'm a hot water lover - for me it envelopes my joints, but then again I am already sleeping under a heated blanket here - but to each her own :) - i'm thrilled for you that you are swimming.
MarleneJ
MarleneJ
I'm sorry to hear you were put on plasmoquine. It is the same as Plaquenil, an antimalarial drug. I have been on it twice for a year each time, and it did NOTHING! I refer to it as a placebo.

In all the years I have had RA, I have only met one person that these drugs helped, and she had super mild RA. And it took forever to work.

Still, let us know if it works for you. If it does, I promise I will eat my hat! In 6 months, if it doesn't work, ask for a real biologic. I have heard from a friend in SA that it is very difficult, if not impossible to get prescribed biologics. So, your doctor might be trying this as an alternative before battling insurance.
californialynn
californialynn
Over the years I've heard of many people being started on Plaquenil and Sulfasalazine, only to escalate drugs because they didn't work.

My hunch is that many people have insurance that requires the physician to start with the lowest tier drug and keep the patient on it for a number of months before moving on to a higher tier drug or a costlier drug. After all, insurance companies do want a profit.

I think it's up to the patient to whine until they are prescribed a better drug..