I am not in remission, as I am newly diagnosed ( May .; however, I do have a frirend who is in "remission" so to speak. She is seropostive, so her bloodwork is now within normal limits. She has no swelling, and very little pain. She is on Rituxin. She has to continue the meds, though, to maitain the remissions. I have done a lot of resarch, and this is what I have learned. RA is not really curable, but it can be controlled if/when the proper medications for the individual patient are found. A very small percentage of people cannot control their RA with meds and they have a very aggressive form of the disease. The goal is to Dx and treat RA early and to treat it agressively, which is the opposite of what they used to do "back in the day". I think it is very important to communicate with our doctors everything we are experiencing so that they have the knowledge we need to adjust our meds. I have an appointment Wednesday, and I have my questions written down. I am ready. LOL Blessings, MT

Goodluck with your appointment! I feel so impatient waiting to see if the MTX will work and I stopped taking it for quite a few weeks, but my husband made me go back on, and stop with my silly "projects" he calls them lol. I guess I was just experimenting. But if the MTX doesn't work in the end I will refer back to this thread, and see if any of the other meds are available here. I wish communicating with my doctor was easier, I was seeing a French doctor who was really hotheaded and has gone back to France and doesn't know when shes returning, she told me the RD that I was planning to see before her is a criminal lol. There is another one I can go to see, but I've been lazy because I can just take what meds I want from the pharmacy without prescription. Not clever of me I know!

Mazensmummy,

I don't have an answer for your question, but I wanted to address the issue of being afraid to ask a question here because it really bothers me that anyone would be afraid to ask questions from a support group.

There is nothing anyone can do to stop the opinions and bad decisions made by anyone else on this board, but there are so many others here who are genuine people with genuine RA and want to help those like you find their way. It is something of a balancing act to take the information you need and to leave the information that doesn't work for you or your situation.

Please ask any and all things that you need to and don't worry about the other issues that have transpired. You have a need for help and we will do the best we can to support you.

Thanks Offtrack, I appreciate that so much! I will remember that when I have any future questions.

I'm sorry you've come to feel shy about asking questions. I agree with OT that despite any drama, there is a wealth of understanding and support available here.

I believe I'm living in medically induced remission through Rituxan. I had 2 1/2 rough years, failed severely by two other meds before I started the Rituxan. It took 2 months to give me good results, which lasted for 3 months, but then I fell back into 3 more months with waning relief, waiting for it to kick in again. I did bein to have good results again, 8 months into using the drug, and I've been in remission for nearly 3 years now, with no side effects. There good be more to the story (life style, diet, etc.), but I'm pretty certain my success is due to the drug.

There is hope. Always hope.

Stay hopeful. Treating RA is always a process of trial and error.

My rheumy declared that I was in remission in 2009. I'm currently taking mtx and Humira.

Here's some background to answer your specific questions: When I was officially diagnosed with RA in fall 2007, my rheumy couldn't prescribe anything other than NSAIDs because I had surgery scheduled for November (unrelated to RA). I finally started on mtx in December 2007. The mtx didn't do much (other than make me very nauseated and cause my hair to start falling out), so we added Humira about 4 months later. I got cortisone injections in my knees to help me get around till the Humira kicked in. The RA improved a lot within a few months, but I still had swelling and pain. With my rheumy's guidance, I experimented with higher doses of naproxen, but I had such awful stomach pains--even after he prescribed Nexium--I told him I needed to stop the naproxen. I thought I'd always have some swelling, but it has calmed down. I have some joint damage, but generally I'm doing well.

Now that the RA is pretty well under control, we've been reducing the amount of mtx. I did well with the first two reductions, but now that I'm down to only 5 mg/wk, the rheumy noticed some swelling in my fingers at my last visit and my shoulders have been hurting for a few days. I've been trying "natural" ways to help reduce the swelling, but I haven't been very consistent so I haven't gotten the best results. I think I'll go make myself a cup of green tea right now.

Good luck to you.

I have been in a medically induced remission for almost 7 years, with 2 med failures in the last two years.

I was on Kineret and mthx which worked great, except my liver couldn't handle the mthx. So I switched to Sulfasalazine and it also worked, except I became allergic to the aspirin in it. So it took 3 months for Rituxan to kick in, plus a month waiting to get insurance approval and the appointment. But now it is working great.

I highly recommend pushing to get on the right meds. Hit this disease hard at the beginning and it will be less severe. I was not correctly diagnosed 13 years ago (seronegative), and I have terrible deformities and I am very severe. But the meds work for me, so far and I hope they work forever.

According to my doc I am now in a medically induced remission. I inject 8 cc's of MTX weekly, take Plaquenil and Folic Acid daily. It took about 5 months to feel any serious relief and since switching to injection I haven't had any serious side effects from the meds. I take care to have blood work done every other month. So far the remission has lasted 3 years, with a couple minor flare ups in those 3 years that never lasted more than a few hours. Best of luck to you. Hugs, Lisa

My clinic notes describe me as being in some sort of remission (clinical remission is the term used) so maybe it is wise to be careful of medicos' language.

I am not in remission in that new joints and some of the old ones still flare from time to time and further visible damage accrues eg enlarged knuckle, nodules and I occasionally feel quite ill. However when I outraged at this description I was told it is to do with blood tests which usually come back pretty ok. (Just as well really as I occasionally have a glass or two of wine...)

In terms of actually feeling in remission this happened first in 2008 after about two years of mtx when I had to come off with bad bloods but still took prednisone. Lasted about six months before need big guns again.

Othe wise often feel well and not as if have RA when on one of my NZ escapes. But by now that "remission feeling" is tinged by knowing my limits. I dont have the energy or the physical stability with damaged ankle to climb mountains for eg (which I havent done since 1997).

You are so young to be afflicted by this and I wish you a caring and brilliant rheumatologist to find you the best of treatment so that you can get these semi remissions. We are all hanging out for a medical breakthrough and no reason it shouldnt happen although I am a drug company cynic...Is a true cure in their interests?

Agree with Offttrack - never be afraid to ask on this site. Other people's bad behaviour is not the norm.

I have been in remission for almost 2 years now. My Rheumy goes by an ACR scale and I am at 70%. He says no one ever goes to 100% because that would mean cure. So 70 is pretty good. I was dxed in Dec ' 08. I started with 6 mtx pills 6month later. Had to get off due to liver issues. I was started on Enbrel and just after my 2nd injection I started to feel better and continued from then on. I did have to stop for about 6 week because I had my knee cleaned out which had also RA present.

I still have pain in my fingers and hands when the wheather changes,but other than that I am back to my old self again. So as you can see it is possible. There are times when you get on meds and they make you feel so good that you think, maybe you don't have it after all and the Dr. must have made a mistake. Just remember it's the meds doing their job.
If you get put on mtx, they take at least 4 mos
before you feel any results. Good luck, and come back often for support.
Bigi

Thanks all, so happy to see that people are getting good results from their medications and can have some sort of normal life back.