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...
Hi,I'm a newbie,I've posted a couple of times now.I think this is the best
site out there for RA.It reflects soo many approaches....I've had RA or
9 yrs and been on every med out there...I tried Rituxan 10 wks ago and
it did absolutely nothing....but this is my issue today.I've taken MTX about 4-5 times over the yrs.It hits me like napalm bomb,especially causing sinusitis which always requires a round of antiiotics.Problem is this
drug works better than anything else.my Dr. has even encouraged me to
take a sub theraputic dose,he said for some people even a low dose
works albeit with less side effects.I'm on alot of prednsone which I would do just about anything to be able to reduce.I've gained 50 lbs
from it,my cholesterol is way up.Sooo,I'm looking for input from folks
that have a hard time with this medication but have found various
ways of tolerating it...i.e lower dosage,splitting the dose etc.
As far as the Rituxan my Dr said i had the option of another round in
December or go to something else .I chose to move on to something
else.He mentioned Actemera(only biologic left that I haven't been on)
but I'm thinking I might give MTX another shot first.Thanks,Kathy
site out there for RA.It reflects soo many approaches....I've had RA or
9 yrs and been on every med out there...I tried Rituxan 10 wks ago and
it did absolutely nothing....but this is my issue today.I've taken MTX about 4-5 times over the yrs.It hits me like napalm bomb,especially causing sinusitis which always requires a round of antiiotics.Problem is this
drug works better than anything else.my Dr. has even encouraged me to
take a sub theraputic dose,he said for some people even a low dose
works albeit with less side effects.I'm on alot of prednsone which I would do just about anything to be able to reduce.I've gained 50 lbs
from it,my cholesterol is way up.Sooo,I'm looking for input from folks
that have a hard time with this medication but have found various
ways of tolerating it...i.e lower dosage,splitting the dose etc.
As far as the Rituxan my Dr said i had the option of another round in
December or go to something else .I chose to move on to something
else.He mentioned Actemera(only biologic left that I haven't been on)
but I'm thinking I might give MTX another shot first.Thanks,Kathy
Good luck,
Roni
I'd recommend that you talk to your doctor about starting Actemra before the half-life of Rituxan has been reached, should that become an option. I wouldn't be surprised if there isn't any info on interactions between the two drugs.
Good luck.