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...
Hello, I'm new to the forum. I was diagnosed with Sjogren's and seronegative RA in 2009. I've been on prednisone, Plaquenil, MTX, Enbrel, Humira, Simponi and Cimzia. After getting off the last biologic in 2012, I had a small stroke (due to cerebral vasculitis). My new rheumatologist put me on Cellcept. It worked great for 2.5 years, but then began to cause GI issues. I stopped taking it in July of 2015. My doc then upped my pred to 15 mg daily (I was on 5) until I could get on a new immunosuppressant. I tried Imuran for 2 months, but it raised my liver enzymes sky high. I'm currently on 10 mg daily of pred and my RA is in full flare. My doc wants me to go on Rituxin, but given my track record of bad side effects, I'm very leary of trying it. The PML "side effect" sounds horrible.
Has anyone had any success with a natural treatment or diet? I've tried cutting out inflammatory foods, but I haven't seen any changes yet. I wake up every a.m. with joint pain so bad I can barely get out of bed. Maybe it takes months for an anti-inflammatory diet to work. I really don't want to take another expensive biologic.
Has anyone had any success with a natural treatment or diet? I've tried cutting out inflammatory foods, but I haven't seen any changes yet. I wake up every a.m. with joint pain so bad I can barely get out of bed. Maybe it takes months for an anti-inflammatory diet to work. I really don't want to take another expensive biologic.
There is Actemra, which my body didn't like, but I talked to a lot of people who did like it. Xeljanz did not work for me, but no side effects. Arava has been working well, and even my liver can tolerate it.
I was on Rituxan for 3 years. It did not work long enough and affected my lungs, but if I could have done it every 4 months (insurance wouldn't let me!) it would have been good.
Just because you have responded badly to one drug, doesn't mean another won't help.
I am much more afraid of the damage RA does and has done, and the pain than any side effects.
As far as natural cures there are none. You might not find any changes with food, as most of us have not. Not sure who those anti-inflammatory diets are supposed to help, because I don't know anyone who had success.
RA is a serious, systematic disease, which is not going to be put into remission. By apple cider vinegar, essential oils or other quack remedies. There is no "cure" for this disease, only remission.
I hope you will try the Rituxan and let us know how it works.
I got much worse on Enbrel and then had an allergic reaction to Humira so I was in trouble too. But doc and I talked it out. Enbrel and Humira(and Simponi and Cimzia) are all TNF inhibitors meaning they all go after the same cytokine. Seems to me that if 1 or 2 don't work then maybe TNF is not the cause of your RA(I am also sero-negative since 1977). There are other drugs that go after other cytokines such as Actemra that inhibits Interleukin 6, Kineret goes after Interleukins 1 and 2 and Xelganz that goes after the Janus Kinase factor...a protein involved in causing inflammation at the joint site. But there is another....Orencia...that has worked miracles for me. Rather than inhibit a particular cytokine, it inhibits T-cells. T-cells are the triggers for all the cytokines so it can inhibit all of them. It works much more slowly but it does work....you just have to give it 6 months.
But I've had few to nothing of side effects and was in total remission for 3 years. Its now slowly stopping it's full effectiveness but my numbers are still pretty good. And I've been on it for over 7 years.
Just another suggestion.
hugs............Jen
For what it's worth, I have tried changes in diet and eating only 'healthy' foods with no inflammatory foods and even wiped out gluten for a while. I noticed no changes at all in my pain, inflammation or anything else. Happy Eating back for me! :-)
~Steve aka RAFighter
Blessings
Kim
Good luck. I just go diagnosed and put on Methotrexate and still adjusting but totally feeling the drain.