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...
Basically my wife has had RA symptoms for about 4 months now. She started Plaquenil in May and more recently sulfasalazine in July.
She has 3 months completed of Plaquenil and 1 month of Sulfasalazine. She has improved just a tad bit. She has flares in her hands and feet(sometimes upper back and shoulder) about 3-4 times a week, she went about 2 weeks with no flares back in July but that didn't last long.
The doctor is suggesting my wife get treatment for latent TB so my wife can start Biologics. The trouble is my wife has had elevated liver enzymes in the past and the treatment can bring them up once again and even cause hepatitis along with jaundice(which my wife has had a past episode of).
But we're reading on how effective Biologics can be but there a great amount of risks as well. If you read online, once you read lymphoma and cancer you immediately get scared. The doctor is suggesting this treatment even though we believe it's too early and we should see if the current medication will work. 3 months of Plaquenil can still be early and so can 1 month of Sulfasalazine. The doctor has given my wife 2 more months before she strongly recommends a biologic. She feels that if these medications don't work, Biologics are the only answer(can't do MTX because of liver enzymes).
She has 3 months completed of Plaquenil and 1 month of Sulfasalazine. She has improved just a tad bit. She has flares in her hands and feet(sometimes upper back and shoulder) about 3-4 times a week, she went about 2 weeks with no flares back in July but that didn't last long.
The doctor is suggesting my wife get treatment for latent TB so my wife can start Biologics. The trouble is my wife has had elevated liver enzymes in the past and the treatment can bring them up once again and even cause hepatitis along with jaundice(which my wife has had a past episode of).
But we're reading on how effective Biologics can be but there a great amount of risks as well. If you read online, once you read lymphoma and cancer you immediately get scared. The doctor is suggesting this treatment even though we believe it's too early and we should see if the current medication will work. 3 months of Plaquenil can still be early and so can 1 month of Sulfasalazine. The doctor has given my wife 2 more months before she strongly recommends a biologic. She feels that if these medications don't work, Biologics are the only answer(can't do MTX because of liver enzymes).
Basically, I want to know how safe are Biologics really? Is it possible to see if the current medications will work eventually?
For me, I know most of my family and a couple friends have been strongly opposed to the biologics. They think it is the worse thing I can do, and I should have continued to do a wait and see. My mother suggested prednisone for a few years, to see if that 'cured' me. They would remind me how dangerous biologics are. For this reason, I do not discuss my treatment - ever- with any of them.I do not tell them that now I go into an infusion/cancer treatment center 4 times a year, for 5+ hours, for my treatment. My husband, while not the most involved in what is going on, backs me 100% in this choice.
I am feeling almost back to normal. I have some pain and stiffness now & then, but it is something I can deal with. Occasionally, I take Celebrex, but not often. My fingers do not grip as well as they use to, but I make adjustments for that.
My RA pain came on slowly, and I adjusted to it. When I first went to the Rheum, and he asked my pain level, I said it was 4-5. Now that I am on biologics, and I feel so much better, I realize my pain levels had been closer to 7-9, depending on the time day.
It sounds like your wife would like to start biologics. Hopefully, she will find something that does help her feel better.
I've been on Enbrel for 16 weeks now and have yet to experience any side effects. The first 9 months of my treatment was nothing but really difficult side effects so I'm not unhappy right now.
good luck
depot
I was told Plaquenil could take 3-5 months to kick in and Sulfasalazine could take 2-3 months.