So far, I have been on Humera, Enbrel, Cimzia, Orenzia, Actemra, and now I am on Rituxan, along with Methotrexate, folic acid (2), and Celebrex as needed. But, I have not been on Xeljanz - yet. I hope this works for you, and gives you great relief.

goddess 2left you have been on them all except for simponi huh?

you should be our chief biologic correspondent

hope the rituxan works.

depot

I tried Xeljanz but couldn't take it due to stomach issues. First time Itried it, I got really bad stomach pains almost instantly. Dr. said to discontinue it, wait a few days and retry. I was OK for a few days but then came down with severe Diarrhea from it. So no Xeljanz for me.

Thank you depotblue. So far, so good with the Rituxan.

Stephgas,
I am on about day 10 of Xeljanz.
It seems to be working so far so good. My daily pain levels are down, so that is a step in the right direction.
I started on Sulfasulazine, had some stomach issues that eventually went away but it never really did a whole lot. Doc switched me to Arava for about a year and then added Enbrel to the Arava.
I was on the Enbrel for almost 2 years, but my pain level just continued to rise so we decided to try something else. I thought he was going to try Humira but was surprised that he went with the Xeljanz instead.
I am continuing the Arava with the Xeljanz.
We have been very cold and have even had snow that stuck (way too early for snow this year), but this weekend we are supposed to get rain all weekend, so I'll see if all the aches come back.
The Xeljanz makes me a little shaky, not horrible, but I can notice it in my left hand while typing once in a while. Otherwise, it has not bothered me.
Goodluck, I hope you see some relief from it.
Kim

kim, thanks for your input. can you expand on the 'shaky' feeling? like twitchy in your left hand, shakiness that you're not controlling?

i had no improvement with 20mg of mtx alone, 20mg mtx with enbrel, or 20mg with humira. nothing. well, nothing really noticeable. so i'm hopeful with xeljanz. took my first pill this morning.

I've been on it for two years now and I like that it's almost an instant you know if it works or not - no waiting three to six months to get to therapeutic levels. I'm not free of pain but I can say It's gotten me to the point where I am now taking zero pain meds and can function without wincing!

So far no issues with it unlike my severe woes with MTX, Sulfasalazine, Enbrel and lesser woes with others. Good luck. I'm lovin' it so far.

Steph,
It is kind of like a "my sugar is low, I need to eat something" shaky.
And it could be attributed to something other than the Xeljanz.
I have more issues than just the RA, they just have not ever been able to pinpoint anything for certain.
I really hope the Xeljanz works for you. I agree with Smith, it is pretty quick to tell if it is working or not. They had me off of my Enbrel for almost 3 weeks before I could start it (big ouch)and within a few days I could notice the difference.
Keep us posted on your progress.
Kim

Hi there - I've been on Xeljanz for about 6 months, and it's one of very, very few drugs I've experienced side effects with. Since starting Xeljanz, I've had 3 UTIs (compared with once in my life due to being catheterized in the hospital). Turns out UTIs are a relatively common side effect of Xeljanz. Also, I have a toenail that keeps dropping off, and that may be due to fungal infection, another side effect of Xeljanz. This is a bummer, because taking two pills a day is infinitely less of a hassle, not to mention less expensive, than being infused. But...when I see my rheumy next month, I won't be surprised when he recommends taking me off the Janz.