Guest guest Posted March 11, 2005 Report Share Posted March 11, 2005 Hi, Cindi. Nobody can predict who will have damage or what will work to stop it, but DMARDs are your best bet to keep your RA in check. Your physician is supposed to be looking for any evidence of disease. If your RA is not well-controlled, he should consider altering your therapy. MTX is a DMARD, and, generally, a very effective one. Some people use it as their only DMARD. That's fine if it is controlling the disease. If it's not working well enough, or you can't tolerate it, there are a lot of other choices. Or you can add something to it. You don't have to add a biologic. Have you contacted any of the manufacturers for help with the other meds? Patient Assistance Programs for Rheumatology-related Drugs: http://www.rheumatology.org/public/acrast.asp?aud=pat Hospital for Special Surgery September 8, 2003 " How Medication Decisions are Made in RA Treatment " : http://www.hss.edu/Conditions/Rheumatoid-Arthritis/How-Decisions-Are-Made-In-Ra-\ Treatment Hospital for Special Surgery November 13, 2003 " New Standards of Treatment for Difficult RA - Part 1 " : http://www.hss.edu/Professionals/Conditions/Rheumatic-Diseases---Therapeutics/Tr\ eatment-For-Difficult-Ra Not an MD I'll tell you where to go! Mayo Clinic in Rochester http://www.mayoclinic.org/rochester s Hopkins Medicine http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org [ ] RE: GINA AND SHARON > > > > DEAR GINA AND SHARON, > > I HAVE BEEN READING YOUR POSTS ON ENBREL AND PREDNISONE...MY > QUESTION IS THIS: I AM TOO FAR ALONG NOW FOR PREDNISONE, AND I HAVE > BEEN ON MTX FOR ABOUT A YEAR....MY DOCTOR MENTIONED THAT THE NEXT > STEP IS A DMARD AND MTX.....IF I CAN PERSONALLY HANDLE THE PAIN I AM > IN CAN I SAFELY STAY ON MTX OR WILL MY JOINTS DETERIORATE TO QUICKLY > IF I JUST TAKE MTX..... THERE ALSO IS A VERY LARGE PROBLEM WITH MY > EVEN AFFORDING ENBREL OR ANY OF THE OTHERS. > > THANK YOU , CINDI Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 11, 2005 Report Share Posted March 11, 2005 Hi, Cindi. Nobody can predict who will have damage or what will work to stop it, but DMARDs are your best bet to keep your RA in check. Your physician is supposed to be looking for any evidence of disease. If your RA is not well-controlled, he should consider altering your therapy. MTX is a DMARD, and, generally, a very effective one. Some people use it as their only DMARD. That's fine if it is controlling the disease. If it's not working well enough, or you can't tolerate it, there are a lot of other choices. Or you can add something to it. You don't have to add a biologic. Have you contacted any of the manufacturers for help with the other meds? Patient Assistance Programs for Rheumatology-related Drugs: http://www.rheumatology.org/public/acrast.asp?aud=pat Hospital for Special Surgery September 8, 2003 " How Medication Decisions are Made in RA Treatment " : http://www.hss.edu/Conditions/Rheumatoid-Arthritis/How-Decisions-Are-Made-In-Ra-\ Treatment Hospital for Special Surgery November 13, 2003 " New Standards of Treatment for Difficult RA - Part 1 " : http://www.hss.edu/Professionals/Conditions/Rheumatic-Diseases---Therapeutics/Tr\ eatment-For-Difficult-Ra Not an MD I'll tell you where to go! Mayo Clinic in Rochester http://www.mayoclinic.org/rochester s Hopkins Medicine http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org [ ] RE: GINA AND SHARON > > > > DEAR GINA AND SHARON, > > I HAVE BEEN READING YOUR POSTS ON ENBREL AND PREDNISONE...MY > QUESTION IS THIS: I AM TOO FAR ALONG NOW FOR PREDNISONE, AND I HAVE > BEEN ON MTX FOR ABOUT A YEAR....MY DOCTOR MENTIONED THAT THE NEXT > STEP IS A DMARD AND MTX.....IF I CAN PERSONALLY HANDLE THE PAIN I AM > IN CAN I SAFELY STAY ON MTX OR WILL MY JOINTS DETERIORATE TO QUICKLY > IF I JUST TAKE MTX..... THERE ALSO IS A VERY LARGE PROBLEM WITH MY > EVEN AFFORDING ENBREL OR ANY OF THE OTHERS. > > THANK YOU , CINDI Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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