psoriatic arthritis - Newly diagnosed

June 3, 2004

Hi

Im new to all of this. I was recently diagnosed with PA. Im going

to start taking Enbrel in just a few weeks. After reading some of the

messages on line Im begining to wonder if taking Enbrel will be worth

it. Right now Im suffering with psoriasis and a great deal of pain in

my right hip. Any help would be appreciated.

Kim

[Editor's Note: Hi Kim and welcome to the list. I'm sorry that a diagnosis of

PA brought you here but hopefully the list will be of some help to you. Many of

the members here have had wonderful results on Enbrel and they would certainly

tell you that it is well worth trying. Some people don't respond to it and even

fewer people have severe adverse reactions, but on the whole, Enbrel seems to

help the majority of the people who try it. Please let us know if it works for

you or let us help you work through your specific concerns before trying it.

Kathy F.]

June 3, 2004

Hi Kim...

I too am new to PA, I have had P for about 40 yrs but only recently

diagnosed with PA. My psoriasis is very midle so I was sorta stunned

to have PA, but my nails were unhealthy so not too surprised after

reading up about it. I have a red swollen toe that responded well to

a Predisone Pack and when it was finished after one week my toe

swelled and turned red again. The dr. feels like I need treatment

too. As I will be relocating in 2 months and unable to get Enbrel,

she is putting me on methotrexate. I just received my MTX today and

will start it tomorrow. She also gave me folic acid to take, which I

believe helps relieve side effects of nausea, etc. I too am really

scared to take medication after reading all the side effects, etc. I

just don't feel that my symptoms are that bad but she assures me I

need to. All of my x-rays and bone scans showed no erosions either.

I hope you have good luck with your treatment and hope to keep in

touch with you since seems like we are starting this journey around

the same time.

Best wishes!

June 3, 2004

Hi Sunny May & Kim,

welcome to the group! I am sure you will find lots of support and a

wealth of info here.

I have only been diagnosed with PA for about 2.5 years (a newby

compared to some others).

I have been taking MTX for 2 years. NO side effects, NO nasuea,

Nothing except RELIEF. I went from barely walking to normal.

Yes, ALL drugs can have side effects. Have you ever read the label on

on aspirin? It can give you a headache, go figure!

My point is, don't fret side effects! Yes, be informed and be on the

lookout for harmful effects, and inform your Dr. IF you suffer any,

but don't worry about " what if " . Many people have had wonderful

results from every drug mentioned on this list server. Some folks

have had bad experiences with the side effects.

I wish you each the best with your new meds.

Stay Well

June 3, 2004

Dear Sunnymaypa,

Welcome to the group. I didn’t see your name, so I just used your email

address name. I wanted to suggest that if you are unsure and not

comfortable with taking MTX, then I would get a 2nd opinion. Chances are you

will be fine on the medication, but you are right and these drugs do have

strong side effects when they happen. I understand if you like your doctor

that it’s not easy to go behind their back so to speak to see another

doctor. But why not be sure? You can go and get another opinion without

your doctor even knowing, as long as the 2nd doctor agrees with him.

You deserve to be at ease with your decision to try a new drug. And it

doesn’t mean you don’t like or don’t trust your current doctor, but it’s

important to make a decision based on all the facts. Before I tried several

of the new drugs, I asked all my doctors about them and what they thought I

should do. They all agreed with my rheumatologist and unfortunately I had

really bad reactions to several of the drugs including MTX. But I’m not

“normal” when it comes to arthritis drugs and a lot of people take it all

the time and do just fine.

Good luck with your decision and I hope by the time you decide to take the

drug you feel like it’s the right thing to do. This is a great group with

lots of really smart people, so I’m sure you’ll get some great advice from

many of the members who take MTX. Take care and I hope you feel better

soon. Sincerely, Fran in Florida

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