New and need help about MRA

[Guest guest]

Welcome, Holly!

Sorry to hear that you have such serious troubles at such a young age.

Do you have a lot of joint damage already? Is your physician a

rheumatologist? Even if she is, it may be wise to get a second opinion from

another one. I'm not sure upon what she is basing the wheelchair prediction,

but I would seek another rheumatologist's input.

MRA is tocilizumab (also Actemra), a biologic that interferes with IL-6.

Here is a little information on it:

http://www.roche.com/med-cor-2005-11-17

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

[ ] New and need help about MRA

> My name is Holly and I am new to the group. I have lupus and

> rheumatoid arthritis. My RA is kicking my butt. I started on

> prednisone, plaquenil, safasalazin, and volteren 4 months ago, and in

> that time my sed rate tripled. The medicine did not work. My doctor

> told me that there is a 90% chance that I will be in a wheelchair by

> my 27th birthday next December. She wants me to try a experimental

> drug called MRA that is supposed to be better than methotrexate. Has

> anyone tried this, or even heard about it. I have 2 weeks to make my

> decision, and I am really scared, but feel like I have no other

> choices as my inflamation is just getting worse. Any thoughts?

> Thanks, Holly

[Guest guest]

My name is Holly and I am new to the group. I have lupus and

rheumatoid arthritis. My RA is kicking my butt. I started on

prednisone, plaquenil, safasalazin, and volteren 4 months ago, and in

that time my sed rate tripled. The medicine did not work. My doctor

told me that there is a 90% chance that I will be in a wheelchair by

my 27th birthday next December. She wants me to try a experimental

drug called MRA that is supposed to be better than methotrexate. Has

anyone tried this, or even heard about it. I have 2 weeks to make my

decision, and I am really scared, but feel like I have no other

choices as my inflamation is just getting worse. Any thoughts?

Thanks, Holly

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 2/19/2006 9:16:33 AM Eastern Standard Time,

hollybgroovin2003@... writes:

My name is Holly and I am new to the group. I have lupus and

rheumatoid arthritis. My RA is kicking my butt. I started on

prednisone, plaquenil, safasalazin, and volteren 4 months ago, and in

that time my sed rate tripled. The medicine did not work. My doctor

told me that there is a 90% chance that I will be in a wheelchair by

my 27th birthday next December. She wants me to try a experimental

drug called MRA that is supposed to be better than methotrexate. Has

anyone tried this, or even heard about it. I have 2 weeks to make my

decision, and I am really scared, but feel like I have no other

choices as my inflamation is just getting worse. Any thoughts?

Thanks, Holly

Holly, i'm sorry to hear about you having Lupus and RA. HUGS i say go for

it, i'm 27 and have RA also. Cant imagine being wheelchair bound...Good luck and

keep us posted! hugs

[Guest guest]

Welcome Holly!

Is there any reason why your doctor has not tried the TNF blocking drugs, i.e.

Enbrel or Humira? IMO they work better than anything you are currently on.

>

> My name is Holly and I am new to the group. I have lupus and

> rheumatoid arthritis. My RA is kicking my butt. I started on

> prednisone, plaquenil, safasalazin, and volteren 4 months ago, and in

> that time my sed rate tripled. The medicine did not work. My doctor

> told me that there is a 90% chance that I will be in a wheelchair by

> my 27th birthday next December. She wants me to try a experimental

> drug called MRA that is supposed to be better than methotrexate. Has

> anyone tried this, or even heard about it. I have 2 weeks to make my

> decision, and I am really scared, but feel like I have no other

> choices as my inflamation is just getting worse. Any thoughts?

> Thanks, Holly

>

[Guest guest]

If you have a chance to see a different doctor I would recommend it.

There's no reason to expect to be in a wheelchair within a year or so if you

get proper treatment for RA. If you are not seeing a rheumatologist, you

should be. Some drugs such as Methotrexate seem to be fairly broad spectrum

reducers of immune system activity while others target TNF, IL-1, IL-6, or

B-Cells. I would think it would be best to try to approved drugs first

before going to the ones just being tested. Of course many of the drugs are

very expensive while things in clinical testing are provided free. That may

be the doctor's major consideration. Even if money is an object there may

be free or low-cost medications available through various organizations or

the drug manufacturer. God bless.

-----Original Message-----

From: Rheumatoid Arthritis

[mailto:Rheumatoid Arthritis ] On Behalf Of Holly

Sent: Sunday, February 19, 2006 1:34 AM

Rheumatoid Arthritis

Subject: New and need help about MRA

My name is Holly and I am new to the group. I have lupus and

rheumatoid arthritis. My RA is kicking my butt. I started on

prednisone, plaquenil, safasalazin, and volteren 4 months ago, and in

that time my sed rate tripled. The medicine did not work. My doctor

told me that there is a 90% chance that I will be in a wheelchair by

my 27th birthday next December. She wants me to try a experimental

drug called MRA that is supposed to be better than methotrexate. Has

anyone tried this, or even heard about it. I have 2 weeks to make my

decision, and I am really scared, but feel like I have no other

choices as my inflamation is just getting worse. Any thoughts?

Thanks, Holly