spondyloarthropathy

Hi, I saw my GI as I was feeling quite unwell and he referred me to see a Rheumatologist, and it appears I have spondyloarthropathy which is a complication of UC. At the moment I am on Prednisone 50g a day as my ankle swelled up and bruised to the point that I couldn't even walk, plus all my joints seemed to hurt at once!!

Blinkin nightmare, but I am feeling better every day on the Pred!!

The treatment my rheumy suggested was azathioprine, not sure which that would be, when I taper down from Pred, but I have read that the biologics are better for this condition is this true? I doubt I will be able to afford biologics and it seems crazy to go from Pentasa (which I am allergic to) to a biologic anyway.

With regards to the Pred whats your thoughts on dosage for slowly coming down from 50mg, I have a prescription for 2 weeks at that dose.

Thanks!

The azathriprine is a sulfa antibotic and you can look it up on www.drugs.com its a very old RA class medication, but biologics are more common now. Sulfa antibotics have a tendiacy to dry you out so you will need to take it with about a gallon of water, not kidding on that, its very drying, but its worth a try to see if itcan help.
Methotreaxate is a biologic and your doctor might try you on that first, it is lower in costs about 50.00 and usually not covered by insurance, you might be able to be on a trail medication if your doctor does case studies...
However, in the meantime a slow reduction of the steroid, you can break them in half. You have my prayers and well wishes....

chartreux...you mentioned that azathioprine is a sulfa antibotic which has alarmed me, as amongst other problems I am sulfite /sulphur/salicylate intolerant, so am I correct in thinking this Med wouldnt work for me due to the sulfa? or maybe I have it all wrong, I will have to look at this carefully.
celebrate life...thanks a lot!

Regarding MTX: It is a DMARD [though not a biologic] and the generic version can be as little as $5 with insurance.

It's an excellent starter drug, though biologics are really needed for the more aggressive forms of RA.