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Posted 9/25/2008 7:01 PM (GMT 0)
 

  Recently my wife has been diagnosed with Severe Rheumatoid Arthritis.  She is only 26.  She was put on prednisone and given naproxen and hydrocortisone for pain in the beginning.  Last week they put her on methyltrexate (sp?) to stop the spread.  They say she is fortunate to have caught it early, as no visible joint damage has occurred. Its making her very tired. 

  Now she must make a decision on which treatment option she should pursue following the methyl treatment and pred taper. We were given the choice of Remicade, Enbril, or Humira.  We were leaning toward Enbril due to the fact it has been around for awhile but still open for discussion.  

   

  Anyone here have any suggestions or experience with any of these meds for two newbies? Thanks in advance.

Posted 9/25/2008 11:49 PM (GMT 0)
Hello, and welcome to the forum. I am sorry you and your wife are having to go through this. I was twenty six when I was diagnosed-11 yeares ago. You are very fortunate the diagnosis came so quickly. Methotrexate is a great drug for this disease. Your wife will want to take folic acid and drink lots of water while taking this med. Enbril is usually added to mtx as they work better together-enbrel works better when taken with mtx. There is a thread here on mtx I will bump it for you so its on the first page in case you are interested. (It is about our first days on the med and how we got through it-it is a bit scarry when you start but after a few weeks most people end up loving it.) If your wife experiences a lot of fatigue and it doesn't go away with the mtx have her ask about adding plaquenel (its the only thing that has ever helped me with the fatigue I take it with the mtx).
Sj
Posted 9/26/2008 12:09 AM (GMT 0)
Hey there ucwarrior.. welcome to the family! I'm on Enbrel and MTX... Did your wife's rheumy tell her to take a B complex vitamin and folic acid with the mtx? like Sj said, the folic acid and b complex will help counteract some of the side effects.. also drinking lots and lots of water.. :) The more water, the better.. I usually get really tired 2 days after I take mtx... but as long as I drink more water on that day and double my folic acid intake on that day, it's not too bad.. Enbrel has been a lifesaver for me how soon are they thinking of putting her on a biologic?
Posted 9/26/2008 6:25 AM (GMT 0)
She is taking folic acid as per the doc's instructions. I don't remember hearing anything from the doc about increased h20 intake or B complex, will definately pass this on to her. She took her 2nd week of mtx today and was extremely lethargic and almost quite delirious.

Remi was the only biological offered. We are still debating that one. She is really leaning toward enbrel. She's really taking all this in and I can see it taking its toll. She is dreading winter and the sicknesses that come with it, the doc really freaked her out with the horror stories of getting every bug in town.

All I can do is provide her with everything she needs, but even then I feel helpless as she battles this thing. I can see it in her eyes that she is scared of this but all I can do is keep checking the closet for monsters and telling her it will be ok.
Posted 9/26/2008 12:16 PM (GMT 0)

Ucwarrior, your wife is soooo lucky to have you there to help and support her. I have chatted with a few people in here that their partners are not sooo supportive.  I don't know if I could go thru this without my husbands support either.  I am also new to RA.  I started symptoms around February this year....so I'm  a few months in.  I am currently only on Plaquenil, but go to see my rhuemy Oct 3rd and need to ask her for some pain meds.  I live in Canada, and am also afraid of what winter will bring, as being cold hurts....I am 33 and totally understand your wife's fears for the future.  Please tell her I am sorry this has happened to her , but that she is sooo lucky to have sucha good support system. It helps sooo much when someone cares, and trys to understand and help.  I hope you both can get the meds sorted out quickly as to help ease the pain and sleep problems.  Take care. ((gentle hugs))

Posted 9/26/2008 11:06 PM (GMT 0)
I was really worried about getting sick all the time too.. so far (knock on wood) I haven't been too sick.. I go into flares, and don't feel well.. but as far as getting every sniffle that is in town, I have managed to do pretty well.. I am 35 and have 3 kids, ages 11, 10 and 9.. so I'm constantly around germs and dirt and all kinds of stuff.. I have noticed that I am really prone to certain infections (i.e. UTI's and sinus infections) but even those haven't been too bad.. tell her it will be ok, she or you can come on here and get all kinds of words of encouragement! She is very luck to have you.. the support of a loved one is paramount when going through these diseases! Kudos to you!
Posted 9/26/2008 11:07 PM (GMT 0)
Oh, I forgot to say, I took my MTX last night.. and first thing this morning, I started drinking water.. I had already had 6 bottles of water by noon, and was peeing up a storm.. and I felt pretty good.. but this afternoon I got really busy.. and by 3, I felt like someone had beat me with a hammer.. I grabbed a bottle of water, chugged it and started drinking more, and by 5, I felt like a new woman.. I don't know what it is, but water helps SO SO much.. :) Good luck to you guys!
Posted 9/26/2008 11:14 PM (GMT 0)
I haven't gotten sick more often on mtx-unfortunatly though when I did get sick it decided to stick around for a long time-let you know how long when it finally goes away.
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