A query on the dmards and the newer drugs......

[Prairie]

Interested to know if anyone has advice on the differences between the dmards and the newer drugs??? Just I'm on methortexate injection at the moment and if this doesn't work for me this time...my consultant mentioned tocilizumab...anyone heard of this...thanks prairie x

[Lahnie]

Hi Prairie

I've only recently joined this site but have not blogged yet, have just been reading everyone elses posts & found them so helpful.

I was diagnosed with RA October 2010 & have been on Methotrexate plus other meds since then. They have not been working for some time now so I'm due to start Tocilizumab...... TCZ for short. It is the start of clinical trials & I'm having the first infusion next Friday. But I will continue the Methotrexate plus prednisolone etc for the time being.

I must be honest I am pretty apprehensive but will try anything at the mo! Were you given any written info on it? If not they have quite a lot on the NRAS site for the previous trials.

I too would like to hear from anyone else who has been on TCZ.

Take Care. Lahnie x

[Prairie in reply to Lahnie]

Hi Lahnie thanks for your replie I don't know anything about it and wasn't given any information on it. After my last consultant appointment which was a very good appointment. My consultant mentioned this TCZ. If you don't mind would you let me know how you get on....thanks again and good luck...take care prairie x

[helixhelix]

Hi there, there's often quite a bit of discussion about the traditional DMARDS versus the newer biologics, but really the most important thing is what works for you. All of them have positives and negatives, but since there's so much variation between us and our RA what works fantastically for one person may be useless for someone else. And no-one can really predict 100% whether you'll get the side effects or not, so try to think positively about the drugs. Do look at the nras info:

nras.org.uk/about_rheumatoi...

[Prairie in reply to helixhelix]

Hi there thanks for your comment its true ...its what works best for each and everyone of us whether it be dmards or the newer biologics. I think we all at times feel apprehensive as to what drugs we have to take, what works best for each one of us and the side effects some of us suffer, again it's nice we can talk and share our experiences on this very helpful sight