Biologics

[02tkwillx]

I am due to start biologics in the the week or so. I'm not on any arthritis meds at the mo because nothing has worked for me. I am on 20mg of prednisolone and pain relief. Although I'm still in a lot of pain in many joints, I down want to increase the dose as I want to wean off them once I start biologics.

My elbow, wrist and foot are the worst. I have lost the range of movement, they look deformed and twisted. I'm right handed and struggling with everyday activities especially due to my wrist.

I am excited about starting humeria because life is such a struggle now. I was wondering if humeria will work on my disfigured joints. I know it should reduce inflammation but will help me to get the full Range of movement back in my joints or are they permanently damaged. I really hope not because three joints have gone like this since my last flare a few months ago. If I have another, gods knows how I would manage. I can bearly walk and use my hand now. Would love to people hear how humeria have worked for you ?

[maxb]

I've just started on cimzia, and touch wood have regained some movement back in my fingers although my wrists arent quite as quick. A lot of my fingers are slightly deformed so i guess they'll never straighten fully. I think its a case of not giving up, and keep faith in that you can only go forward from here...

[Hidden]

The only person who can tell you if your joints are permanently damaged is your rheumy or a key person on their team who has seen you. I don't think I'd be able to contact my rheumy very easily, but the biologics nurse I saw prior to starting Humira would be able to answer such a question I think. Do you have a helpline number?

Whatever they say though, I have found that some damaged joints are better in various ways when the disease is under control. I don't understand what's going on but I assume that any damage is made worse by high levels of inflammation.

I hope you do well on Humira and also that your joints aren't permanently damaged. Overall Humira's worked really well for me so far though it was better when I took it alongside Mtx which I had to stop a few months back.

[Hobbits]

I will venture to say if your joints are actually damaged enough to cause deformity then its not possible to get full range of motion back. The deformity can be caused by bone missing (erosion) and once the bone is gone, its gone, there isn't the proper structure for it to align to get full range back. This is why doctors treat newly diagnosed Ra patients aggressively, to stop the permanent damage before its starts. If too much of the joint structure is missing, it cant realign....however joint replacements can fix this.

If you have erosion but no severe deformity, and your joints are fairly aligned then, yes you can get full range back. This is the case with one of my fingers, the erosion cause slight deformity, and I could not move the finger for almost a year. After being on lots of different DMARDS, I can once again move the finger normally, although its still a tad stiff. There is still hope for my toes.