Just diagnosed

[Lomo1964]

Hi I have now been diagnosed with inflammatory arthiritus. Is it RA? I am going to start Azathioprine and hydroxychliroquine. Has anyone used thes please?

[Hidden]

Welcome so sorry you have go ra I have tried hydroxychloroquine sulfasazin metotrexate and a few more over the last 3 year in my case to no avail it trial and error I am afraid hope it works for you

[farm123]

Mine is 'sero-negative inflammatory arthritis' on my notes and has been for many years. It is a type of RA but people don't take a lot of notice when you say Rheumatoid arthritis and associate it with those aches and pains that granny had and you are too young to have that (I was 19 when first started and now 49). I find it is better for me to say inflammatory arthritis and then I can say it is inflammation in the joints which causes swelling and pain if asked. Azathioprine and hydroxy have been used for years and are what are termed DMARD's which is a group of drugs that most people are started on. Unfortunately it is a case of trial and error to find the right medication to control your disease as everybody is different and each drug can take up to 12 weeks to become effective. The NRAS website has plenty of information on drugs, and useful booklets for family, work etc. I take 200mg hydroxy but also on Abatacept (a biologic drug - the next stage) as well. Farm

[smithfield in reply to farm123]

Hi I have been on hydroxy... for 6 months now alongside fortnightly injections of Cimzia.

It ,greatly reduced the synovitis ( not the correct spelling) cysts on my hands, which were the size of golf balls This was before I started on biologics and was taking it on its own.

I have had no startling side effects, but you should have your eyes checked regularly when taking it.

Best wishes Smithfield.

[Lomo1964]

Thank you yes I have to have blood tests every two weeks and eye test every year

[Mhairi54]

I've also recently been diagnosed as having Undifferentiated Inflammatory Arthritis and know how confusing it can all be. Only on Diclofenac and Omeprazole at moment but have review appt with consultant in two weeks time. Hoping they're going to start me on something that will give me my life back!

[Lomo1964 in reply to Mhairi54]

why Omaprozole. I hope they sort you out very soon

[Mhairi54 in reply to Lomo1964]

Think it's to protect my tummy as some drugs increase the risk of stomach ulcers from developing. Not sure if it's only certain types of medications though, I'm sure someone on here will know the answer! Hope you start to get some relief soon. x

[nomoreheels]

Sorry to hear it's confirmed but at least now you're starting treatment & given a good few weeks you should start to notice improvement.

I was diagnosed in 2008, seropositive & hydroxychloroquine was my first DMARD, along with a couple of NSAIDs & a short course of steroids to work on the inflammation & bring the pain to a reasonable level until the HCQ took over. I took it for about a year & did have some side effects, light sensitivity & with that came headaches. I was living in a sunny country at the time so lived in sunglasses which did help somewhat but it also became less effective so methotrexate was added (known as double therapy). For some reason that didn't help so HCQ was stopped leaving MTX which for whatever reason brought me under control. It is recommended that your eyes are checked before starting HCQ, I had regular eye exams as my eyes became sunlight sensitive but they remained healthy.

I haven't been prescribed azathioprine but similar to MTX it was originally used as a cancer treatment. Because of it's mechanism it has been used for a long time as an immunosuppressant. Other DMARDs have been licensed for RD since so it's not used as regularly for initial treatment. You'll need drug monitoring bloods whilst taking it but many of us do, particularly if taking MTX, it becomes routine after a while.

This may help explain the use of DMARDs in Rheumatology nras.org.uk/getting-establi...

I hope you enjoy being here, it can be very helpful particularly when newly diagnosed or you don't know anyone else with the disease. If you have any questions just ask, we'll help wherever we can.

[earthwitch]

Inflammatory arthritis is a term that covers both RA and spondyloarthritis (the lesser known cousin of RA that includes psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, undifferentiated spondyloarthropathy and reactive arthritis). Don't get hung up on the label - the big thing is that it has been identified as an autoimmune inflammatory arthritis, and you are receiving treatment for it. In due course, once the doctors have seen your reaction to treatment and seen how your inflammation makes itself known, they may be able to narrow down a diagnosis further, but "inflammatory arthritis" is enough right now to get things moving, and to have a rheumatologist take you seriously.