I've had ra for 26 years, now rheumy wants be to take biologic and antiviral very worried,looking for alternatives?

[chavaudret]

Hello,I haven't posted before, I have been reading everybodys posts ,

I was diagnosed with RA in 1994,resisted dmards ,but eventually took sulphasalazine which worked brilliantly, then in 2003 had to undergo treatment for hepatitis,with interferon, contraindicated when you have RA, so managed with Brufen, no dmards ,cleared the virus in 2007 no ra symptoms or dmards for 4 years,then in 2012 a stressful event triggered the ra again, ,had to give up my business of 17 years in 2014, cope with my Mums dementia ,now I'm getting bone damage, I'm on sulpha and hydroxycloriquine. my rheum wants to put me on a biologic and an antiviral ,,I'm very worried about taking my immune system down so far that infections reoccur,however suffering bone damage now, desperate for any alternative advice? really scared of biologic side effects risk of infection

[farm123]

Personally I think the infection risk for many people is low but as with every medicine there are others that it does affect and it can be serious. You need to be more aware of your own body and how it reacts to cuts, colds, etc and not inject that week if you have an infection and perhaps seek medical help sooner than a 'normal' person. Personally I have done much much better on biologics than DMARD's and with far fewer side effects. You cannot reverse bone damage but you can try a biologic and give up if necessary. There are quite a number of different ones now so your rheumy should be aware of your past (double check) and choose a suitable one for you.

[Chavaudret62 in reply to farm123]

Thanks for your reply,I was treated at the same hospital f the interferon treatment,as my rheumatology ,they are aware of my past infections however the hepatologist says it will be fine if I take an antiviral , I'm very worried about this, it was a real struggle to clear the liver infection , I'm getting desperate and was thinking of alternatives, like diet or Ldn , thanks for your reply do you know which is the least toxic of the biologicals.

[wishbone in reply to Chavaudret62]

I've had RA for 15 years. I also have a more recent (4 years) bladder condition and am prone to UTIs. Three years ago I had a serious infection (septic arthritis in hip) while on enbrel. The orthopaedic consultant at the time advised me no to take it again because he believed enbrel increases the risk of me getting sepsis again. Since then my RA has not been well controlled resulting not only in joint deterioration but RA related lung damage as well. To try and avoid further damage, and after much deliberation, I have decided to take my chances with the increased infection risk and go back on medication. We, my rheumy, an immunologist and myself have decided the med most suited to me is baricitinib, which is a JAK inhibitor. Apparently it's more targeted than other RA meds which tend to blanket bomb the immune system so to speak. The hope being that it's more effective at fending off infections than would be the case with other meds. I'm about to start my fourth week of baricitnib and it is helping my RA. Keeping my fingers XXXX regarding infections and other side effects.

Might be worth mentioning baricitinib to your consultant.

[Chavaudret62 in reply to wishbone]

Thanks for your good advice , I think everybody reacts differently to meds and you need to trust your doctors , mine are fed up with me! , although yours seem very good and supportive and connect with each other , I'll try to get a second opinion, and research further , I'm so scared of the thought of bio logics due to my past infections damned if you do damned if you don't !.

Wishing you all the very best in keeping your RA under control xxxx

[wishbone in reply to Chavaudret62]

It wasn't easy and took a long time getting them to connect with each other...I give up trying with my urologist.

Believe me when I say you're not on your own being scared about taking biologics, or any immune suppressing meds come to that! Seems like I pressed my panic button a bit too early on thursday when I phoned the rheumy helpline about possible side effects with the new med....talk about living on the edge!

Good luck with your RA and hope you find a med that works for you.

[rabbits65]

Try reading Margaret Hills books,,. "Curing arthritis the drug free way". She's written a few easy to read books , also many peoples reviews , well worth reading and well worth a try !!!!