so for the last 2 days I have felt really poorly. Aching everywhere, yesterday I was physically sick and felt shaky and shivery, today I have a sore throat and feel so weak.
I take sulfasalazine and hydroxychloroquine. I have done a covid test and it came back negative but Im not convinced that it’s correct.
i can’t get hold of my GP or rheumatology nurses so I just don’t know what to do in regards to my medication! Do I keep taking it or stop?
Anxiety is THROUGH THE ROOF
Maybe try 111
The safest course of action is to stop the drugs until you have spoken to a doctor. A day here or there will make little/no difference to controlling your disease as they are slow acting drugs, so really don’t worry.
But err on the side of caution, even tho’ neither suppress your immune system much.
(You can get sick from other things apart from covid!! I had an evil viral gastroenteritis earlier this year that came from nowhere)
I just feel so unsupported as I haven’t been told what to do if I fall poorly on these meds. So frustrating and it just makes everything so much harder for me anxiety wise. I posted elsewhere on another group and they said to stay on the meds unless I feel really really poorly.. so much conflicting info
You learn to go with your gut instinct. You know your body best.
In general I have been pretty robust so my doctors very rarely tell me to stop my drugs, so apart from the viral infection earlier this year, I never have. But you are new to this so I would follow the cautious approach for the minute.
But really, missing a few days of sulpha and hydroxy is not major! The are slow to build up, so you have a margin.
I was poorly for 2 days and testing negative, tested positive on the 3rd day - don’t know if this helps!
If you are feeling really bad you could try 111, as others have said if you are new to this, it might be worthwhile stopping meds until you can get some advice.You are not alone, keep posting there is always someone here to answer.
I'd ring 111 then a Dr or Nurse Practitioner will ring you back. It might calm you down instead of worrying. Hope you feel better soon
I would stop and get medical help. And keep testing for Covid. I was on day 5 of symptoms before I was positive for Covid!
I would never stop taking any medication unless advice by gp or rheumatologist.This would agravivate so would be in more pain with RA
I take this combination of meds too and am experiencing the same awful problems at the moment. Personally, I’m still taking my meds because I know people with the same symptoms not on this medication which indicates that it’s probably some virus etc that’s currently doing the rounds. If you’ve only just started these meds then I’d definitely ring 111 for advice but if not, I’d continue to take them and deal with the illness in the same way you would any flu, virus etc.
Hope you feel better very soon, it’s rotten on top of the arthritis but you can do this x
Hi,I am on sulfasalazine and methotrexate. I recently had a bout of pneumonia and was advised by my rheumy team to continue taking the sulfalazine but to stop the mxt for 2 weeks. Hope this helps and you feel better soon.x
You need medical advice quickly so don’t hesitate to call 111.
If you have only recently started on Sulfasalazine perhaps you are having an adverse reaction to it. It made me feel terrible and I saw an out of hours doctor who sent me straight to hospital.
I was told to take sulfasalazine with an infection but to always stop methotrexate and my biologic. Even when I had covid last year I still took it. Apparently it doesn't suppress the immune system much so it was safe to carry on? That's what I was told anyway. But everyone is different so always best to get advice from your own doctors.
Definitely call NHS 111. You can test negative at first but still have Covid. So test for 3 consecutive days. But also the heat and more importantly the humidity play havoc with my RA symptoms and can feel as u describe. I hope this helps.
Hi there, personally I have never stopped my hydroxychloroquine when I’ve had infections, viral or bacterial (been on it for around 35 years) However, I don’t do my methotrexate injection if I think I have an infection. Recently had to miss 4 doses (and no ill effects) because I had a UTI then had my 2nd Covid booster on the Monday and tested positive for Covid on the Wednesday!! 🙈
It might be worth trying again to contact your rheumatology team if you can, especially if you started sulfasalazine recently. When I started taking it I was told to get in touch with any signs of flu-like symptoms because it can be a sign of a reaction to the SSZ. If you've been taking it for a while that may not be such a concern, but still worth checking it out as you haven't been given guidance so far. Otherwise 111 may get you an answer and some reassurance as others have suggested. I hope you feel better soon.
Good morning. If you would like support, information or just someone to talk to, our NRAS helpline is open every weekday from 9.30am to 4.30pm nras.org.uk/helpline/ 0800 298 7650. Or have a look at our website nras.org.uk. Kind regards.
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