RA drug speed of effect

[Rascotland]

Salazopyrin, how long does it take to have any effect and to reach most effect?

[helixhelix]

between 6 weeks to 3 months to have any effect. And up to 6 months to be fully effective.

[sylvi in reply to helixhelix]

I agree with you about the time it takes to get into your system. xxx

[nomoreheels]

Welcome Rascotland. I increased my dose slowly but it took a little while to have effect. The general advice is 12 weeks, in common with other DMARDs but it depends on how much it's tackling I guess.

This might be helpful nras.org.uk/resource/sulfas...

I hope this helps & you respond well to SSZ.

[Daisy70]

Hi there. I’ve been on Salazyprin for many years now. TBH, I can’t really remember how long it took to kick in but I think it was only about 4/5 weeks in my case. I definitely remember that I was lucky and had no noticeable side effects

When you have Ankylosing Spondylitis, there are so many symptoms and flares can happen at any time, with no rhyme or reason. So, in that sense, it’s hard to know how much difference Salazyprin made but on balance, I’d say it has kept me more or less on the straight and narrow.

At one point, I had to take steroids to try and get some of the inflammation down and then, because of the steroids, my blood sugar went sky high and I ended up having to inject for diabetes. My Rheumatologist wanted me to drop the Salazyprin and take Methotrexate as a better partner to the insulin. So I did.

However, I hated the Methotrexate as I quickly began to lose my hair and had lots of headaches. After a long chat with my Rheumatologist, I stopped the Methotrexate and started the Salazyprin again. I felt instantly better.

Before long, I was also able to stop the insulin when my blood sugar lowered enough. Now, despite several conversations with a new Rheumatologist about starting biologics, I’m just on Salazyprin, along with extra anti inflammatories as and when.I wish you all the best on your journey.