just started above meds today 5 hours ago.feel a little bit spaced out,not dizzy,just sort of not with it!Anyone else felt like this,and if so does it improve.I could easily be imagining it.having read it somewhere.At least have started at last!Got to attend funeral of daughter in laws dad in 2 weeks time,drive on motorway,and read a very moving poem at funeral,so hoping for some fast pain improvement.We will see!!love to everyone.
filgotinib tablets200mg: just started above meds today... - NRAS
filgotinib tablets200mg
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Hi, I have been on Filgotinib for a month and have had the occasional bout of lightheadedness and feeling a bit spaced but it doesn’t come to anything and I take my tablet at night to mitigate the side effects (if any) so I sleep through them. One of the listed side effects is dizziness - my rheumatologist said if I had any dizziness or nausea and it continued to come off the tablets but so far ok.
It has also started working really well - within three days of taking it my swollen hands had reduced in size and I have more energy and less overall pain by far. Others on here have also done well on this JAK. This is my second. Baricitinib worked brilliantly till I caught covid so am hoping this one will be as good. They’re very targeted now so the side effects are much less than the old Dmards which clobbered every bit of you. Good luck and hope it works well for you.
Hello I also take my tablet at night. I have also had a very positive experience so far with a noticeable reduction in joint swelling and pain quickly after first taking the drug. I hope it settles down for you.
Hi Doodle, I've been on Filgotinib a year and 3 months. Started it after a year when nothing worked and was in a very bad way with the RA. So it was a 'miracle drug' for me as within 2 months I was virtually back to where I had been before things stopped working. But I did notice some minor improvement within the first week & thereafter it gradually improved. Depending how bad you were starting it, things may well improve a lot quicker!
No wish to put you off, but I've had a funny, dizzyish head ever since I've been on it. In fact I was a year on the High dose (200mg/day) thru 2022 and although the RA was helped hugely, I developed other chronic issues - very bad headaches & head pressure on top of the funny head, breathlessness, large weight gain, dry cough. I've seen about these symptoms as it's not clear if they are due to having been so bad with the RA, or due to the Filgotinib, or other causes. Therefore, in December, we decided to lower the dose to the Normal dose (100mg/day) to see if the other effects reduced.
The trouble is 2 months later I started having the RA coming on again, so the Normal dose not doing its job and so have gone back up to the High dose a few weeks ago - but so far it doesn't seem to have kicked in...The immune system is so weird! When I reduced the dose for 2 months, I still had the other effects , but not as badly - I haven't been having the very bad headaches & pressure, but do still have a rather permanent 'funny' head, - definitely spaced-out which is a bit dizzy/ fuzzy/ mobile headaches come & go.It's different for everyone, so it doesn't mean we all get the same side effects. Your head symptoms may well improve - see how it goes. Will be interesting to see if you get the other effects I've had too - though I'm not sure their all due to the Filgotinib! Hope you'll be fine - but would be good to get more feedback from you when you've been on it a while!
Nearly forgot to say - I take mine when I get up. On the High dose, pretty soon after taking it, I have to rush to the loo as it seems to trigger a loose bowel movement daily - and sometimes have to rush a few times within an hour or two. But when a couple of months on the Normal dose - it didn't have that effect, going to the loo was much better!
All the best!
Sorry for my late reply I only see the posts once a week. That feeling passed quickly for me. I’ve had no other side effects. Filgotinib has worked very well for me so far, about 18 months. I have to say that I had covid early December last year and stopped Filgotinib for 3 weeks and I don’t feel it’s gotten back to the same effectiveness as before. Still remarkable in comparison to my RA previously.
Very best of luck with it.