How long does it take for your immune system to get back to normality?

[Chezjones]

Hi lve been on & off sulfasalazine then methotrexate 2006/2013 then in remission till 2020 & had knee flare ups so had steroids etc so was on sulfasalazine again but never suited & methotrexate but just kept getting chest infections & feeling ill etc so stopped in December & at moment feeling ok just abit achy at times, but still having sore throat chest infections & had antibiotics just hope l'm feeling better soon 😉

[Runrig01]

Personally, I had more infections before meds like MTX or biologics. The reason being I was told, that the body is too busy fighting inflammation, that it doesn’t detect infections sneaking in. Once on the meds, and inflammation calmed down, my body was able to focus on its job, of detecting infections.

How long before the meds, are out your system, and impacting your health, depends on their half life. It takes 5.5 half lives to clear a medication from your body.

[Spanelmad]

Have you had your bloods done since stopping? This would give you the indication your seeking

[AgedCrone]

It depends what you mean by Normal. if you mean going back to before you were first diagnosed with RA, the answer is probably not until you are on another Dmard to control the disease.

But now you should go back to your rheumatologist & get some tests & advice …..unfortunately once you have been diagnosed with RA, if your symptoms return you are likely to need to go back on some sort of treatment.

I think the sooner you get some advice the better….immune systems don’t normally just”return to normal”

[Chezjones]

Thanks for all your replys my next appointment at Rheumatology is 12 months unless l have a flare up l can ring speak to a Rheumatology nurse for advice.