Hi all Just diagnosed last Thursday with RA. I was given a steroid injection and some medication

[trish1957]

Lodine SR 600mg. Just wanted Info if anyone has used this.

[watson3]

Hi Trish. Sorry to hear you have been diagnosed. But their are some very good treatment out there.

I have taken LODINE SR 600. I responded very well to it for 8 months. Do however make sure that you get your GP to prescribe a protector for your stomach. Eg omeprazole or Lansoprazole. The are both proton pump inhibitors and control the amount of acid secreted by your stomach....

LODINE belongs to a group called non steroidal anti inflammatory medicine.

Which are good for pain relief of this condition, but important to protect your stomach.

Regards

Carole

[trish1957 in reply to watson3]

Hi Carole

Thank you some much for your reply. Im a bit confused about all the info I was given at my first hospital appointment. Im not even sure what the steroid injection was for !

I was also given Lansoprazole to take daily. How long does it take before I will feel better with this medication ?

Thanks

Trish.

[trish1957 in reply to watson3]

Thank you so much for your reply. I feel a bit more confident about taking this now.

[linbin]

Hey Trish. I was just diagnosed two days ago. So I guess we are both new to this thing. Just wanted to say hi.

[Harpey]

Hi, sorry you've been diagnosed and welcome to the site.

The steroid injection would have been to give you faster relief from the inflammation while the other drugs kick in. I had inflammation in my foot, thumbs and neck when I was first diagnosed, so rather than being injected in all of those areas I had one large injection into a muscle to help calm the inflammation in my whole body. It worked for two weeks or so for me but that at least gave more time for the other drugs to start working. You can also have a steroid injection just into one joint if there's one in particular that's the problem.

I hope that helps.

[kathgallagher]

Hi I take it occasionally when things are bad. Just remember not to take it on an empty stomach

[Hidden]

Hi there, sorry to hear that you have been diagnosed with RA. The early days around diagnosis are so often confusing but things generally get clearer. The way the disease works is complex, I won't pretend to understand it. But I've had RA for 2 years and have come to think of inflammation as the main thing that needs to be tackled as it plays a key role in damaging joints. Hopefully you have been diagnosed in time to prevent any joint damage, though. Steroids are particularly good at dampening down inflammation quickly and so are often given pronto, like Harpey says, as other drugs tend to work more slowly. Steroids can also help with pain & fatigue. But they tend not to be used long-term these days as, over time, they can have nasty side effects.

I haven't heard of Lodine but I know there are loads of different NSAIDs. Lots of people with inflammatory conditions take them & they are very often problem-free. If they do have side effects it's usually the gut that's affected but taking them with food as others have said goes a long way to prevent this happening.

I do hope all goes well with you. This is a great site to come to with all the questions that are bound to pop into your head at this stage, or just to offload or hopefully to share how much better you are feeling!

Luce x