Medications in general

It pays to read up on the medications that we use to treat our arthritis. I was treated with what is known as NSAIDs for more than 10 years. This category includes Voltaren, Ibuprofen, and Celebrex. These are only examples of the Non-Steroid Anti-Inflammatory Medications that are available over the counter or by prescription.

What you might not know about this group of medications is that you MUST ensure that you DO NOT TAKE ON AN EMPTY STOMACH. If you take this kind of medication without food then you could end up with stomach ulcers, and they could end up as bleeding ulcers. This is an extremely unpleasant experience. If this happens then medication such as Pariet or Nexium can be of assistance in settling down the ulcers.

Once the NSAID cease to be effective, the next step is a group of medications known as DMARDs. This group of medications includes Sulfasalazine, Plaquenil and Methotrexate.

The role of the DMARD is to slow down the actual disease or send the disease into remission. It is not a pain killer and has almost no impact on inflammation levels. They work for some people but not all patients respond to this form of treatment.

Plaquenil is used to treat Malaria and for some unknown reason it was discovered that it can help some patients with RA. The precaution for this drug is that it can cause eye issues, in particular it can cause glaucoma. A good doctor insists that the patient gets an eye examination by an ophthalmologist so that there is a base line as a comparison during further eye examinations.

Methotrexate is an anti-cancer drug. In the past it was used in mega doses to treat such cancers as breast cancer.(my late mother-in-law was treated with Methotrexate). The dose rate for RA patients is in fact quite small. However, it can cause issues with the liver. The precaution for being on Methotrexate is the consumption of alcohol. No alcohol is best. However, that is negotiable with the doctor.

The next group of medications is the Biologics such as Enbrel and Humira. I have no experience with this group. However, I do know that the purpose of using them is to put the disease into remission.

We all react differently to these drugs. Some have very low tolerance for some of them. As an example, I had a reaction to using Sulfasalazine such that my tongue began to tingle at night. Fortunately it got no worse than the tingling. The reason for the reaction is that I had a high ANA reading of 1240 indicating that I have some symptoms indicating Lupus. This is why my doctor told me to immediately cease taking the drug. It was only after he saw that blood test reading, and he pulled me off the Sulfasalazine that I managed to put 2+2 together and realized that it was causing the tongue reaction.