What meds do you take for your arthritis?

I found out a year ago I have RA.  I just want to know what works and doesn't work? Thanks Stacey

There are so many choices.  They depend on how severe your RA is, how early it was caught, how much pain you have, AND what surgery you had.  i have had Psoratic Arthritis, a rare form of RA, for 15 years.  in that time i have taken a plethura of drugs that either stopped working after a time, had side effects i couldn't handel any longer, or I developed life threatening allergies to after having taken for 10 months.  My current combination is Celebrex, Immuran, and Enbrel.  I am still pre-op however, and know that i may have to make changes again when i become post-op, but all my Dr's work together very well, so i am not worried about that. The best advice would be to get a Rheumatologist who will work with your surgeon and PCP to find the right drug or drugs for you.

Hi Stacey,  I too found out last September that I have RA. The rhumy put me on 5 mg of prednisone.. I take that first thing in the morning and it does work-actually they say its the drug we love to hate-its because it does work but some of the side effects are bad.. and its a bit of a reason that I have put my weight loss on the back burner. I gained about 1 lbs with this drug but boy does it keep the pain at bay! He also put me on plaquenil, I noticed that if i dont take it at my scheduled time, I start feeling a bit achey and once I take it, I feel better. There are lots of  meds out on the market.. its up to you if you want injections, pills or rather go the natural route. Are you on any meds? Irene

I have had RA for ten years (diagnosed at age 20).  I was first put on an extremely high amount of prednisone (steroid) 20mg a day and some really expensive RA medicine (don't remember the name). I finally got to a good Rhematologist and he put me on methotrexate and lowered the prednisone to 10mg.  They call Methotrexate an "oldie, but goodie"... it's rough on your liver though and I had liver panel run every three months which always came out fine.  I almost went into remission of RA on methotrexate, but we wanted to have a baby so I got off of it in 2003.  I was on nothing for a few years while we ttc unsuccessfully. Finally, my RA doctor suggested Enbrel. I take an injection once weekly and did take prednisone (down to 5mg a day) up to my WLS. I started decreasing the prednisone and have not taken any since surgery in October 2007. I now ONLY take Enbrel; however, my RA is rearing it's ugly face again.  Over 140 pounds weight loss has helped, but the RA is still there.   I am finding that some of the vitamins I take POST OP may be helping the symptoms (hence my reasoning to come to this board), but I don't know for sure about those yet. Anyway, I hope this helps and I'm sorry to hear you have RA. I hope you find the right med for you. 

How is RA and Fibro different?  My doctor says I have arthritis in my neck and hands, and I have fibro?  What does this all mean?  KIMMY