I have been on Otezla for 4 weeks and it is starting to really help the inflammation. Has anyone else had success on this med? I had a little nausea and a little headache at first but is gone now.
hello there I am surpose to be starting that hopefully in a few weeks as soon as I start it I will let you know my rheumy was very excited about it so happy to hear it is doing well for you have a great day and god bless
Have you been on DMARDS or other biologics? I just heard a little about Otezla. I'm not on anything yet, but was wondering if Otezla is a good starter med. Can you give me more info on this--do you have P and PsA? I think I would like pills better than shots.
Otezla is a new drug approved in March I believe. Honestly, it did not perform all that well, but helped some where biologics failed.
I have P & PsA but my P is not real bad and is just on my scalp. I have been on Methotrexate from the start since diagnosis. I think I was headed toward being crippled with it before Methotrexate but the metho did not stop the inflammation. It helped it a little but not much. It did help the pain and stiffness. I tried Humira but got really sick with bronchitis for a couple of months.
Grandma J said:
Have you been on DMARDS or other biologics? I just heard a little about Otezla. I'm not on anything yet, but was wondering if Otezla is a good starter med. Can you give me more info on this--do you have P and PsA? I think I would like pills better than shots.
Keep us updated on your progress with this new drug. I always like to hear people’s experiences. I wish you the best on it, and hope you have some really good days in your future!
Good to hear that the nausea goes away. It's kicking my butt. Week 1 on the starter pack. Starting to flare as well.
I had a flare up my second week on it. I think that it just takes time to get the meds in our system before it starts helping with the flares.
I'm so glad to hear that you're getting relief! That gives me hope!
I am 4 weeks into Otezla treatment today and I'm feeling NO relief whatsoever :(. If anything, I'm feeling worse. I'm hoping that it is just slow to get started but I'm afraid I won't respond to this drug either. I have previously been on Sulfasalazine, Methotrexate and Orencia with little improvement. My doctor has not wanted me to use Humira, Remecade or Embrel because of the increased risk of demylenating diseases with these drugs. My mother has MS and her mother had MS and though it's not technically hereditary, MS seems to cluster in families so my doctor thought best not to chance it.
Since I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in April of this year, my rheumy will no longer prescribe Orencia or Methotrexate (or other biologics) since they carry an increased risk of cancer. So that doesn't leave me a lot of treatment options and I'm really struggling! My rheumy also was very excited that Otezla was approved since it supposedly does not carry an increased cancer risk.
I also had nausea and headaches at first but those got better about 2-1/2 weeks in.
I hope you continue to see improvement and that I feel some really soon! Does it help at all with your fatigue?
Thanks,
Heidi
Mtx is used to treat many types of cancer (in much higher doses, of course). Its odd that your doc wont prescribe it, especially if it helped you.
GrumpyCat - I know, it has always seemed strange to me that a drug used to treat cancer would carry an increased risk of developing cancer. As far as I know, the only increased risk of cancer with MTX use is lymphoma. I didn't have lymphoma but by having thyroid cancer I now have an increased risk of developing a second primary cancer. I think my doctor just figures that I don't need any additional increased risk at this point.
The MTX really didn't seem to help me too much, honestly. I was taking MTX and Orencia together. I didn't feel like it was helping me much while I was taking them but I DID notice a significant increase in pain and stiffness once I stopped taking them so I guess it was helping some. I was taken off of both back in January because I had (ANOTHER) nasty respiratory infection and needed to give my immune system a break. Then the tumor was discovered on my thyroid so they kept me off the meds pending biopsy then surgery, radiation etc...
It's a hard balancing act at this point and there's so much conflicting information and difference of opinions.
SOOOO glad to see this post. Dropped off the site for awhile as none of the Meds were working and the Leflunomide the rheumy added to the Humira kicked my butt. CRAZY hair loss and black and blues everywhere. Starting Otelza tomorrow. He said to expect a crappy first month, but has been seeing progress on his patients. Very good outcome for a drug 3 months on the market. If this doesn’t work- infusion here I come.
Hi, I took my first otezla tablet yesterday after taking MTX and getting no relief after 3 months(the pain actually has spread since taking the MTX)--I hope this works, I dont know how i will continue to work if my hands and feet and neck get any worse than they already are.. if anyone here has been taking it for a couple of months I hope you could post your feed back for us all..
Doctor just kept stressing that the OTEZLA could cause serious suicidal thoughts in patients compared to MTX's side effects I would rather take my chances and if my husband notices i am off kilter he was told by my Doc to take the meds away from me..:)
I started Otezla today! About 2 months ago, my rheumy took me off of mtx because of raised liver enzymes. I was also on Cimzia at the time, and while it did a great job with my psoriasis,it wasn’t doing enough for my joints. Prir to that, I had been on mtx with humira, enbrel, and Simponi, none of which helped much. I’ve been off of everything for the last two months and I’m a mess. Psoriasis is EVERYWHERE…scalp, in my ears, face, arms & legs, genitals, everywhere. My joints are extremely swollen and painfu l.
I’m hoping this is going to help me more than the others. My next step is Remicade if this doesn’t work. 