The pharmacist told me yesterday that by design, Celebrex shouldn’t cause stomach issues.
But it does. Hence in the UK thankfully we are never prescribed any NSAID without also prescribing a med to protect the stomach lining. I’ve certainly reduced my NSAID intake when a med works for me but never stopped them completely. The added capacity even low dose NSAIDs give is so worthwhile.
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Well, time for an update. I continue to move backwards, pain, fatigue and stiffness are increasing to the point of my worst days before getting treatment. Celebrex just causes too many digestive issues even when taking a stomach protector. Coated naproxen helps take the edge off of the pain. The ongoing headaches that occur from around/behind my eyes is the most annoying. I went from feeling great to pretty miserable in just a few weeks. My knees are really bad and my walking is very affected and painful. A month ago I could run up the stairs and chase my g’kids. My indicator that usually alerts me to a flare is the psoriasis that returns around my eyes…eyelids get inflamed and irritated. So, I’m in a flare, taking naproxen and Taltz. The Taltz is now every 21 days but I’m pretty sure that it will be deemed a failure. Yesterday, I just couldn’t handle the deep aching pain and surrendered to 5mg prednisone and 6 hours later, my head cleared, the headache disappeared and some joint pain mellowed a bit. What a goofy disease….leaving one really pretty decent and then a nose dive. I hate the idea of prednisone and experience tells me I should take around 10mg for best affect but I won’t use it for more than 7 days…I can’t imaging the horrible weaning process again but this evil friend definitely helps. Kind of discouraging. Rheumy appointment isn’t ‘til June.
Can you bring your rheumy appt forward?
I’ll be in touch with her office today. She doesn’t work on Fridays. Managing this disease isn’t easy as you know. Sometimes we get the benefit of the right combination of meds and can coast for a while and then “bam!” It hits like a truck. I was assuming and hoping that once the right stuff was working, that would become a life course. But PsA is smarter than I am and seems to find a way around the biologics. Oh well…one step at a time. Maybe I should stop taking my Anti-tariff medication?
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It’s exceptionally rare that if you find a med that works and it will remain working for you for the rest of your life. Cosentyx gave me 4 glorious years. It was the 5th med I tried too. And when it decided to stop working it was deeply unpleasant ensuring I ended up at my rheumy as an emergency appt.
Tremfya now is starting to work so we’ll see how long this one goes. Presently I’m just thankful it looks like it’s working for now. First check in with rheumy is next week.
Snorting laughing at your last comment! Hopefully our ex Governor of the Bank of England will do well for you. We liked him a lot.
Hey, I called the rheumy’s office and they squeezed me in for an April 20 appointment. A much appreciated move from June. My GP today told me not to use prednisone if at all possible. Prescribed higher dose of naproxen instead. He thought that I will likely be moving to another biologic and hence prednisone coming to bridge the gap between old and new. And the rheumy might as well examine in a flare.
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Don’t forget you shouldn’t take Naproxen and Celebrex together. And I agree with your GP - constant use of pred just isn’t a great move. You should ask your GP for a DEXA scan to check your bone density too. It’s always better to be safe than sorry and yes men can develop osteoporosis too as they age.
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I’m just checking back and I see that you had the appointment already hopefully. What was the outcome of that appointment in terms of decision making?
Hey thanks for asking. I guess even non conclusive meetings have their purpose. I have had some pretty lousy days as this flare has continued. She is frustrated as I don’t present in a manner that makes for an easy diagnosis. I feel that she, and most physicians, see PsA through the bias of RA…they still look for the typical signs of RA. I could tell that she wants to be helpful but the clock on the wall dictates the time spent with a patient. She is very prompt and when 20 minutes is up, she is out the door even mid-sentence. But, she acknowledged my knee pain and has ordered an MRI on the one giving the most trouble. If I had requested, she would have changed me to Cosentyx but suggested waiting until my next appointment with her in July as I am only starting my second cycle of 21 days on Taltz instead of 28. So, no big revelations. I suspect that I really over did things doing some home renovations, aggravated my knee which put me into a whole body flare. Today, things seem to be calming down. Now you wish you had asked for a short answer!
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I’m just going to leave the word ‘pacing’ here. And have a read of the Spoon Theory. It really helps explain the art of pacing.
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That makes a lot of sense to hold off on any decision making for the moment.
I think I’m going to be starting down this path of a new med as well. My next rheumy appt is at the end of May. I’m currently injecting Humira once a week AND taking plaquenil to help it out. That’s been going on for over a year with no real difference. On the flip side, the risk in changing and not having a new med work is real. I think we’re at that point though
Where can I buy a “Spoon Theory” poster that I can put on my wall?
Wow, I didn’t know that you could do Humira at once per week! Obviously it’s not hitting your target very well. I think we could use a good success story that gives us a lengthy remission. This constant headache and body ache is starting to affect my usual optimism. A few weeks ago I resorted to taking 5mg prednisone for 3 days…life changing in mind and body but I know that isn’t the answer in the long term. 3 days of relief was worth it…head cleared and everything stopped yelling!
That sounds like something to consider for me too, a few days of Prednisone for a little bit to take a break. I may reserve that for when I go away in June
In the UK PsA patient’s aren’t allowed to inject Humira or any of its biosimilars once a week, simply because it can ignite psoriasis badly. So the once a week idea is solely reserved for RA etc patients only as in no funding for that level of dosing is permitted for PsA patients. And as you know we’re not allowed plaquenil either for exactly the same reason of increased psoriasis and because studies have shown it simply does too little for PsA to be a worthwhile choice. Again that is reserved for RA and Lupus patients only by our funding protocols.
Hey Amos, there’s a few differing versions I found, depending on how in-depth you want. Here’s a couple of links I’ve found:
Spoon Theory Poster - Etsy Australia
The Spoon Theory Large Poster | CafePress
File:Spoon-theory.jpg - MEpedia
Hope it helps
Merl from the Modsupport Team
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Merl! Thanks for the quick reply, I will place many orders. And with 3 posters choices, they will be used in a staggered manner as wall paper throughout the house. I just have to figure the amount of tariff tax from each location and choose the best day to fill my cart…Tariffs, as you know are fluid like the stock exchange. Thanks again!
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I’m currently suffering from some upper respiratory lurgy - slowing getting better thankfully. But you’ve no idea how much I can cough laughing at your tariff comments! Not a good look first thing in the morning!
