Question:
Now that i have the dx. can can I treat this pain or flare or whatever it is rather than the disease?I've read that some cases are mild, may never need heavier drugs. My x-rays of hands, sacro. and hip show joints Ok for now, not blodd indicators, psoriasis plaques on hands, elbows knee and ankle, mild.
Thanks!
You bring up a good point, the difference between treating the pain and treating the disease. Things like diclofenac, celebrex and ibuprofen, etc. may ease the pain, but they don’t stop the disease from doing damage. But yes, if your disease is very mild, that may be all the rheumatologist thinks you need. If there is, or they think there could be, damage, you’ll probably be moved to a disease modifying drug like methotrexate, sulfasalazine, hydroxychloroquine or leflunomide. They can change what the disease does to your joints. Unfortunately, it takes a while for them to start working, and not all of the drugs work for everyone. Some people strike out on all of them. After that, there are the biologics: they’re a completely different story!
What has your rheumatologist prescribed for you?
I agree with Seenie. I was able to manage several years by using Celebrex occasionally however unfortunately the disease may progress, as it did in my case. I wonder if I wouldn't be in the place I'm at today if I would of started treatment earlier. I've just started my 4th Dmard and am crossing my fingers this combination works. As Seenie said it can take a while to find the right treatment (3-6 months trial for each).
I've also been working with diet, went totally vegan and gluten free at the beginning of January. While the diet changes have helped any stomach issues I've had and I feel better for doing it...it's done nothing for the pain or the arthritis at this point.
Thanks. He prescribed MtX and prednisone as a pain bridge for 1 mo. I started the Autoimmune Paleo diet immediately after I got the dx.
Seenie said:
You bring up a good point, the difference between treating the pain and treating the disease. Things like diclofenac, celebrex and ibuprofen, etc. may ease the pain, but they don't stop the disease from doing damage. But yes, if your disease is very mild, that may be all the rheumatologist thinks you need. If there is, or they think there could be, damage, you'll probably be moved to a disease modifying drug like methotrexate, sulfasalazine, hydroxychloroquine or leflunomide. They can change what the disease does to your joints. Unfortunately, it takes a while for them to start working, and not all of the drugs work for everyone. Some people strike out on all of them. After that, there are the biologics: they're a completely different story!
What has your rheumatologist prescribed for you?
This is my view on things- the pain is there for a reason. It's there to tell you that there is something wrong with your body that needs to be treated - the cause needs to be treated, as well as the pain. Once the damage is done, there is no reversing it. The danger in waiting to treat the disease is that, once the damage can be seen, it could be months before meds start working, if the first med you're put on works for you. If you need to go through three different meds to find one that works for you, you could be talking a year or more until you slow or stall the progression of the damage. As someone who is three years post-diagnosis and just in the past nine months or so had treatment really start working, I encourage you to really think things out before opting not to treat.