Hi there, I’m G from NZ.
I’m keen to learn more about my PsA and how treatments might interact with my other conditions. I have Cirrhosis of the liver, spleenomegaly, portal hypertension, Hep C, asthma and psoriasis. Not sure if there’s a group or section of this forum that I could hone in on but i need to look at controlling the PsA as its apparently been working its magic for three or so years but I was never told and it was not followed up. My hands get the aches and I have “trigger finger” on one hand.
Awaiting the results from blood tests from my last attempt at knocking out the Hep C (will not get another chance) so I realise things are complex in my case. Regardless, here I am and hi from lockdown in NZ!
g
Welcome G! You certainly have a lot going on. The good news is that some of the meds (I’m guessing biologics) will be able to help you out. And some of your current issues such as trigger finger may self resolve.
My sister has done that treatment for hepatitis successfully. I hope that you have the same result.
Hi and welcome from me too, in lockdown in UK.
I doubt that your asthma would be adversely affected by PsA meds, I’m sure we have a lot of folk here with asthma and haven’t seen any concerns so far, which is not to say there aren’t any. And I expect the psoriasis might be affected by PsA meds … but in a good way!
Then there’s the other 3 conditions. Your rheumy will almost certainly be used to treating patients with other conditions so you should be in safe hands. If you doubt their caution, insist on a thorough discussion about your concerns. As a general rule though, rheumatologists aren’t gung-ho prescribers. And like @Stoney says, the biologic drugs may well be a pretty safe bet for you.
Stay safe, I hope the Hep C is banished.
I swear that is the understatement of the century, at least here in Aus (and I’d be surprised if it’s not also the same in NZ). My Rheum, at least, is super-conservative, but he is also the best of all my specialists of taking into account the many co-morbidities, meds, and interactions. Hope lockdown is treating you well, I had such a quiet life before, I’ve barely noticed a difference
Hi there and welcome. I’m in the UK and in lockdown too.
I’m a life long asthmatic - usually very well controlled asthma too. I’ve been on 5 medications so far for my PsA, 2 DMARDs and now on my 3rd biologic. Only one med affected my asthma which was a biologic. It caused other stuff too, so I only stayed on it a mere 8 weeks which in our terms is nothing at all. And once I stopped within a month or so my asthma reverted back to being itself.
We all react individually to all of these meds, so what one person does really well on, another person can do very badly on it. And so on. Sadly they can’t yet work out which meds your body would prefer and react well with as against which meds my body would prefer to work with. So it’s always a case of try and see.
You certainly have a whole lot going on other conditions wise and you will be carefully advised. Of that I’m sure. Really hope you see the back of the Hep C.
Thank you all for being so welcoming! Yep, lots of stuff going on inside me and I appreciate your replies and supportive words. Im not really much of a internet user and this is only the second forum Ive ever joined - I dont use social media and my other involvement (apart from my job and being a member of Fix Hep C) is having an email address, so I’ll be trying to get the gist of how this all works!
Again, thank you. Its good to be here.
Take care
g
1 Like
Hi there. Been lurking and pondering. I have just been prescribed and am holding in my hands (yet to be opened) a months supply of Salazopyrin.
can any one point me to where there might be a thread about side effects etc of this drug or even just help me to be aware of what I might expect to happen etc?
Sorry, Im also a newbie (actually, active avoider) of the internet so sometimes I go round in circles and never find what Im looking for (also in life!) and give up.
g
Hello @barry666
This drug is more commonly known as Sulfasalazine which may explain why you can’t find it.
For many of us, Sulfasalazine is pretty much trouble-free. There is one sure-fire side-effect and that is orangey pee. Though that’s only a side-effect in the sense that red pee is when you eat beetroot.
It did nothing for me - nothing bad but nothing good. So it can seem way too mild. There certainly are some people who find that it does help, however.
Definitely worth another search 'cos it has been well-discussed over the years.
It worked well for me but only when I got up 6 tablets a day (3,000mg). Made me overly noise sensitive and grumpy initially but that eased after a few weeks. I thought it was a marvellous med actually and was distressed when mt disease progression overtook its effectiveness after about 7 months on the high dose. So best of luck on it.
Thanks for your input here. I appreciate it. Ill do some reading and also talk to my Hepatologist about what he recommends I do here and what consequences it may have with liver disease etc. Although their last advice was to rub an anti inflammatory gel into my fingers which provides some topical relief for sure but in reality it is like a band aid over an amputation…
g
Love it Barry, I’m going to remember that one!! In the same league as one I remember a member using years ago - like using a water pistol to fight a forest fire (we have an Australian version of that, but it is pretty crass, of course).
Hope the sulfasalizine helps, but if it doesn’t, remember there are a number of meds to try. It is worth researching NZs protocol on treatment (in Aus we are required to “fail” a certain number of traditional DMARDs before we can move onto the biologics, which are newer but more often successful).
You’ll find lots of useful information searching the threads, particularly on medications - most of the older, tablet medications will be under the generic name (methotrexate, often abbreviated to MTX, plaquenil, Leflunomide (also known as Arava), whilst the biologics and biosimilars (newer meds) will be under their patent name (Enbrel with the biosimilars benepali, Humira, remicade, stelara, Cimzia, and a number of others.
But of course we are always here when you need to ask questions.