Hey everyone, i just took my first sulfasalazine does yesterday. Ive had the perscription for a week but was scared to take it, i finally did take it and am happy i did. My dr is putting me on it for insurance so he can move me on to a biologic. But he said if i show huge improvement on the sulfa i might not have to move onto a bio yet.
A lot of posts i have read have said sulfasalazine has not worked for people. I was wondering if anyone has been greatly helped by sulfasalazine alone?
Nope, didn’t work for me, but didn’t have SEs either. But if sulfasalazine works for you and it spares the expense of a bio, hey, that’s a bonus.
Here’s to finding a drug that works for you!
Sulfasalazine HAS worked for me so far. I also take a lot of supplements (fish oil, flax oil, multi-vitamin, extra Vitamin C, probiotic) and I keep my diet pretty healthy (less wheat, dairy and sugar).
But I do notice if I miss a dose or 2 of Sulfasalazine pills… 2 or 3 days later i’ll be inflammed and in pain.
I think it’s worth a try for anybody new to this disease.
Mind you, any drug when combined with an unhealthy lifestyle (lack of sleep, very little exercise, crappy diet, stress) is less likely to work.
I use and benefit from Sulpha, I also take omega oils and probiotic, but not sure if that makes a difference. I am worse if I do not take Sulpha, although I still have flare ups they are not as long lasting nor do they seem as sore but I also take anti-inflam so that may help too. I have to say all in all I Sulpha has helped me but this was after persevering with it for a while in the begining, and with PsA what helps one individual may not help another. Good luck and I hope the meds help you
Sulfasalazine often causes gastrointestinal problems and other side effects. I believe that is the main reason most doctors do not favor it. Add the low rate of efficiency to the extremely high percentage of people who have side effects equals a "why bother" theory for most docs. Plus as far as PsA goes, many PsA patients need help with both arthritis and Psoriasis. Sulfa does nothing to improve Psoriasis and some believe it may even aggravate the condition. I tried it for about 3 months with no effects what so ever. But hey, it works for a few folks so why not give it a try.
I also just finished taking it and am meant to take it now with methotrexate. But I am not. I actually got worse on it, constant nausea and fanta colored pee. Lol. And headaches. Everyone is different though
Sulfasalazine is interesting in the fact that it really shouldn't work at all for arthritis. The drug is almost entirely absorbed by the intestines and very little if any gets into the blood stream. It's poorly understood how a drug that does not circulate throughout the body could produce any symptom relief for arthritis patients at all. It defies logic. There are some that believe that if Sulfa.. is successful in treating arthritis then that patient may actually have latent ulcerative colitis and that is the reason for their arthritic symptoms. Theory being that Sulfa actually has no effect what so ever on arthritis but instead treats the underlining UC which in turn, slows down the arthritis that was caused by the UC in the first place.
I was really interested in thsi because I have UC ( well 20yrs ago had surgery no bowel left no UC)
Sulfa is a drug for UC but it made me so sick and a lot of people with UC cant tolerate it at all very toxic drug
I now have psoratic arthritis + psoriasis
I had the psoriasis signs first and then coming off steroids developed arthritis, had UC from age of 12 ish I know that its heritary in my family
but I was told that psoriasis is like UC on the outside ie the skin by a very good consultant in the specialist bowel hospital London yrs ago
so perhaps thats why they treat PSA with the drug
the best drug is Methrotrexate if you can tolerate it and if you go on Bio drugs you need to take it as well so we cant win
I tried two bio drugs no joy now on another drug sorry cant rememeber its name and it seems to be working but the combination of the cold weather and british damp doesnt help so I feel worse in the winter
I have had PsA for about 40 yrs if you believe that the steroids and other drugs kept it at bay ?
so who knows we are all individual and require different things for our bodies
i have tried every therapy going and non worked but I do believe a healthy body good diet and supplements like the other lady mentioned plenty of sleep rest when nec and gentle excercise helps
but its easier said then done as when having a bad time you feel so rough that it all goes out the window and you do whats best just to get through the day
so do what most people do give the drug a try and if your really ill and cant tolerate it well you have to take the advise and stop as I know how ill some of these drugs make you feel
there are new drugs coming on the market daily and medical research is treating or preventing diseases so you never know soon there might be a cure
thnaks for listening sorry for spelling mistakes hands are very bad
I am on Sulpha and it does help reduce my swelling. No side affects except for yellow urine if I don't drink enough water.
I do take a tablet to protect my stomach as I am sensitive to many NSAID's and asprin.
I think the doctors like to try the least aggressive meds first and wait and see if it work befor having to prescribe the more aggressive meds that take a toll on your body. I also know that there is a cost factor involved as well.
I was really interested in thsi because I have UC ( well 20yrs ago had surgery no bowel left no UC)
Sulfa is a drug for UC but it made me so sick and a lot of people with UC cant tolerate it at all very toxic drug
I now have psoratic arthritis + psoriasis
I had the psoriasis signs first and then coming off steroids developed arthritis, had UC from age of 12 ish I know that its heritary in my family
but I was told that psoriasis is like UC on the outside ie the skin by a very good consultant in the specialist bowel hospital London yrs ago
so perhaps thats why they treat PSA with the drug
the best drug is Methrotrexate if you can tolerate it and if you go on Bio drugs you need to take it as well so we cant win
I tried two bio drugs no joy now on another drug sorry cant rememeber its name and it seems to be working but the combination of the cold weather and british damp doesnt help so I feel worse in the winter
I have had PsA for about 40 yrs if you believe that the steroids and other drugs kept it at bay ?
so who knows we are all individual and require different things for our bodies
i have tried every therapy going and non worked but I do believe a healthy body good diet and supplements like the other lady mentioned plenty of sleep rest when nec and gentle excercise helps
but its easier said then done as when having a bad time you feel so rough that it all goes out the window and you do whats best just to get through the day
so do what most people do give the drug a try and if your really ill and cant tolerate it well you have to take the advise and stop as I know how ill some of these drugs make you feel
there are new drugs coming on the market daily and medical research is treating or preventing diseases so you never know soon there might be a cure
thnaks for listening sorry for spelling mistakes hands are very bad
I take sulfa and it has slowed my swelling and flaring. I still have pain but not nearly as much as I did prior to taking the medication. My rheumy feels I should stay with the sulfa as long as it is working but I expect its help to slow as my body gets used to it. An overactive immune system can help the body become immune to the effects of medications (as has already happened to me with certain antibiotics). I watch what I eat (I am sensitive to nightshade veggies) and as long as I stay away from potatoes, tomatoes and peppers, my body is doing well. Different things work for different people and I am learning what works for me.
My Rheumy refers to all the spondylarthropies as a “solid series” meaning that the difference between PsA and Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD - includes UC and Crohn’s) is gradational, and the diseases are related. Sulphalazine (and derivatives) can apparently be very effective in IBD - so I guess the theory is that if you are on the IBD end of the spectrum, sulpha should work, at least to some extent.
The thing is, you can have UC or Crohn’s for many years without diagnosis (yay - just like PsA :), so you might benefit more than you realise. Worth a try, though in my opinion, it shouldn’t slow down your path to biologics (which have a 66% success rate each - whether its RA, PsA, or one of the sPAs).
Some of the very recent studies show that biologics actually halt bone loss and remodelling, even when they don’t reduce symptoms. (if anyone is interested, I’ll find and post) And many established studies, recently reinforced, that for PsA and sPAs, MTX is a lovely placebo.
"Halts bone loss and remodeling, even when they don't reduce symptoms"! Now that sounds like a study conducted by the Pharmaceutical companies lol! Seriously though, no way in hell I would continue to take these kinda of meds without SIGNIFICANT symptom relief. But that is very interesting. If you could find a link to that study that would be awesome! Also, could you explain your last statement about MTX being a lovely placebo? Do you believe MTX is not effective?
I’ve been on sulfa for 7 months. My understanding is that it’s protecting my joints from further damage. However it has no effect on inflammation hence the need for an anti inflam. Yes there’s the bright yellow pee but that’s no big deal. There’s a large majority of people who don’t tolerate sulfa but I’m not one of them! Best of luck to you!
I’ll look for the studies and post a link as soon as I can. MTX is a DMARD in RA, but in PsA, its not found to alter sharp scores at all - though it does alter perception of swelling and pain in some people - so physician global assessment and patient global assessment are better in “responders”, but X-rays are no different in MTX and non-MTX patients.
I’m with you though - I wouldn’t keep taking the heavy stuff without significant symptom relief as well!
Thanks Jen. I will be looking forward to reading those studies if your able to dig em up. I did not know that about MTX. I know MTX completely put me into total remission. And I mean I went from near wheelchair bound to playing football on the weekends. It took awhile, but it's effectiveness can not be denied in my case. I was able to walk without a significant limp by week 4 and be week hmmmm prolly 7 or 8 i was completely pain free. I hate the med because I like my beer lol, but it was super effective.