One of the key components of sulfazine is salicylate, a very powerful anti-inflammatory. Its one of more innocuous DMARDS and is one of the more effective against the Spondylitis (with anklylosis) Types of PsA. (which only effect 5% -20% of us) In the case of a stomach upset there is an enteric version or even suppositories. It isn't used often anymore, not because its not a good drug, has side effects butt rather in the 60 years been around where it does work is well known. so there is a reason why it is being prescribed. I read several posts paraphrasing Wikipedia.... Understand Wikipedia is a pretty doubtful source for anything but especially in regards to your medical care. The most often successful of the drugs we take are effective less than 60% of the time. But 90% of us do find a drug (or combination) of drugs that work.
I HOPE it works for you. Sulfazine is marvelous when it does.
Just to be clear on my accounts, the information quoted by me was NOT from Wiki. The information I provided was from The New England Journal Of Medicine. And Wiki by all accounts is a valid source of information the vast majority of time. One must be careful of Wiki only becuase it can be edited a bit by just about anybody. But yes, you are correct that NO web site is the place to go for actually medical advice. And that includes this forum.
Back to Sulfasalazine. The fact that the drug contains properties that help fight inflammation is not in doubt. What's in doubt is how the drug is absorbed into the body. When I return to work on Wednesday I will dig into the subject a bit more and see if I can find some difinitive answers on the subject. I am a Quality Control Chemist for a large Pharmaceutical Company, but we do not manufacture Sulfasalazine so my knowledge of that particular drug is certainly lacking.
But the drug certainly works for some people even if is a very small percentage. So why not give it a go. Nothing to lose right??
Chris, the MTX studies do not show what Jen is suggesting. The study was done in Europe and involved its effect on Synovitis only one not so common effect of PsA: Its been picked up by the press and especially the natural cure folks and spread through the internet like wildfire. From a purley statistical standpoint its garbage.
It was a poor study to begin with, but there were a number of other problems with it which can be summarized as No one treats PsA the way they do in this study. There are literrally dozens of studies showing MTX is effective and especially in combinations and dramatically ebhances the effectiveness and life span of the Biologics.
From a non medical, non scientific standpoint, lets be realistic VERY realistic. At the end of the day Rheumotologists are BUSINESS people making a living and a PROFIT. The are NOT withholding treatment or using ineffective drugs. Simply put they make a darn site more $$$ satiasfied patients thna they can in in Drug company kick backs (besides kick backs from high priced Biologics would be greater than from el cheapo sulfazine and MTX)
Great information tnt! Thanks for that. I had my doubts, but MTX has become what us Chemist refer to as a "back shelf" drug so i was not sure. Meaning the drug has been around for so long it basically just sits around warehouses all over the world unused. We actually make Trexal at my facility, but it has been a good 10-12 years since any has come across my desk. This is not be cause the drug is garbage, this is because it is an old drug that is manufactured all over the country like M & M's. So it is possible that stability studies, efficiancy report, and so on goes uncirculated. I was however certain that the effects I felt from the drug was NOT a placebo effect.
Good point about the $$$ made by Pharmaceutical Companies. My particular company does not make a dime off MTX. In fact, we destroy about 5 times more of the stuff than we sell. Our warehouse is littered with the stuff. My guess is we lose about 10 cents on every pill made. Where as our goal is to make an average of 33 cents on every pill that comes out of the facility. Good news is there is plenty of MTX to go around! :)
Oh and I'm sorry to say folks, don't get excited because I am a Chemist. It is not at all what you might be thinking. All I do is run stability checks on batches of the products that WE make. It's 95% birth control medicide. And I know near nothing about them even lol. It a data job basically. So not near as exciting as perhaps some might think. AND worse of all it's pay's FAR less then most would imagine too lol. So sorry, but I don't no diddly about the Biological medicines and so on. :( Now, I have been a cop for over 20 years and do know the law lol. So if ya want advice on the law perhaps I could help. But as far as our PsA med's I'm as terrified of the stuff as anyone lol! :)
it DID work for my but only very early in my treatment. I went from not taking any DMARDs to it so that is probably why. I got minimal relief for a little while but then it stopped cutting it and I had to go on more meds.
Hi guys i am new to this all. I was diagnosed Jan 24 2013. Been taking 50grprednisone since late November to deal with the symptoms. I got started on sulfasalazine a week and half ago and have not noticed any improvement. Next week doc wants me starting on methrotrexate combined with the sulfasalazine and hope that this disease will soon go in remission as my daughter is getting married in 2 months. Thankfully I have a very supportive family, so I do not feel I have reason to complain, but lack of sleep due to constant pain and side effect of the prednisone makes me feel a little down sometimes. I am glad to have found this site. Hope everyone feels better soon:)
I've been on Sulfasalazine for about 3 months. So far it's definitely helped. Things aren't perfect but my doc says it takes up to 6 months to really start to work. Without it, my entire hand would be aching constantly. Now I have no pain. Had a small flare up in a new finger recently but it seems to be under control after the cortisone shot.
I did have a bit of stomach trouble with Sulasalazine at first...but my body seemed to grow accustomed to it. As far as I can tell ...no side effects.
I few people here have said it's helped them so you never know.
I am on sulfasalazine, plus diflunisal. Have been on them for a few years now. Went a year pain free, which helped with me being able to go to the gym and lose weight. I now have an occasional flare, but it's not as bad as it used to be. I am trying at all possible to avoid being put on biologics right now because my insurance with only cover some of it and I am currently unemployed. The sulfasalazine, I take 500mg two tablets twice a day. Did notice it made my urine bright orange, but I am not drinking nothing but water and lots of it, so that isn't the issue anymore. I also take Diflunisal 500mg 1 tablet 2 times a day. I have to say these two combined have been a blessing for me. I had gotten so bad at one point, that I couldn't get out of bed most times. I also take Vitamin D and B complex.
MTX has been the most effective drug for me. Three months on Enbrel didn't help me. Now I'm trying Humira - wish me luck!
It took a while for the MTX to work dramatically - longer than what my Rheumatologist considers to be an adequate test of a med. She pulled me off MTX and kept me on Enbrel. I went into a major flare for three weeks. Went back on the MTX and I was doing well after a couple of days.
The good thing about MTX is that it has been so widely used and around so long - I remember it from back in the 70s when a relative was using it for cancer chemotherapy - that if it caused awful long-term side effects, it would be clear. The bad thing is that there are periodic "shortages" because pharmaceutical companies don't make money off of it any longer.
Hey, I know thatI am responding to a 6 year old post but it is now relevant to me. 7 months since diagnoses and 6 months on MTX. My Rheumatologist has just prescribed sulfasalazine to add to the Methotrexate. I see that you went that route way back. How are you doing? Have you stayed on that combo or how effective has sulfasalazine and Methotrexate been? Thanks
I realise itās not me youāre asking but I have tried that combo. No improvement was noted but no side effects from Sulfasalazine either. However I do think itās worth trying at least, if only because if it doesnāt work it also tends to cause few if any problems. Often the next stop is Leflunomide (Arava) on top of, or instead of, Mtx.
Iād say your rheumy is acting responsibly. Hereās hoping Sulfasalazine does help.
If it helps - mxt and me never got along so I was put on sullfasalazine on its own. When I finally got up to 6 tablets a day, 3,000mgs I think, it worked really well for me for a while. Seriously well. And other than neon yellow wee, I had no side effects from it at all. Initially I was more irritable and noise sensitive but that eased off in a couple of weeks. Be aware though it can caused initial nausea stuff in some people but that usually settles too. Jump up the dosage slowly and drop back if you suffer issues. I think it went 1 tablet once a day for a week, then 2 for a week and so on. The initial dosage was a max of 4 tablets a day but as that didnāt work, I went up to 6. Best of luck.
I appreciate all responses. My experience is limitedā¦so far! I guess we all move to expert level at some point. Iām still such an optimist, 2 good days and Iām ready to sell my MTX on eBay! But it always comes backā¦joint pain: Old Faithful.
No not at all. I havenāt had a cold, flu, chest infection, sore throat, mouth ulcers etc. I rarely got them before and I continue to rarely get them now. Although I do see that some people never get out of the sore throat/cold scenario. Weāre all different and the meds affects us so differently as well. Very thankfully Iām not one of them. Hope you arenāt either. Good hand hygiene always helps of course whether immunosuppressed or not.
Did your doctor not prescribe some anti-emetics to help - I do hope so before it was ditched. Arava/leflunomide can cause similar sickness issues. So jump on some anti-nausea tablets for that if needs be. Best of luck on it.