Well, my doc and I decided to stop Tremfya several weeks ago. I am in far too much pain. He had said last winter that if Tremfya did not help more, he would switch me to an infusion so he could dose me based on my weight.
But we decided before that to try RINVOQ. Since it is JAK and I have not tried one, he wants to give it a shot. He said we would not need to wait more than 2 or 3 months. So I had to wait a month or so after the last Tremfya shot before I can start it. That will be in a week or so.
So here is my med history.
Otezzela
Enbrel
Cosyntex
Humari up to every week.
Taltz (loser)
Tremfya.
That is my 8-year history. Now I’ll try RINVOQ. I am praying it works better. My pain levels are nearly unbearable, and my mobility is suffering. Mostly due to the enthesitis in my feet, arms, and knees. The lingering pain in all the tissue around my shoulder they had to fix is really bad. I am approaching the level of a need for pain management or just living with all the pain. I had to drive for 5 hours recently, and it was a killer.
I sure hope this works or something works. I have 18 months to my retirement and am hoping I make it. But I have growing concerns with what will happen when I retire. My wife has concerns, too that I’ll sleep all day. But I need to stop working. The stress is feeding the PsA far too much. My plans are next November or December to retire. I have a good state pension and with SS I’ll be fine. But each day with work, my mind turns to if I have enough money to go ahead and retire without Social Security until next November.
Everyone keep your fingers crossed for me and I’ll let you know.
I’m hearing good reports from Rinvoq working well for people this side of the pond. Two friends especially both with fairly entrenched PsA a little like yours and one of them sadly with mutalins. Both have responded well to Rinvoq but it took a little longer than the manufacturers claimed it should do. Namely three to six months. So do bear that in mind. Here’s so hoping this now works for you too.
I would agree with @Poo_therapy regarding how long for Rinvoq to kick in. My experience was that it doesn’t suddenly start working but slowly influences things. My rheumy said I was on the longest end of seeing result and it continued increasing to about 12 months. But I noticed little in the first 3-6 months. I’d suggest that you might need something to bridge those painful times while waiting. Or, perhaps you will be one of the fortunate ones who see very quick results. Hoping for the best for you @tamac!
Thanks. I was supposed to have filed for disability the year COVID hit, but I have been able to keep working from home, so I didn’t. My full retirement age is November 24 and I am out the door it if I make that far. I am too close to SSN retirement to file now. They would drag it out until I hit retirement age.
Working from home is okay, but we all know this disease feeds off stress. If my stress levels get any higher, I may have to retire earlier.