All posts filed under: Treatment

All the medical services that help treat rheumatoid arthritis

At the infusion center

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I am taking a big chance. I went to the infusion center for a dose of Actemra. Actemra blocks the activity of the messenger cytokine, Interleukin-6. It was the  same routine: sign in at the reception desk, weight, vital signs, 20 questions. I am in a recliner with my feet up. IV started. Blood work. Tylenol and Benadryl to avoid side effects. I think this was the routine for all my infusions. My son, David, was with me. The Actemra infused without incident. I didn’t die. We were there for three hours. I had mixed feelings about this drug. It stemmed from several considerations. I have had a lot of bad luck with the biologics. The last was the TNFi Remicade. After two doses I became so ill I thought it was over. I felt weak and lethargic. No appetite. It lasted a month and I survived. I was reluctant to try another. Actemra was the last one available to me.  My RA Doc feels the drug is safer than no drug because the progression …

Bring a picture to your rheumatologist

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I have tried bringing a variety of pictures as visuals to explain my condition to my rheumatologist. I found this one on the Medscape website. The image seems to be thorough except that the hips are not circled. The hips are more often involved in older patients. I think it is wise to bring visuals. Doctors are good at guessing. Showing them helps you explain your situation and helps your doctor understand your situation.

Actemra as a possibility for My RA

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My journey through the biologic DMARDs  began with infusions of Rituxan. I had no relief from my RA with Rituxan. Next in line were infusions of Orencia. Orencia gave me about 20% relief. At the time it was better than nothing. Orencia worked for over nine months and then stopped working. At the time I had a worse than normal flare and developed a horrible flu. Up to that point I hadn’t had a cold or a sinus infection for 3 years. After about six weeks I was started on infusions of Remicade. Remicade has three loading doses scheduled 2 weeks apart. I completed the loading doses and then became terribly ill. I felt like I was in ‘a failure to thrive’ situation. Absolutely no energy, listless is a good word. I moved into a bad flare which overshadowed the side effects of the Remicade. I was in a bad way for over a month. Remicade is a TNF inhibitor (TNFi). The recommended suggestion is that if a TNFi is stopped because it doesn’t work, another TNFi …