My Journey with Orencia
This is a summary of my experiences with Orencia over the years.
All posts tagged: Rheumatoid arthritis
More About RA Drug Orencia
Orencia Abatacept Abatacept, trade name Orencia, is a biologic medication for rheumatoid arthritis. Ads for it have been on tv. It reduces the inflammation that causes some of the symptoms of RA. It is also used for adult psoriatic arthritis and juvenile idiopathic arthritis. Response to expect According to clinical trials of Orencia use, up to 75% of patients had a 20% improvement at six months. About 50% had up to a 50% improvement. About 13% had a 75% improvement. In these studies, methotrexate was also being given. Pill, shot or IV? …
More about RA drug Actemra
Response to expect with Actemra At 24 weeks of weekly injections, 69% of those with RA had a 20% improvement in symptoms. Additionally, 47% had a 50% improvement and 24% had a 70% improvement. That leaves 31% with no improvement. None of the biologics work for everyone.
Stronger with exercise
October 2019 I am amazed that I feel so much better. It has been a gradual process, a yearlong process. Recovery from the treatment of a rare uterine cancer is long, discouraging at times and scary at others. I say scary because the fatigue and the use of a brain that seems murky and sluggish is not something I would want to live with permanently. My fear was that this mental and physical slowness might just be permanent. So, I am relieved, quietly jubilant. My spark has re-ignited and I feel alive again. I am now able to go to the gym without being worn out for the day. My legs are stronger. I am becoming sturdy. I am reading again. I just finished Educated by Tara Westover and thoroughly enjoyed it. Her evolution from a brain washed, isolated child into a creative, educated and accomplished woman is inspirational. In the last few months I have found a comfort zone in riding the recumbent bike for 45 minutes three times a week at Planet …
Elderly Onset Rheumatoid Arthritis
Many see rheumatoid arthritis as a disease affecting someone around 30-45 years old. Another variation is developing RA as a senior where the disease is severe making up for those missed earlier years.
Plaquenil and the eye
I have a question about the drug, Plaquenil, AKA hydroxychloroquine. My interest stems from the book I am writing, Nurse Mary’s Guide to Rheumatoid Arthritis. After reading several additional medical reports about Plaquenil, I realized I needed to look further and to expand its section in the medication chapter of my book. Another reason for my interest was that I had been taking Plaquenil for six years for my RA. I was taking it in addition to methotrexate injections and Medrol. I had also been taking it while I was taking tamoxifen for breast cancer. I no longer take tamoxifen as I developed a rare serous uterine cancer associated with using the drug. None of my doctors questioned the risk involved in taking both drugs. I also made the mistake in thinking Plaquenil was a mild drug. In fact, it does treat mild RA and more aggressive RA when given in combination with other drugs. The drug itself is not mild. Hydroxychloroquine was developed as an antimalarial in 1955. It was a refined version with …
My RA and CA and me
If it weren’t for the third cancer hanging over my head, I would be a very happy soul. As it is I am just a happy soul. My roses are blooming. This is their big month and they are not disappointing. Gardening and puttering through the various chores of my household reminds me of my housewife days. Good days. I aspire to the Hobbit life. Mellow and satisfying. Life in my home. I attend warm water pool classes at the Presbyterian Healthcare facility on Eubank. It is a long drive, but the classes are worth it. A comprehensive and aerobic workout that is manageable in the pool but not on land. Yesterday, I suddenly had a severe pain in my pelvic area that ran down the inside of my leg. Something new. Scared me. I thought about getting out but decided to lower my exercise level and see if it would pass. It did. I am no stranger to pain, back pain, joint pain and now this. Johnny Cash’s Peace in the Valley is sounding …
RA and Another Biopsy
Back to the hospital for another round with the medical community. When I had learned that I would need an endometrial biopsy for uterine changes due to the breast cancer drug Tamoxifen and a D&C due to polyps, all I could think of was here we go again. I am six months out from a difficult hip replacement recovery. I am still recovering, stiff and sore. But I am in much better shape than I had been. I am in warm water therapy classes several times a week. My garden is a joy. Beautiful, productive and satisfying. My yard is home to rabbits, a squirrel, quail, roadrunner and a happy assortment of birds. By the end of the year I hope to be certified as a wildlife habitat by the National Wildlife Federation. My brain is finally working, and I am starting to write again. Then this. I had previously written a blog on getting more bad news. This really isn’t bad yet. I won’t know for another 10 days or so. Those with RA …
RA, Movement and the Slippery Slope
I need to give you some heartfelt advice that is as close to a warning as I can get. My horrific experience this last year with a hip that was totally worn out put me in a dangerous situation that was as close as I had come to spiraling down the slippery slope to forever. I have rheumatoid arthritis. Those of us who have an autoimmune disorder understand what I mean when I say I have an overwhelming, incapacitating fatigue when I have a flare. Over the last five years I have learned to slow down when the flare signs start to blossom. To take care. So, this last year as the RA pain plus the pain in my hip increased, I did just that. I slowed down. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a flare that passed with additional Medrol and rest. It was a bone on bone raw joint pain that worsened with each passing day. I became debilitated. I was weak. I was living in pain. My doc provided OxyContin and tried very hard to …
Vitamin D deficiency and RA
Vitamin D deficiency is common in those with RA, Type I Diabetes and MS.
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