All posts tagged: Rituxan

Targeted biologics for RA Part One Rituxan and Orencia

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The following are targeted biologics approved for rheumatoid arthritis.  Targeted means these drugs  dampen a particular  part of the body’s overactive inflammatory process. Rituxan Orencia Actemra Kevzara Kineret Some of the  biologics will not work for you although they work for some other people. Some biologics work for a short time then stop working.  Some biologics work for years then seem to stop working suddenly. Sometimes an insurance company will stop covering certain biologics and insist a patient use a limited selection from their formulary. Some people are affected by the possible, serious side effects of these drugs. These complications happen to somebody so pay attention when your doctor briefly mentions them. Doctors do not know which drugs will work for you. Docs give it their best shot. It is trial and error. There is no system to finding the biologic that will work for you. This is the current medical  scenario. In this article we will discuss Rituxan and Orencia. Rituxan (Rituximab) In 1982,  Rituxan was created by Ronald Levy for the express purpose …

Rituxan- the final frontier

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Rituxan, the final frontier February marked the second anniversary of my Rheumatoid Arthritis diagnosis. After two years of treatment, my average pain level was reduced from 10+ to an average range of 4 to 7 every single day.  The constant presence of pain and a body riddled with inflammation continue to suck every drop of energy from my aging, aching body. My treatment was complicated by the addition of thyroid cancer and soon after that with the addition of  breast cancer. Both required surgery. Both required radiation treatment. Both required medication.  Both interfered with my RA treatment. The TNF antagonists, like Embril, are contraindicated for those who have recently had cancer. I am not allowed to have them. The ongoing treatment for thyroid cancer is to keep my body slightly hypothyroid. It helps prevent the cancer from recurring but it also increases the effects of RA fatigue. The ongoing treatment for breast cancer is anastrosole. It eliminates all estrogen in the body. It also puts me at high risk for osteoporosis as does Rheumatoid Arthritis. My treatment originally started with …

Yep, RA is progressive

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During the treatments for my cancers, my RA was uneventful.  Yes, I did have monthly flares that lasted just about 12 days.  Yes, I was always in a simmering level of pain.  I grinned and bore it like a good Irish Catholic girl.  Instead, I focused on surgery, radiation and life changing drugs.  I even completed a cancer rehab program. One day as I was starting a Zumba class, my ankles screamed in a pain that was the equivalent of trying to dance on joints full of shattered glass. Determined, I tried moving my feet differently (how many ways can you move your feet, you might ask).  After 10 seconds, I realized that it was futile.   I stopped.   Since then, it has been downhill.  It was a steep hill, I might add. Although I am on Methotrexate (a life saver for me), Plaquenil, (Sulfasalazine did not work for me), meloxicam, prednisone and all the supporting drugs, I am still progressing.  All the little joints in my feet and my ankles are inflamed and …