Quote:
Originally Posted by JenAjd
I'm new to having a diagnosis to rheumatoid arthritis. I was told it's still in a mild form, though I would hate to know what a more worse form would be like. At any rate I'm still in that phase of discerning what the best RX will be to address it. My physician has suggested two----Plaquenil and Methetrexate. Both can be taken in pill form and the latter (I think) also via a shot. I've read up on both and they both have appealing aspects along with VERY much less appealing side-effects.
I'm in a quandary on making a decision! Apparently some of the burden at this time is on me for that. I would weigh some suggestions here before I call the clinic early this week to ask them as well.
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HI Jen- I can feel for you. It is hard to make these decisions on such important medical matters. I can tell you from personal experience with less then pleasant medications (for cancer) that the side effects can vary greatly. To be listed as a side effect, the threshold is very low...only a very low % of subjects have to show them to be listed as a side effect. So, there is a good chance those side effects will not not occur. I had idiopathic side effects...terrible joint pain on a medication that two of my friends were taking and had no problems with. The medication I am on now has a very low % of pain joint as a side effect, but it still got me! It just hurts a little less then the first ond did, but I will gladly take a little less. LOL And I have had no side effects to meds that more frequently have them. SO try to keep the side effects in perspective. You can try a med and if it does not work for you, try another one.
Making these decisions are so hard, but you have to make them. I choose not to have chemo after reading a lot of the literature, comparing the distal cancer rates (chance of a reoccurence somewhere in the body within 10 years) and concluded that the percentage of improvement (for 18 to 15%) was not worth the percentage of things that the chemo could cause, like cancer. Oncologist went postal, but I had discussed this decision with many specialists, including the oncology nurse, and they all agreed with my conclusion. SO again, you have to make the hard choices and once it is made, do not second quess yourself. You can always change course if you have to and all you can do is use the facts you have on hand to decide. Talk to your husband, to your friends, bounce ideas off of them, suck up their support if you need to. That is what they are for. They feel kind of helpless (trust me on this) and your including them in your decision making process will make them feel like they are helping. And they are. I am sorry I can not really address the RA issue, but I am hoping this might help you in processing your decision. Best of luck.