DMARDs for Arthritis Q & A

I have a friend that is in very bad shape because his insurance co. refuses to pay for his medication of Enbrel. He does not make enough money to pay his bills and get the shots. It is very costly and I for one do not have the money to help him. He has searched high and low with the help of many people including his physicians and nurses. Is there any organization that helps low income patients with their medication that they need to function on a daily basis?

I was recently diagnosed with spondyloarthritis and I also have myasthenia gravis which has been stable with CellCept and prednisone. The arthritis is not responding despite the doses of prednisone, 25mg/day and my rheumatologist wants to go to one of the TNF’s. My neurologist does not want to stop the cellcept since I have been so stable with it. Are there any contraindications to the use of TNF’s with Cellcept?

Back in Dec. 2006 I was diagnosed with an upper respitory infection and sinusitis.  I was tteated with antibiotics, Mucinex DM, and Hycotuss with Codiene clear cough syrup i got rid of most of the symptoms but the dry hacking cough with some shortness of breath lasted until Jan.  Now I finally felt better but the cough is coming back.  I am on Methotrexate and Plaquinel, Relaphen, Colchine for Sjogrens Syndrome and Rheumatoid Arthritis and Osteo Arthritis. I also have asthma.  I can’t shake this cough.  I called my PCP, he gave me Phenegren with Codeine.  IT did not help, it actually made the cough worse.  I have been told that some people who take Methotrexate can have lung problems.  Could this be what is happening to me?  I am not sure what else to do.  I have coughing spasms all day and night.  Sometimes they are so bad I can not make it to the bathroom fast enough.  I would appreciate any info you can share with me.

I have been taking this drug for about 4 months now. I am having side effects that i didn’t have before. My other meds (celebrex, prednisone) i have been on for over a year. Anyway, my gynacologist and family doctor both agree that my problems are due to arava. These problems are: 1) heavy menstraul bleeding that won’t stop (day 23) 2) Asthma breathing with brochitis 3) Diarea Now, i talked with Arava company and they said all symptoms can come from their med and to get off this drug now. I talked with my rhummy, the only one here in houma louisiana and she said that these are “not” symptoms. So i know i have a dumb doctor because my other docs even knew that these were on the list. So, in order to get the drug that stops it all, she said my liver would have to be bad in order to do so. “Why?” Why can’t she give me it so i can get on with my life and stop saying that it isn’t causing everything? I have had EKG done among tons and tons of blood work etc. Not to mention my D-Dimer test was positive and wasn’t before i started Arava. It’s driving me nuts and I don’t know what to do. Is there a natural way to detox myself to get it out of my system or an over the counter item that will help?