Rheumatoid Arthritis Q & A

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?

I see no mention of use of IV infusion of Rituximab for treatment of acutely active RA. Do you have any information on the use of this treatment?

I was on Methotrexate w/Plaquenil for about 4 months and was feeling great on it however my ALT, AST, and ALP started to elevate. I was taken off the Plaquenil but they were still abnormal. I was taken off everything and tested again, my ALT and AST are normal but my ALP is still elevated. I am now back to just Plaquenil. Is it really true that I can’t tolerate the Methotrexate ever? Will my ALP return to normal on its own?

Can you drink beer while taking meds for RA?

How long do you have your pt’s with RA stay off of Humira and MTX after Athroscopic surgery of the shoulder, such as; a rotator cuff repair along with subacromial decompression and distal clavical excision. I am curious what you recommend because my Rheumatologist and Ortho have different recommendations.

My mother is in a wheelchair and has seen a new doctor for RA and has been told that chemo is a good option to take 3 pills each Friday to treat her. Please let me know if you’ve seen this really help.