Rheumatoid Arthritis Q & A

how long do you think it will take to approve the oral enbrel?

I have rheumatoid arthritis. I was on disability for 6 years. I forced myself to go back to work and have been working for 3 yrs. I have changed jobs 3 times trying to find a job my body can tolerate. I am a registered nurse and work as a case manager in an acute care setting. I just recieved my 3rd loading dose of remicaide and am on methotrexate. The daily grind of working everyday has increased my rheumatoid symptoms, fatique, pain level. I have daily patient contact with pt who have TB, MARSA, VRE. Considering my health status should I continue to work in this enviroment? Thanks so much for your time.

Hi, I’m 43 yrs old, diagnosed with RA 5 yrs ago, was doing great on just Enbrel & MTX, but for 5 months been having a lot of pain in my left foot (all over) and my right ankle, also some swelling on my knuckles. My Dr. put me on Humira for 1 month, nothing changed. He put me back on Enbrel, but it’s like injecting water, it does nothing. He told me that it’s all stress related, that until I control my stress the pains won’t go away. I differ from this, I think the Enbrel just stopped working, also my Sed rate is at 75. I’m planning on going to another dr. to get a second opinion, i know stress is bad for RA but I don’t think it’s the cause of my great pain. Please advise. Thanks.

I have been on coumadin therapy since a mitral valve replacement 4 years ago. Recently I was diagnosed with seropositive RA. I have had symptoms for years and in the past used NSAIDs with some relief. Will other drugs used for treatment (methotrexate, etc.) be contraindicated because of the coumadin?

Hi there, I have just recently been dx with RA which I am seronegative have never tested positive for. For the past three years I have witnessed first hand how crippling this disease can be, it has left my fingers in a severly crippled state. For the past couple of months I have been in extreme agony in the jaw with extreme swelling. Is this normal of RA to attack the joints in the jaw and what does this mean?

In order to replace an abscessed mandibular anterior tooth, I will need either a block graft and two dental implants or simply two dental implants. I have Remicade infusions every eight weeks and my doctors are worried about failure of their work cause by an infection or increased risk of infection for me. Ultimately the choice will be mine and I need some advice. I take two 200mg tabs of Plaquenil each day along with Remicade. Any advise will be deeply appreciated.