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Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) - Introduce yourself and meet others
Autoimmune Diseases | Last Active: Feb 10 5:23am | Replies (796)Comment receiving replies
be very careful with arava. i was on this one and had been losing skin from the genitalia and penis so bad that i went to a special dermatologist who told me to get off it immediately or i would have lost my scrotum, as it happened with someone else. I also was very itchy with this from the very start. Check your skin carefully especially in the private area. These RA drugs can be quite dangerous....kozlo52
Replies to "be very careful with arava. i was on this one and had been losing skin from..."
I was put on Arava and lasted maybe 2 months until my liver enzymes went way too high and my rheumatologist took me off of it immediately. Before that I was on methotrexate which I injected myself. One night I had a mild anaphylactic reaction after my last methotrexate shot. That had never happened to me before, even when I was on methotrexate in the early 2000s. My methotrexate was discontinued. Next week I am going to go onto an infusion of Orencia, a biologic. Hint about finances: if anyone is on Medicare and needs a biologic, make sure you can get an infusion; Medicare Part B picks up the tab for infusion treatments of certain biologics.
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I also have severe issues with arava. Instead of changing medications they prescribed Diflucan for 7 days then I have to take it once a week. I not only have RA but I also have progressive systemic sclerosis, Hashimoto, stage 3 kidney disease, COPD, autoimmune asthma, latent TB, and hypertension. With all the medications I have no quality of life and my days revolve around taking medications at the proper times. The medication list is to long to list but I wonder if just throwing the medications out and trying diet and homeopathic means would improve our quality of life.