treatment for Rheumatoid

@tisme Can your doctor or his staff help you find out if you are eligible for assistance in paying for any of the biologics?

I am in Australia some drugs are subsidised by the government others are not seeing my family doc on Monday see what he says about it

@tisme
My wife has had rheumatoid arthritis for many years. She has been on and off biologics. After her heart gets fixed, I am hoping she will get the newly approved device for RA from Setpoint Medical. It was approved in August or September and the randomized trial required at least a 20% improvement in inflammation.

They put a small device on your Vegas nerve behind your neck and once per day an electrical signal is sent. It might be worth exploring with your rheumatologist. Here is their web site:
https://setpointmedical.com/

I can't believe that your doctor would suggest going back on HCQ if it affected your eyesight! The damage it does is irreversible, can carry on even after you stop taking it, and it can make you blind in the centre of your vision and then spread outwards.

I can't take it, it went straight for my eyes and also gave me serious skin hyperpigmentation after only 10 weeks use.

If you really can't afford any of the other drugs, then I have my RA in remission, as shown on my blood tests, taking a cocktail of supplements which have all been proven to assist with RA. I take MSM, curcumin (not turmeric), liquorice root and cats claw.

The liquorice can affect your heart and the cat's claw can affect your kidneys.

These are properly tested drugs and it infuriates me to know that doctors all over the world are just bunging people on drugs that risk their eyesight and expose them to serious risks of infection, without being allowed (in the case of the UK) to suggest common cheap supplements that are known to work.

Talk to your rheumatologist about Rituxan treatments. It’s a cancer chemo drug but was also approved for mild to severe RA by FDA several yrs ago. I take for RA every six mos. 2 treatments 2 wks apart via infusion abt4 hr each treatment. It has helped me 100%. Most of the RA prescription drugs did not work for me. I’ve tried many of the drugs. Starting with “gold” prescription to placquinil (hydroxychoraquine), Ariva, embrel shots, but would have to stop due to bad side effects. Rituxan infusion treatments has been a miracle drug for me. Very expensive $100,000/treatment before insurance applied. It’s considered medical, not prescription. I pay approx $800 for each treatment after insurance pays their portion. Total treatments for the year is 4 treatments. I’ve been on this drug for abt 10 yrs. I also have a slight allergic reaction abt 10-15 mins after they start the infusion. My oncologist put a protocol in place before they start the infusion, they give me Benadryl and prednisone via IV. Then about 15 mins later start Rituxan. All goes well with that protocol. Good luck looking into this drug with your doctor!

my family doc said there are drugs I can take they are expensive but I can get the government to pay I need a rheumatologist to state I cant take the other drugs.

Like you most RA drugs contraindicated for me and the hydroxy caused severe tinnitus which doc said could be irreversible so off. I have been on low dose (2.5-3.5) Prednisone since and thankfully that works for me. While there are downsides to Pred, my options were limited. Also RheumatoidArthritis.net has some excellent articles and users. I was lucky though in that my RA caught somewhat early and that LD Pred works for me as well as staying active, especially swimming. Motion is Lotion! Good luck

I take the biologic drug Actemra (Tocilizumab) for Giant Cell Arteritis. Actemra was approved for GCA in 2017, but it was originally approved to treat RA in 2010. There are some other biosimilars to Actemra which have also been approved. I've been taking weekly self-injections of Actemra for a year and a half, and I haven't had any side effects. Plus I haven't had any symptoms or flares from my disease. The Actemra allowed me to get off of prednisone 6 months ago, and I was very happy about that.

I was on those same medications for years and have struggled with my body rejecting Biological Medicine Therapy. Finally, I found an amazing Rheumatologist, who actually listened to me, and he took me off all of those useless meds! I’m now using a ClikJect- Orencia injection once a week. It has truly calmed my system down, and rarely, I’ve had to take Prednisone when it starts flaring up again.
I pray you start feeling better soon and that you get proper treatment and care. (Get a second opinion, it’s your right).
Be blessed.

@cptrayes I remember stopping turmeric when I had breast cancer , cant remember why