any advise please

kmr

Hi hope you are all ok, my daughter has had her consultant appt this morning she has been on MTx for nearly a year and also on the sulph based drug plus is currently on 10mg steriods.
the consultant has said the disease is still active as she still has swelling, told her that homepathy is a waste of money. and now wants her to go on mtx injections, i would really appreciate any comments/advise on this as she is not sure what to do
many thanks
karen

dreamdaisy

When I was struggling to find out what was going on with me (this was between 2000 and 2001) I spent a year under the 'care' of a homeopathist, who did not recognise my problem as a form of arthritis (or as anything at all, in fact) but was happy enough to relieve me of my money for her little white pills. I am now on injected meth, sulphasalazine, humira and oral steroids - no, not cured, but the symptoms are alleviated as much as they can be. If your daughter has an auto-immune form of this rubbish (as do I) then I think she has to take what the docs prescribe, rather than the delicacies suggested by others. Yes, homeopathy/herbal stuff is a more attractive proposition but when one is faced with a very virulent disease one needs an equally virulent response. I wish her well. DD

gickygawky

Hi there,

I turn to alternative therapies for minor ailments such as cold/flu, bruises etc but when it comes to problems that are as serious as arthritis I am happy to say I choose to take whatever my Rheumy can offer me (Enbrel(anti Tnf) and Mtx combo, steroids, pain killers).

I think it is vital to try and control arthritis as quickly as one can as studies have shown that early intervention is the key to delaying its progression and severity later down the line.

I am happy to take the strongest drugs possible to combat my condition and I am confident that the drugs offered to me are 'fine tuned' as much as medically possible to treat the 'cause' of my problems.

I think it is important to note that if therapies such as homeopathy were as effective as those offered by rheumatologists, they would already be used extensively. No rheumy would prescribe the drugs we are on if there was a more effective treatment and I don't know any patients who would choose taking their drugs over alternative therapies if it wasn't absolutely necessary. I wish it wasn't this way, but it is.

I don't want to be crippled in my later years and have to look back and think 'if only I had tried those fancy drugs'... Even if my health does deteriorate to such an extent, at least I will know I have tried as hard as I can to beat this beast.

This of course is just my opinion and I do understand the dilemma your daughter faces. I hope that with further research she can make the decision that best suits her needs and I wish her well.

Arna x

skezier

Hi Karen,

I am sorry your daughter is still having problems with the activity of this horrible bone thing.

i have oral mtx and its making me some sick so would jump at injections to be honest.

I was told they are more effective as well so maybe it will help her? Fingers crossed and so hope they get a handle on the bone thing for her soon. Cris x

julie47

Hi karen
I am on tablet mtx and luckily i am quite happy (unless the rhummy dr tells me otherwise on fri)but if for some reason I was advised to take inj form then that is what I would do.
Just want to wish you luck
juliepf x

kmr

We are looking into the injection will do some online research . she has not tried homepathy she was just looking into other options. thanks for the replies

dreamdaisy

I do my own meth injections and they are very straightforward. I used to have them done weekly at the hospital, and I know that others go to their GP nurses to have theirs done - she won't have to self-administer if she doesn't want to! Injected meth tends to be stronger than the tablet form, so you need less of it. Side-effects can be greatly reduced too. I wish her well. DD