combination therapy for RA - better than one med?

peridotlouise
peridotlouise Member Posts: 81
edited 11. Mar 2012, 15:56 in Living with Arthritis archive
my rheumy suggested taking another med, and i was unsure but yesterday rang her and agreed to take hydroxychloroquine with my sulfasalazine...
she said she was happy i thought about it, is this a good idea?
im scared because im not too bad at the mo...but i want to stay this way as long as i can, im terrified i will get worse. does taking two meds have better results than if i just stayed on the sulfa?

she has been wanting me to take methotrexate but ive refused, as im worried about taking that after all the things ive heard...

Comments

  • dreamdaisy
    dreamdaisy Member Posts: 31,520
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Ah, peridotlouise, who knows? Some have wonderful results on one drug, some on two, some on three and some on considerably more. I am on triple therapy, humira, meth (both injected by me) and sulph and although things are far from what I want in terms of life-quality etc I do have the wisdom to realise that I would be far, far worse off with taking less. I am about to enter my fifteenth year of this, for the first seven years I went untreated hence the mess I am in now. Take what you can to help slow the progress of the RA, that's my advice, rheumatologists generally know of what they speak! If you are not too bad on the sulph (and that's a good thing) hopefully you will be doing even better with the added hydroxy. I wish you well. DD
    Have you got the despatches? No, I always walk like this. Eddie Braben
  • peridotlouise
    peridotlouise Member Posts: 81
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Thanks DD, I hope you are ok

    It's hard as RA can go in any direction, good or bad and it's difficult to accept that you will never know what will work or what won't work and for how long etc. I just want to try and battle this as much as possible.
  • valval
    valval Member Posts: 14,911
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    hi i am on them both only been on sulfa for nearly 3 months but am also taking naproxen till sulfa works it worth a go you will not know till you try it and if you can stop inflimation it worth it good luck val
    val
  • dibdab
    dibdab Member Posts: 1,498
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hi, I'm on both and have been for 4 years-when I have to stop taking them because I have a chest infection I realise just what a positive thing they are. Hope they work for you too.

    Deb x
  • frogmorton
    frogmorton Member Posts: 30,087
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hi Louise

    Good to see you and hear you are doing 'ok' at the moment.

    Sometimes more 2 mediactions can be stronger togther than the power of each added together....like paracetamol and codeine for instance with pain.

    It is your decsion though.

    Good luck in making it :)

    Love

    Toni xx
  • tillytop
    tillytop Member Posts: 3,460
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hi Louise

    Combination therapy is very common - and because everyone is different, it may be that a combination will work best for you. And my understanding is that Sulph and Hydroxy are at the milder end of the RA drug scale so it may be that one is just not enough for you. I really hope that this combo helps you Louise but, if not, and if meth is considered to be the next step, please don't rule it out of hand. Although meth can be a scary prospect, by no means everybody has problems with it and it is pretty much the standard drug these days. And I try to take the approach that, just because you start a drug to give it a try, it isn't necessarily a "forever" thing and, if it isn't right for you, or doesn't work, there are lots of alternatives out there.

    I do understand that these are difficult decisions but, hard though it is to swallow, we all have to remember that RA is not something to be messed with - and it is too late for regrets about not taking the drugs once joint damage has been done.

    Good luck with whatever you decide Louise.

    Tillyxxx

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