Hello

vbell1982

Hello Everyone.

I am 33 years old and have recently been diagnosed with Inflammatory Arthritis, after starting with swelling and pain in one knee back in May 2016. Since then it has spread to both knees, elbows, wrists and a little bit in my fingers. As I am new to all this and my consultant has been off work sick I have been seen by a series of locums. I am still feeling a bit confused by some of the information I have been given and wonder if anyone could offer any advice....

- Is Inflammatory Arthritis and actual diagnosis or just a broad description for a range of arthritis?
- How long did Sulfasalazine take to make an impact for you? I am in week 10 and currently feeling worse, not better.
- Any advice on any complementary therapies that worked for you? I am a bit of a skeptic but willing to try anything at this point.

Thanks so much.

V

[Deleted User]

Hi vbell
Welcome to our forum,thank you for telling us your story,pain is a most unpleasant experience and we all go through it at times. You will find everyone pleasant and informative and chatty,just pick a forum or several if you want and start chatting.
All the best Christine :sun:

stickywicket

Hi V and welcome to the forum

Inflammatory arthritis is quite a broad definition. It means they know you have arthritis and it's not OA but they are not sure which type – RA, PsA, AS etc etc. You can look up the various different types here https://www.arthritiscare.org.uk/do-i-have-arthritis/a-z-of-types

Fortunately, the meds for all forms of inflammatory arthritis are much the same so not having a specific name put to your arthritis won't matter. Sulph, and indeed all the meds, can take several weeks to work but you might need another med adding or it just might be that sulph doesn't work for you. We're all different.

Personally, I wouldn't go down the complementary therapies route as I think most are a waste of time and money. Do you have a rheumatology helpline you could call?

vbell1982

stickywicket wrote:

Hi V and welcome to the forum

Inflammatory arthritis is quite a broad definition. It means they know you have arthritis and it's not OA but they are not sure which type – RA, PsA, AS etc etc. You can look up the various different types here https://www.arthritiscare.org.uk/do-i-have-arthritis/a-z-of-types

Fortunately, the meds for all forms of inflammatory arthritis are much the same so not having a specific name put to your arthritis won't matter. Sulph, and indeed all the meds, can take several weeks to work but you might need another med adding or it just might be that sulph doesn't work for you. We're all different.

Personally, I wouldn't go down the complementary therapies route as I think most are a waste of time and money. Do you have a rheumatology helpline you could call?

stickywicket

I think you wanted to say something but it didn't work out. Forums can be tricky places at first. Try again but without a quote (In red. A bit lower down on the left.)

vbell1982

Ah sorry !

Yes, think I have the hang of this now. Thank you for the information.

When I have looked on arthritis UK etc it seemed to suggest the sulfasalazine could take at least 12 weeks. I am now in week 11 so if there is no improvement in the next week or so I will phone the nurse helpline I have. I know when I first started on the sulfasalazine I was given a choice between that and hydroxychloroquine but the team recommended the sulfasalazine so I went with that. I am allergic to NSAIDs such as Ibuprofren which makes everything a little more difficult. Paracetamol isn't having much impact on the pain.

Thanks again, V

stickywicket

I think that's a good plan.

Sulph is a usual starting med and slightly stronger than hydroxy but the latter is often used effectively in combination with others. I take it with methotrexate and they work well for me.

There are many of us on here who can't take NSAIDS. I don't regard it as a problem after what they did to my stomach Paracetamol is a mild form of pain relief and your GP could give you something stronger but still you need effective DMARDS so do contact your helpline and please let us know how you get on.