Proposed change of treatments to Biologicals?

KatrinaB

Hi all, I'm new to the group. I was diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis when I was 24, I'm 36 now and have recently been told I now have rheumatoid arthritis. I was previously treated with methotrexate and following the birth of my children the drug was unsuccessful in helping my condition, so I was changed to Leflunomide. Following 2 years on this unfortunately my condition hasn't settled and my consultant has recommended biological drug called Certolizumab (Cimza). I have done alot of reading about it and the side affects have scared the life out of me. I'm so worried. I've a review appointment to consent to this new treatment in the coming week.

I was wondering if anyone could share their thoughts and experiences of using this drug. Any advise would be much appreciated.

[Deleted User]

Hi @KatrinaB and welcome to this fabulous online community!

I can see that you have recently been given a diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and have been treated with methotrexate and leflunomide previously. I'm not sure what your current knowledge of RA is, but speaking from personal experience I find that I am always learning either from looking at whatever information is out there, or by simply living it. Here is a link where you can find some more information about RA, from the technical (or medical) side of things, to things such as gentle exercise or other self help strategies:

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/conditions/rheumatoid-arthritis/

Also, you may find some of this information on certolizumab useful, as it may help you to make a more informed decision ready for your review.

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/treatments/drugs/certolizumab-pegol/

There are many people here who are willing to share their experiences too so please do take a look around the online community.

You can always talk to any of us as we will do our best to support you!

Sarah x

KatrinaB

Thank you Sarah for answering my question and attaching the information links. It is much appreciated. I will watch out for other comments and feedback on the forum page. Thanks again 😊