SERONEGATIVE COMING OFF METHOREXIATE

nickynoo
nickynoo Member Posts: 2
HI
I WAS DIAGNOSED WITH SERONEGATIVE ARTHRITIS ON MY 30TH BIRTHDAY, FOLLOWING VARIOUS FLARE UPS OF DIFFERENT JOINTS
I HAVE BEEN ON MTX FOR 18 MONTHS INTIALLY I HAD GREAT BENEFITS TO USING THE DRUG, BUT SLOWLY THE EFFECT LESSENED
IN A CONBINATION OF MTX ARCOXIA AND ACUPUNTURE HAVE MANAGED TO GO WITHOUT FLARE UPS. I FOUND MY BRAIN WAS SEVERLY AFFECTED MEMORY LOSS NO MOTOR SKILLS AND FATIGUE AND BY AGREEMENT WITH CONS HAVE BEEN OFF MTX AND ARCOXIA FOR OVER A MONTH NOW. SINCE THEN I FEEL LIKE I HAVE MY LIFE BACK NO TIREDNESS I REMEMBER WHERE IM SUPPOSED TO BE GOING WHICH MAKES A CHANGE AND HAVE LITTLE PAIN
I'M WONDERING IF I HAVE A MIS DIAGNOSIS OR THE DRUG ISNT OUT OF MY SYSTEM YET.
HAS ANYONE ELSE COME ACROSS A SIMILAR SITUATION
I HAVE HYPERTHYROIDISM AND HAD HODGKINS DISEASE TWICE
THEY ARE SUGGESTING OTHER TREATMENTS SUCH AS SULFUR BUT IM NOT SURE WEITHER TO GO COLD TURKEY
PLEASE HELP

Comments

  • dorcas
    dorcas Member Posts: 3,516
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hi nickynoo,

    our wonderful helpline peeps won't be back until Monday and I'm sure they will consider your dilemma on their return.

    It is a great pity that Mtx in combination with the Arcoxia and acupuncture is no longer effective especially when it had been working so well for such a long time and with no flare ups! that's quite impressive.
    So it is such a pity that you then experienced other symptoms that you attribute to these meds and have now stopped taking them. :roll: :|
    You mentioned that the advice from the consultant was to stop these meds and that you start on sulpha....did he also ask for bloods to be done and give you another appointment?.

    Presumably he would want time to pass and have a blood screening before starting you on any other drugs to allow them to clear your system...I would think that a month may not be long enough for them to be completely 'away' but your doc would advise you on that!

    The question about misdiagnosis is one for the rheummy and if your other tests, xrays etc have already confirmed seronegative arther then that would seem unlikely don't you think?

    I personally would be concerned to go completely 'cold turkey'..the improvements you have are great, yes, but arther is such an unpredictabe disease that without any meds you could find yourself soon in the position of a horrible rebound flare...I would not wish that on you. :wink:

    Discuss all of this with your doc and rheummy and also what the alternatives are. I'm sure too that our helpline peeps will offer advice when they open again for business on Monday!
    take care.
    Irisx
  • helpline_team
    helpline_team Posts: 3,464
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hi Nickynoo
    Hmm, a dilemma indeed. Because arthritis is a fluctuating condition with good & bad phases, it can sometimes be difficult to evaluate the effectiveness of treatment. A month is not a very long time and it could be that you are just having a particularly good phase.
    I would agree with Iris, a misdiagnosis would be unlikely. Consultants don't give people drugs like methotrexate unless they are confident in their diagnosis.
    You say your rheumy is offering you another DMARD so presumably you have the opportunity to discuss this with him. Some people feel better on a different DMARD and fortunately there are several he can prescribe.
    The decision will be yours and of course you can choose to go cold turkey but without a DMARD you have nothing controlling your immune condition. Most DMARDS take up to 3 months to reach their full effect and that can be a bad 3 months if you do have a flare. You could ask for your blood inflammatory levels to be monitored frequently (your GP or practice nurse can do this) so you catch signs of inflammation quickly but you could still be risking a nasty flare.
    I hope you make the decision which is right for you and if you want to talk things through with one of us here please do ring us on the freephone number.
    Best wishes
    Val
  • salamander
    salamander Member Posts: 1,906
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    hi, I had a chat to someone at NRAS the other day about precisely this point. They told me the Mtx stays in your system for quite a long time so it could be that you are still covered by it. I have just missed a week for complicated reasons I won't go into here but noticed my energy levels are greatly improved. Don't know if that is coincidence.
    Sal