DMARDs for Arthritis Q & A

I am on Methotrexate, Arthrotec, and Coversyl(ACE inhibator for high blood pressure) Recently I have developed a dry non-productive cough. Could the cough be from the Methotrexate, RA itself, Coversyl, or a cold? But I have no other signs of a cold. I read that a cough is one of the side effects of both the Methotrexate and Coversyl. Can you please help me sort through this.

I didn’t notice answers to this, so i wanted to check with you. I have a few questions I hope you can answer that new RA people also might need to know: 1) I was wondering what the “best” medicine was that held the least side effects? I am worried about long term side effects. 2) How long can you be on 5mg of Predisone before you need to be off due to problems? And if 5mg daily works, do you need other drugs? 3) Are there natural things that can actually help with inflamation? Rigth now, the Prednisone actually keeps all inflamation away (right now on 10mg and going down to 5 in 2 days), i have some bone pain in knees, but pain killers could help that, was wondering if there were natural ways of taking non-prescription items that could help instead of Prednisone. 4) Do you have new drugs in the testing field by chance with less side effects we might see in 10 – 15 years? Thank you for your time.

I understand this has just been approved by the FDA for RA. Just wondering if you have prescribed it yet and if so how have your patients done? Also, does it have the “MS like symptoms” as a side effects like enbrel, humira and remicade? Any other thoughts on this new medication??

Does taking methotrexate increase the risk of developing heart disease? If it interfers with folic acid will a person’s homocystein levels be affected adversely?

I have been on enbrel for three months my artthritis is well-controlled but I want to get pregnant , question is how soon can I get pregnant after I discontinue enbrel???

Hello,I hope you can help me make a difficult decision. I am currently on the 4th NSAID to try and treat inflammation of my joints. My doctor said he thinks we should try MTX since NSAIDS aren’t working. I am diagnosed with lupus and besides joint inflammation, I feel pretty good. I am not taking any plaquenil and was given the option before but rejected it. I told my doctor I wanted to research a bit before I gave an answer. Do you think I should try the Plaquenil first before starting MTX or is it fine to jump to MTX? From what I read so far, seems like methotrexate is a bigger drug with more side effects so plaquenil would be the better choice. Any information would be helpful.