Rheumatoid Arthritis Q & A

I just had my first injection of Enbrel last night. So far there has not been any reactions from the drug. But about two hours after I got itchy in different parts of my body. Put he injection site is not itchy. The itchying is not bad. I don’t have any signs of a rash or hives. Most of the time just movement of my clothes is enough to stop the itching. I don’t have to scratch it. I was wondering if this could be a reaction to the Enbrel or could it all be in my head?

Who is the best M.D. in the USA to see for a consultation on what to do about advancing Rheumatoid Arthritis?

I am 23 and have had ra for 20 years i have the condition called stilis this year i got myo carditos very badly and nearly died i have been on emberel for 2 years about 6 months ago i started getting visual problems halos afterimages and what looked like shooting light spots when i look into the sky or anthing white has anyone else had these problems the condion i have got is called visual snow i think

I have heard there can be some kind of lung side affect of long term methrotraze. Can you tell me anything about this. I have had a long term cough and can’t seen to get rid of it. I have been on this medicine for over ten years, along with other medication.

My wife has been in treatment for supposed Rheumatoid and Osteo Arthritis for 10 years. It has affected her back, shoulders, neck, and spine. Though she has joint pain in her hands and knees, and several of her fingers have begun to deform, that pain is mild compared to the other. She has gone through the standard set of single and combination medications, Prednizone, Methotrexate, Remicade w/Methotrexate, Humira w/Methotrexate, and is now through the fifth infusion of Orencia. Her SED rate was 46 when she started the Orencia, and the day of her latest infusion around the 25th of Sept., it was 55. The combination of Remicade with Methotrexate worked the best, but after a while, the dosage had to be continually increased until the onset of Lupus symptoms forced her off the Remicade. She is in so much pain most of the time that she can’t stand up in one place for more than a few minutes before she starts to shake, get nasuated, and has to sit or lie down. The fatigue is chronic, and the combination of Predizone at different times and the nausea causing her to only want ‘bready’ foods or potatoes has caused severe weight gain. The latest suggestion from the Rheumatologist is to go through a couple more Orencia infusions to see if it starts working, and if not, they want to put her on Enbrel. I think it’s time to have a more in-depth study, which I’m sure our medical plan would pay for, but we don’t know where to go or how to do it. Thanks for any help you could provide.

My daughter is thirty years old and is taking Enbrel. When she goes off of it to try and get pregnant. When she goes off of the medicine and hopefully gets pregnant what happens to the Rhematoid arthritis? Does it usually get better or worse? Does it just depend on each person individually? Also after the hopeful successful preganancy how will the rhematoid arthritis be? Is is just a who knows?