Rheumatoid Arthritis Q & A

My friend, Janie, is having a full blown case of rheumatoid arthritis since Feb. 6. She has been on an anti-biotic since last week for flu like symtoms and coughing. Could the anti-biotic have caused her to have a complete blow out. She is going to call her arthurtis doctor in the morning but i sit here wondering how long it will take her to come out of it as we plan on leaving for FL this weekend. She has been looking forward to the trip for a long time. Thank you, Jane

I’m 6 wks pregnant and was taking mtx. I was taking 10mg per week over 10 years. Actually i didn’t it take well regularly cause of forgetting.. but I know I did take it about 1 week before my last menstrual cycle. I then found out I was pregnant but have not taken the medication after that. And I took a shoot Enbrel once in every four days until now. Is there a chance my child will have birth deffects should I consider terminating my pregnancy? What are the chances?

My RA factor is 412 butand my Sed is normal. what could cause such a high RA factor? It was checked 3 times just to make sure it wasnt a mistake. Thank You

I was diagnosed with RA in 2000. While in Florida a Rheumatologist told me that I had Psoratic Arthritis and increased the dosage of Humira from once every 2 weeks to one a week. That was in June 2008. In May 2008, I was treated for an abscessed tooth. While the tooth was very infected with pus draining, etc I did not feel any pain. I ended up with 3 teeth being for severe abscesses. In the time since May, I have had 3 more teeth with severe abscess. The endodonist suggests that since humira limits the imune system that it may be the cause. I have not had any pain with any of the dental problems. I have seen different endondist and it appears that the diagnosis is correct especially with the drainage from the tooth. I am currently being treated for two teeth with a root canal on both and then the dentist will place a new crown on each one. What is your opinion as to the cause of all the dental problems that have occurred this past year? Eventually, I should run out of teeth needing a root canal. It is scary that there is no warning or pain associated with the problem. I am 67 years old and many of my teeth have crowns and caps. Please help me with this problem.

My wife (age 62) has had moderate to severe RA for 10 years. Symptoms have been largely alleviated in the past 8 months by concomitant biologic treatment (Humira) with methotrexate (25 mg). Previous treatments, including Enbrel/MTX and Orencia/MTX all had some success but ultimately failed. She has been taking seasonal influenza vaccinations every year since 2002, including this year. She wishes to get immunized for H1N1 with unadjuvanted vaccine, but it is not clear whether she can do so here in Canada, where only limited amounts of unadjuvanted vaccine are available, and which are targeted for pregnant women only. The adjuvanted vaccine, produced by GSK, contains the adjuvant AS03, made up of squalene, vitamin E and Polysorbate 80. It also contains 1/5 of the amount of antigen contained in the unadjuvanted vaccine. What are the known and unknown risks of this adjuvant, and would she be wise to forego the H1N1 vaccinations altogether? What are the chances that she already has some immunity to H1N1? She is concerned that the adjuvant might trigger further uncontrolled auto-immune responses. She is also very nervous to venture out in public without a face mask and hand sanitizer for fear of contracting H1N1 flu. Her family doctor (new) and rheumatologist have been unable to offer any definitive advice.

Re: Humira and Pregnancy I know that most doctors advise their patients who are planning to get pregnant to stop taking Humira since no long-term studies have been done. In your view what is the appropriate amount of time I should be off the drug before conception? My rheumatologist is suggesting 3 months, which sounds quite conservative to me. Isn’t it out of my body well before then? Thanks.