Thursday, March 1, 2012

No More Daily Anti-Inflammatories!

Had to have a small procedure last week, which meant I had to stop taking anti-inflammatories the week before as they can increase the amount of bleeding and bruising, and guess what?? I felt really no different off them than on (other than my digestive system felt a whole lot more settled), so off them I will stay! My rheumatologist says that’s fine, as long as I’m feeling OK, and that I can always take them as needed, if necessary.

So yay re that!!!

And I’ve just cut my dose of Methotrexate down once again, this time to 15 mg. Soon, if all goes well, I’ll have to switch to the pill format, so I hope that doesn’t make me feel blech (I know that the pill form can do that, and the injections themselves already make me feel slightly nauseous — not the needle itself, per se, but the drug, I’m pretty sure).

But whatever I can do to take less meds, the better. Not to say I’m anti-drug, cause God only knows that’s not the case, it’s just I’d rather take the minimum necessary to feel optimal.

Make sense? I think it does, and I’m so thrilled that the Actemra is working well enough that I can cut back on other medications. Woohoo!

9 comments:

  1. That's great news! It always feels awesome to cut down on medication.

    I recently cut my methotrexate from 25 mg to 18, mainly because I was sick of losing so much hair. Since I've been feeling worse lately, I doubled the Celebrex to counterbalance things, and I actually think it's working! I'm starting to notice less hair falling out, too, which is what I (vainly) really wanted.

    Yay to you! I hope you keep feeling better.

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  2. It does feel soooooo great, Helen! I hope you can get your MTX down to a point you're happy with! My hair has certainly felt thinner, too, so I hope as an added bonus, that changes with the drop in dosage!

    Cheers,

    L

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  3. Woo hoo! Glad to hear positive updates Laurie. anti inflammatories never did anything for me, really. Did you find they made a difference before the actemra? My doctor thinks it's weird they don't work for me.

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  4. Hey Squirrel! So glad to hear from you! They did definitely make a difference when I was prescribed them before the doctors had definitively diagnosed RA, and I think they made a difference when I was on Enbrel, but who knows for sure really until you stop taking them? So, it's good this situation arose, in a strange way, and gave me the chance to see what things were like without them...

    Hope you're well and your upcoming trip goes fabulously!

    :) L

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  5. Woo hoo! indeed. I agree: the least amount of drugs for the most amount of effect.

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  6. The least number of meds, and the lowest effective dose of those you do need - what a great plan. Glad to hear you're doing better.

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  7. Glad you were able to cut your meds down a bit. I am very interested in your blog. I just started with one, as I have mixed connective tissue disorder. Come on over and visit me at artfulabilities.blogspot.com

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  8. That's great, great news, Laurie. You're nearing the end of the tunnel now, which means, the rheumatic pains you felt before would be less painful each day. I hope it can keep up until it is completely gone. However, don't forget to continue taking your medication. For as long as your doctor says that you need to take them, you should. :)

    Lenore Mcewan

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  9. Thats great! I can't wait until the day i can stop my meds! One day i will because I will be bionic! I love your blog and its great that you have put it out there. I finally got the courage to do the same so if you'd like to check it out, id really appreciate it. I am trying to raise awareness as well as help people and take advice so any that you have for me would be great! Sounds like you are doing something right! Is it a different diet, vitamins? anything would be great! thanks and heres my link.... http://juliesjrajoint.com/?p=64

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