advice on medicines in rhemutoid arthiritis

Wow, it sounds like you are dealing with a very aggressive form of the disease. I tend to be very sensitive to meds too (along with low blood pressure... but that's less a problem than it used to be).  But for me that means I don't take my Enbrel shots quite as often as most people ... and I don't take Pred or MTX at all (liver difficulties).  I am wondering if something isn't quite right about the diagnosis, or if you are dealing with more than one disease...   how long have you been ill, and how long have you tried each of these meds?  Do you have other medical history that would contribute, like diabetes, lupus, or MS?  Are you working directly with a rheumatologist? 

    The only other things I can offer are:

a) alternative/complementary therapies .  You may have a food sensitivity that is aggravating your condition. If you're not familiar with elimination diets, look it up.  Perhaps changing diet (more fruits&veggies, less meat, no red meat or certain veggies like tomatoes/potatoes/green peppers/eggplant can aggravate arthritis for some folks.  b) meditation/relaxation/yoga/tai chi practices can help reduce pain in some people and give you a better sense of control over your body and the disease.

c) acupuncture, if it's available and affordable can be helpful.  If not, you may be able to learn some acupressure techniques to do yourself.

     You do not mention what you do or your age - are you working, or disabled at home - do you have to take care of your family, or are you alone?   what other stress in your life might be complicating things?  These may  be very personal, but you may want to think about them ...

I'm so sorry to hear about your troubles - you really are going through a hard time. What does your rheumatologist say?  have you thought of getting a second opinion? I also agree with Ellen - it may be that you have another underlying condition that's affecting your ability to tolerate treatment.  I would suggest that you visit your family doctor to get a physical and a referral to, among other specialist, a cardiologist (although if you have heart enlargement, I suspect you already have a cardiologist?).  I'm also wondering whether your heart enlargement is related to your RA - when I was a teenager, my RA went systemic and started attacking my internal organs and I remember having a hard enlargement problem.  Has you rheumatologist looked at the issue of RA attacking more than your joints? As well, has your rheumatologist considered the possibility of lupus? Keep in mind that I'm not a doctor and don't know nearly enough about lupus to say one way or another, however, some of the symptoms of RA and lupus can be similar and I know enough about lupus to know that it canmess with e.g., you heart and your blood pressure.  Check out the websites for Lupus Canada and the Lupus Foundation of America for more information. If any of it rings a bell, go talk to your doctor about it.

As well, check out the post I recently wrote about alternative medicines. You may benefit from seeing a licensed naturopathic doctor and the post contains links to a number of resources, including how to find a naturopathic doctor in your area.

I wish I could be of more help. Please let us know how things go?

HI! I am 33 yrs old and have 4yr and 7 old and i stay at home.My rhumetoligist started me prednisone first i reacted to that by swelling within 10 days i gained 15lbs and felt paralsed for 2 days.Then he gave methotexrate as my esr and c-protien was very elevated.Still of no use then he gave me Humira for 3 mths my esr had no changes but the last month i was travelling i bloated up and clothes were riping on me ,that's when i saw doc in that place ,after some test he saw my heart enlarged and i was anemic , he recomended my doc for orencia.When i came back  my doc started orencia,First dose i felt very weak and sleepy for couple of days, next dose while the drip went on my Blood pressure started going down and i passed out.then the kept under observation later that days i had Migranes low BP acne all over my body.It was about amonth i was dealing with that.My esr still elevated.Then I was on embrel, First dose was okay, next dose i felt low wanted to be left alone and third dose caused the same effect  abit more.Forth dose i took it and slept @10pm and woke up @12am withbreathing problems low Bp kind of anxiety attack .

Meanwhile i tried accupuncture went to yoga ,message therapy ,i got some relief here and there but not great results.I was also lupus positive when i was on humira.But Now i am back on Humira with methotexrate.My bone scan showed arthiritis in the hip ,ankle and heel spurs and  referred to foot doc .Lets see what is in  reserve for me.

Thx for all the advice  and i will try to do some off the things ,pls do let me know ur sugestions.

thx