meth vs. avara

Hello,

I took Arava for about six months after trying Methotrexate and same with me, Metho. made me really sick.  The Arava worked good for me, but really never took all the symptoms away for me.  I had to stop taking it, because if your not on contraceptive it could hurt your baby.  Anyway, I don't take that anymore, I am now on Plaquenil and Sulfasalazine and it's working miracles for me.  I have not had any flare ups for months, I just hope this continues to do wonders!! I'm soo thankful that I don't have many symptoms anymore.  and my CR rate keeps going down, I go back in Jan. for check up!!

I think you should definitely try the Arava, it's less potent than the Methotrexate, but still has some side affects. 

HOpe that works

Ange

We are all individuals and react differently to medication. For instance, I managed very well on methotrexate for two years before I had to switch - I had side effects related to my stomach, but I have those types of side effects to all medications. I've heard of others who have been on methotrexate for a decade and do exceptionally well. However, you're clearly not one of the people who can tolerate that medication and it sounds to me like your decision to switch is a sound one. After all, the goal of RA medication is to increase your ability to live your life, not to take it away.

Whether you will tolerate Arava better than you did methotrexate is hard to say. It may be the medication for you or you may end up having to try another one. Finding an RA medication where the good effects out ways to side effects can be a bit of a puzzle requiring a fair bit of patience. However, we are in the lucky position that there are a number of options available to us now that weren't available even 10 years ago, so I'm sure you'll find one that works for you.

One side effect common to pretty much all RA medications is a certain level of fatigue around the time you get your dose. Keep in mind that as your body adjusts to the medication, the side effects will lessen and you will develop ways of working around it. Also keep in mind that once you RA is suppressed, it's quite likely that your energy levels will increase, as active RA tends to make you very tired. This means that even though you may have a couple of days with lower energy around the time you take your medication, overall, you'll be ahead.

Good luck!

I was on arava for about 6 months. It helped my ra however I had to be taken off of it beacause it caused my blood pressure to go up. Hope this is helpful.

Hi Hope,

I have been on MTX (meth) for 8 years now.  A trial of Arava 5 years ago was not good for me...caused intractable diarrhea and when I stopped the med...it took about 3 or 4 weeks to settle it down.  It did seem to help the RA, though, so a couple years ago ( before starting Remicade) we tried Arava again with exactly the same effect.  So I went to Remicade which has been good for me.

My hair is definitely thinned and I hadn't considered it was due to MTX.  I know that I barely need to shave my legs anymore...and wondered if it was due to my meds.  Mmmm.

Good luck w/Arava...if it helps you, you'll be so glad.