This is concerning taking RA medicines and then getting another condition as a side effect of taking TNF blockers or other RA medications.
My personal opinion is that if taking two meds is causing you to have symptoms of lupus or other problems, stop the extra med and see if the condition improves.
I have rheumatoid arthritis, diagnosed at 27 and now I am 58. I have taken both Enbril for about 5 years, then Humira the past five years. Before that, I mostly took aspirin, then a few of the non-TNF blockers since they weren't available and did get damage in several joints.
I was doing great on Enbril and then Humira until about a year ago when my doctor insisted I take another medication with the Humira. Although these meds say they help psorisis, they actually can do the opposite and cause it.
(IMPORTANT SIDE EFFECT INFORMATION: Some people have serious infections while taking ACTEMRA, including tuberculosis (TB), and infections caused by bacteria, fungi or viruses that can spread throughout the body. Some people have died from these infections.)
Then, all hell broke lose: I developed a horrible "psorisis" skin condition that began spreading across my hairline and into my face and then down my back within a few months. I quit the meds and took Prednisone and it backed off. It has taken a year to get almost to the point I was at before taking the "helpful" medication.
Now my doctor wants to add Methotrexate. I am refusing to add the med. He has told me it can hurt the liver, that I already have some liver damage from taking prior meds and still insists I add the medication. He also insists I already had the psorisis before he added the other med last year. He is wrong.
I refuse to add any more medications and I take Enbril every ten days instead of every week. It's not as strong as the Humira which lasts two weeks in the system.
As for the so called psorisis condition, I went to an Internal Medicine Specialist last week who told me I have a fungus condition. He said it was spreading due to my immune system being unable to control it due to the RA medications. On one RA medication, my immune system can control it. On two RA meds, it can't. He prescribed an anti-fungal shampoo that already has improved the remaianing symptoms. (Fungus can get out of control and has killed people.)
All of the TNF blockers have similar potential side effects:
"Common side effects include flu-like symptoms, headache, rash, coughing, and stomach pain. Other side effects may include infection, blood problems, nervous system disorders, allergic reactions, liver injury, heart failure, psoriasis, and lupus-like syndrome. Before starting this drug, patients should be screened for tuberculosis and then monitored for disease activation during treatment." http://www.webmd.com/drugs/drug-6986-Plaquenil+Oral.aspx?drugid=6986&drugname=Plaquenil+Oral&source=2
It is up to you to decide if you want to take these medications, one or more. It's not the doctor's decision. Don't let your doctor bully you into taking anything you are uncomfortable with. The doctor's really don't have any long term studies to follow and what they do have so far shows these meds can cause other side effects or health conditions, including cancers, lupus and some are deadly.
Be careful adding a new med or bundling them. If you feel that the lupus is due to taking these meds, you might want to try going off of them for six months and take the old-fashioned (although not as effective) remedies to see if you improve.
