Treating RA Archives | Page 9 of 14 | Rheumatoid Arthritis Warrior

Aspirin and Rheumatoid Arthritis

May 6, 2011May 15, 2018 Kelly O'Neill 16 Comments History of Rheumatoid Arthritis, Rheumatoid arthritis treatment, Tips for living with Rheumatoid Arthritis

Once upon a time, aspirin was the daily therapy of choice for Rheumatoid Arthritis. What happened to aspirin’s role with RA? Were claims justified that the new NSAIDs were less toxic than aspirin, diminishing its role? Aspirin largely replaced by newer NSAIDs People turned from aspirin to NSAIDs because they believed NSAIDs to be safer, but one study...Continue reading 16 Comments » Read more

Juvenile Arthritis Treatment Guidelines Adopted by ACR

April 25, 2011May 15, 2018 Kelly O'Neill 9 Comments Actemra, Biologics for RA, Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis

Parents of children with juvenile forms of Rheumatoid Arthritis have tough decisions to make. They must consider possible risks of medical treatments like TNF-a without comfortable long-term safety records. Families weigh the risks against almost certain damage, disability, and deformity that the disease can bring. Rheumatologists who advise families with these decisions got some help...Continue reading 9 Comments » Read more

Antibodies Lessen Effectiveness of Adalimumab / Humira

April 13, 2011May 15, 2018 Kelly O'Neill 35 Comments Biologics for RA, Research on Rheumatoid Arthritis

A new study proves what many suspected – that Rheumatoid Arthritis patients develop antibodies against adalimumab (Humira) which lessen the effectiveness of the drug. Previous studies have shown this to be true for other Biologic treatments as well. Anti-adalimumab antibodies: another front in our battle against RA Doctors in the Netherlands found 28% of patients developed antibodies...Continue reading 35 Comments » Read more

New Reading of the Nuclear Bone Scan: Credibility is Everything

March 31, 2011May 15, 2018 Kelly O'Neill 49 Comments Nuclear bone scan, Rheumatoid Arthritis test, Talking to doctors

Today, I got a gift. A friend obtained a second reading of my nuclear bone scan. The 4-page report was sent to me in a PDF as an authorized second opinion. The radiologist did not agree with the findings of the first report and the differences were not subtle. Instead of quoting it at length, I’ve...Continue reading 49 Comments » Read more

Do Rheumatoid Arthritis Drugs Cause Cancer?

March 30, 2011May 15, 2018 Kelly O'Neill 27 Comments Biologics for RA, Side effects for RA medicine

Hopefully not. People often state that drugs used to treat Rheumatoid Arthritis cause cancer as an accepted fact. They say they that shortening the length of life is worth the quality of life they gain from treatment. Personally, I’m tremendously interested in both. Rheumatoid Arthritis has long been known to increase risk of cancer, especially lymphoma. We...Continue reading 27 Comments » Read more

Which Biologic Treatment Should RA Patients Try Next?

February 23, 2011May 15, 2018 Kelly O'Neill 32 Comments Biologics for RA, Research on Rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatoid Arthritis patients will likely try a sequence of 3 or 4 biological therapies. However, odds tend to decrease that the treatments will work. “For patients with prior exposure to TNF-a inhibitors, likelihood of response to subsequent treatment with biologic agents declines with increasing number of previous treatments with TNF-a inhibitors.” Newsflash: responses to Biologic treatments vary...Continue reading 32 Comments » Read more