I recently visited with an extended family member. This lady has been taking methothrexate which
controlled her rheumatoid arthritis RA) for several years. She had noticed she was beginning to have
symptoms (discomfort in her stomach—could she be having side effects from her medication?)
She said when her husband looked up the drug and saw all the potential side
effects, it scared him. He wants her to
stop taking the methotrexate. She asked
for my opinion. I said, I think it’s a
bad idea to stop taking your RA medicine; I would recommend you contact your
rheumatologist and talk to him. She said
her next appointment is June. My
advice: do not go without RA medicine
for two months. Call your
rheumatologist’s office and talk to his nurse; tell them what is going on and
get their advice. Here’s my reason for
that advice: when uncontrolled, rheumatoid
arthritis does damage to your body that you cannot see.
What is rheumatoid arthritis (RA)? Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune
disease. When a person develops an
auto-immune disease, the body starts attacking itself. With rheumatoid arthritis, more than joints
are affected. Rheumatoid arthritis is a
systemic disease (it can affect body organs including the heart and lungs). As such, a person dealing with rheumatoid
arthritis should have a doctor knowledgeable about this illness and able to
direct the medical care. For more
information about rheumatoid arthritis, see information at http://www.arthritis.org/rheumatoid-arthritis.php
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