Tremfya for psoriatic arthritis Fred's journey

[Kat]

September is still months away so I hope you notice some improvement before then. I know you're too stubborn to go sooner unless it gets really bad!

When is your next injection due? Hopefully it will kick in a bit then and ease things for you. Probably not as it seems once they stop working they don't pick back up but keeping my fingers crossed for you.

[Fred]

September is still months away so I hope you notice some improvement before then.  I know you're too stubborn to go sooner unless it gets really bad!

When is your next injection due?  Hopefully it will kick in a bit then and ease things for you.  Probably not as it seems once they stop working they don't pick back up but keeping my fingers crossed for you.

Yes Kat you know me too well 

Just checked and tomorrow will be 4th week so still 4 more to go before the next shot, so it should be doing it's stuff now. So far I'm coping with it and the weather is damp, so hopefully if the weather gets better so will the psoriatic arthritis. 

But you are right, if it does get really bad then I will call in but at the moment I'm coping with it. 

[Bill]

...........and I thought I was stubborn. Like everyone else here Fred I don't like seeing you suffer. Waiting between treatments and "suck it and see" are inevitable features of psa, but I don't see much sense in waiting a further four months if you are already in pain and could be seen sooner. And no, you wouldn't be offered dmf as it isn't recommended for psa, even though Jim, Caroline and myself are finding it helpful. (Unlike Caroline, I think that dmf's efficacy is related to it's effect on immune cells in the small intestine, but I guess that is off topic.) I wish you well, Fred.

[Fred]

...........and I thought I was stubborn. Like everyone else here Fred I don't like seeing you suffer. Waiting between treatments and "suck it and see" are inevitable features of psa, but I don't see much sense in waiting a further four months if you are already in pain and could be seen sooner. And no, you wouldn't be offered dmf as it isn't recommended for psa, even though Jim, Caroline and myself are finding it helpful. (Unlike Caroline, I think that dmf's efficacy is related to it's effect on immune cells in the small intestine, but I guess that is off topic.) I wish you well, Fred.

Thank you Bill, yes I know there is a huge amount of support here and I appreciate you not wanting to see me "suffer" but I'm not suffering. I can still get around and do things it's just a bit inconvenient sometimes in this damp weather, I don't need any pain killers and it's not bothering me that much.

If I get to the stage of not being able to move or lift my bucket of merlot each evening, then I will give it more thought.

Oh and I wouldn't be offered DMF anyway Bill as it's not prescribed here.

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Note for reference: Four weeks since shot so half way through and today the psoriatic arthritis score is down from 12 to 8.

[Bill]

That is reassuring to hear Fred, but don't try and tough it out if it becomes a problem. The limited movement in my neck is a bloody annoyance. Very glad you can enjoy your merlot. I enjoyed a nice blood orange g&t with the rellies today.

Cheers

[Fred]

That is reassuring to hear Fred, but don't try and tough it out if it becomes a problem. The limited movement in my neck is a bloody annoyance. Very glad you can enjoy your merlot. I enjoyed a nice blood orange g&t with the rellies today.

Cheers

Most of my life has been about toughing it out Bill, though I tend to say "Winging It"

[JohnB]

Got to ask the silly question.......
Why wouldn't you consider Otezla?

[Fred]

Got to ask the silly question.......
Why wouldn't you consider Otezla?

#1 Its an oral and I hate any oral treatment, I will suffer pain rather than take a paracetamol. This is my main reason for any oral treatment I hate them and gag at the thought of taking them, I have recently completed 6 months of pills to stop cold sores, I know it works but I hate taking them. 

So it wouldn't really matter what the treatment was for I just hate taking pills, let's just say it was something I picked up from a bad experience in the 70s when I took anything going. 

#2 I don't see the point in taking two treatments, the bio's say they can do the job and at the price they charge they should. I don't pay for the treatment as the French healthcare picks up the tab, but to be honest if I had to pay ................. I wouldn't.

It's not just Otezla John, I was pushed around in the UK for many years but today thanks to my French dermatologist I have faith in the Bio's. I don't think there is any Oral that can give me my life back like the Bio's have done.

Ha we're all different, but for me it's Bio or nothing.

[Bill]

Well, I admonished someone last year who got shingles and did not seek treatment urgently. When I got shingles I thought it too much bother to get treatment urgently and decided to wait a few more days. Very bad idea! Currently injecting myself with pet vitamins every other day to keep the neuralgia at bay (aching teeth right side). Oh, and I hate taking oral medication also, but the effect it has on the pso/psa is surprisingly motivating.

Cheers

[Fred]

Well, I admonished someone last year who got shingles and did not seek treatment urgently. When I got shingles I thought it too much bother to get treatment urgently and decided to wait a few more days. Very bad idea! Currently injecting myself with pet vitamins every other day to keep the neuralgia at bay (aching teeth right side). Oh, and I hate taking oral medication also, but the effect it has on the pso/psa is surprisingly motivating.

Cheers

Oh if I felt I had something like shingles I would be straight down the doctors, I got chicken pox in my early 30s that was horrible and I did go straight to the doctors after finding it in the morning.

But this is psoriatic arthritis and I know what is going on, plus like I said it's not that bad Bill.

Watch those pet vitamins, they can make you "Barking Mad"