Stelara round two

[jiml]

It's not doing much for my PsA Fred (see got it right this time) though apart for my ears it seems to be still working OK. I have an appointment in April so I will have to have a word with the consultant but I don't want to take anything else if I can avoid it though the Tramadol I am taking I don't think is a good alterative.

No Tramadol is only easing the pain, not helping the problem.

Have you tried the other Bio's?

Or as you're in the UK why not ask about Fumaderm.

I don't think Fumaderm will be given for PsA it's only given for plaque psoriasis ... Although it will work on PsA. It only has approval for plaque

[D Foster]

It's not doing much for my PsA Fred (see got it right this time) though apart for my ears it seems to be still working OK. I have an appointment in April so I will have to have a word with the consultant but I don't want to take anything else if I can avoid it though the Tramadol I am taking I don't think is a good alterative.

No Tramadol is only easing the pain, not helping the problem.

Have you tried the other Bio's?

Or as you're in the UK why not ask about Fumaderm.

I don't think Fumaderm will be given for PsA it's only given for plaque psoriasis ... Although it will work on PsA. It only has approval for plaque

I am more than happy with Stelara and I know it's not cheap so I am a bit reluctant to rock the boat ,I will have a word with him but maybe when it gets a bit warmer I will be slightly better.

[Quest4Cure]

@Quest no I don't have a dog now since loosing our last one a Great Dane I just cant get over the heartbreak and I'm not ready for another one at the moment, but I do agree they are a great help.

I truly understand. I's so sorry. They become members of our families. It took me almost 4 years to adopt another Border Collie. They are great on our small farm.

Great Danes are amazing dogs. I'm sure some day u will be ready for another some day. i bet you have seen the Great Dane named George the biggest Dane ever. He's almost as big as my small Arabian. He takes up the whole sofa as he sits on a sofa like a person in the Online pics next to his owner who is 6'4".

The heart mends in it own way. It takes time. Take care.

I hope u have found relief for UR P.
I start bio meds for fingers feb 19. Expensive too. $3000 per vile with 3 injections. All but $600 covered by insurance and a coupon from the pharm Co. Will help with the rest. Must have three injections at four week intervals. I hope it opens up my fingers in my hand .

I wish u a good day! And many heeling blessings sent UR way!

[Fred]

Update time.

Just got back from appointment with dermatologist and rheumatologist, saw both together at the same meeting which was good.

The short story is that we are going to stay on 90mg for three months then have another review.

We have had a very long chat and though I thought stelara was letting me down on the psoriatic front it was actually starting to work again by upping thoe dose from 45mg every 8 weeks to 90mg every three months, we have all agreed Never to consider trying methotrexate again after going through my report back to them.

Basically my dermatologist was right to bring in the rheumatologist as she thought the Stelara was failing on the psoriatic arthritis the same as me, but the rheumatologist said it had decreased it's efficacy do to going onto 45mg every 8 weeks. That was fine for the psoriasis, but not good enough for the psoriatic arthritis and she said by the last increase to 90mg it was now kicking back in and was starting to help with the psoriatic arthritis.

So although I have got down to 89kg, they think it's best to keep going on 90mg and see how it goes. So I'm a very happy bunny as it means I can stay on Stelara for another three months and get on with life.

The rheumatologist also said as soon as I stripped off and she saw my knee that it was fluid on the knee and not psoriatic arthritis that was causing my biggest problem, when I asked if it was possible that the fluid could make the psoriatic arthritis feel worse in my shoulder, arm, hand, etc, she said "it's not impossible"

So I have had a needle shoved in my knee and a load of fluid drained out, she feels that draining it and going for another 90mg will do the trick.

So it's a good result and seeing the two together was great, and getting them to both agree Stelara can still do the job without methotrexate was a bonus.  

 

[Caroline]

Sounds all quite good Fred.
Do you of the derm have an idea why the fluid is in your knee?

Seems to me that you have enough exercise during the day. You have regular walks and so, so there should not be fluid in.

[jiml]

Good news Fred I'm glad the stelara is not failing you
A positive afternoon out ......long may you continue to improve

[Fred]

@Caroline They are sending the fluid off for examination, but they don't know what caused it and neither do I. They got a lot out and put some Cortisone back in.

@Jim Thank you, yes I hadn't thought that the 90mg could be kicking in after this amount of time but my psoriatic arthritis score has been coming down so looks like she could be right.

[Quest4Cure]

Update time.

Just got back from appointment with dermatologist and rheumatologist, saw both together at the same meeting which was good.

The short story is that we are going to stay on 90mg for three months then have another review.

We have had a very long chat and though I thought stelara was letting me down on the psoriatic front it was actually starting to work again by upping thoe dose from 45mg every 8 weeks to 90mg every three months, we have all agreed Never to consider trying methotrexate again after going through my report back to them.

Basically my dermatologist was right to bring in the rheumatologist as she thought the Stelara was failing on the psoriatic arthritis the same as me, but the rheumatologist said it had decreased it's efficacy do to going onto 45mg every 8 weeks. That was fine for the psoriasis, but not good enough for the psoriatic arthritis and she said by the last increase to 90mg it was now kicking back in and was starting to help with the psoriatic arthritis.

So although I have got down to 89kg, they think it's best to keep going on 90mg and see how it goes. So I'm a very happy bunny as it means I can stay on Stelara for another three months and get on with life.

The rheumatologist also said as soon as I stripped off and she saw my knee that it was fluid on the knee and not psoriatic arthritis that was causing my biggest problem, when I asked if it was possible that the fluid could make the psoriatic arthritis feel worse in my shoulder, arm, hand, etc, she said "it's not impossible"

So I have had a needle shoved in my knee and a load of fluid drained out, she feels that draining it and going for another 90mg will do the trick.

So it's a good result and seeing the two together was great, and getting them to both agree Stelara can still do the job without methotrexate was a bonus.  

 

Glad to hear Stelera is working for you. Any side effects? Most people seem to tolerate it well. But it does not help PsA. I have PsA and Dupuytrens and it is to risky to try another treatment. Going in for RT soon.

I also had my knee drained of fluid. It had nothing to do woth PsA. Once the fluid was removed my knee felt so much better. I fell and tore the miniscus and fluid on the knee was from the fall.

A knee wrap helps and PSIO therapy. Hope UR better soon.

[Bill]

Good to hear that you are on the improve, Fred.

Cheers,

Bill

[Fred]

@Quest Thank you, no I've not had any side effects apart from when I started it 5 years ago but they were mild headaches tiredness and flu like feeling but they didn't last long.

As for Psoriatic Arthritis you are wrong as I'm living proof it does work, unfortunately it may not help everyone but I have been saying for years it helped psoriatic arthritis. I have been completely locked up but it's got me moving again, yes I've had the odd blip but that looks like a dosing problem. You need to play around with the dose to make it work better for psoriatic arthritis, and today it is approved in all counties for it's treatment.

@Bill Thank you Bill, yes I'm out of the woods now and life is good again.