Has Anyone Stopped Biologic Treatment Due to Kidney or Liver Injury?
I was diagnosed with RA in 2018 after 7 years of dealing with significant pain and fatigue. My body just fell apart when I turned 40! Prior to that, I had had little pain, but fatigue has always been an issue (never a high energy person). My family MD treated me for fibromyalgia before my RA diagnosis with Cymbalta, cyclobenzaprine, and lots of NSAIDS. Then she sent me to a rheumatologist for evaluation. I was diagnosed and put on prednisone and hydroxychloroquine (tried other DMARDS like methotrexate, but had side effects) by my rheumatologist. For one glorious year, I had no pain again. Then the dosage of prednisone I was at stopped working, and going higher was not an option. So we started biologics. So far, I've tried Humira, Stelara, Rinvoq (which kind of worked), Taltz, and now I'm getting ready to start Skyrizi. My problem is that during the past four years or so that I've been on biologics, my blood work has become increasingly bad. My cholesterol, which was normal prior to biologics, has increased significantly, and recently, I had very concerning kidney results. I'm worried that the cure is worse than the disease, that these medicines are causing damage and not giving me any real relief. Has anyone else stopped biologic treatment due to worrying side effects/blood work markers indicating possible kidney or liver damage? Even on biologics, I continue to have pain and fatigue and take NSAIDS (1600mg/day on average) and Tramadol in addition to the biologic medicine.
Over the last thirty years or so living with rheumatoid arthritis I can’t even count the number of times I had to stop or change medicines due to extenuating circumstances. It stinks, for sure. I remember when I got cancer and went on chemo they wanted me to stop taking my RA shot. It was awful and eventually I had to give in and take it anyway. They made me sign a waiver and said, “this is uncharted waters.” If I had a nickel for every time I heard that…. Let us know how it goes and remember, you are not alone! Keep on keepin’ on, DPM
I love the uncharted waters story. I have been told to take them, not take maybe just take half. I have reached the point that I just take them. If I don't my pain is so strong that I have seizures. Hummmm what to do what to do.Yeah, I think we all finally reach that point when we realize that we know best, even better than the doctors many times. Doctors are fragile, though, and you have to treat them with kid gloves. Ha ha. If you want to get them to do what you need you have to “massage” the situation. It’s an art not a science! 😀 Keep on keepin’ on, DPM
Hi
. Has your doctor had any thoughts on the kidney numbers? I found this research article which concluded "Our findings indicate that biologic treatments have a good renal safety profile – even with pre-existing CKD. RA patients most at risk of developing CKD whilst on biologics are likely to have other risk factors such as diabetes or hypertension:" https://ard.bmj.com/content/80/Suppl_1/560.1. That said, we are not medical professionals and I would never say that your issues could not be related to the treatment. As Daniel said, we know how hard it can be to find an effective treatment (it took my wife, Kelly, many years as well). Hoping you can get some answers and a more effective treatment soon. Best, Richard (RheumatoidArthritis.net Team) I developed kidney disease from the NSADS I took for years. My numbers have improved since stopping them. I don’t take any NSADS anymore, not even topical. I’ve never heard of biologicals causing kidney damage.
Thanks for sharing. For anyone interested this article by our RA Health Leader Rick speaks to his experience with removing his kidney. It was not due to NSAIDS but the article contains some good information about the link between RA and kidney disease: https://rheumatoidarthritis.net/living/kidney-disease-surgery Warmly, - Reggie, RheumatoidArthritis.net team member My pain is so severe I can barely walk these last two weeks. It's frustrating because I would like to not take NSAIDS, but without I would be unable to work or do anything. Acetaminophen hurt my liver and I can only take so much Tramadol. I know NSAIDS are hurting my kidneys, but the biologics are definitely causing my cholesterol to go sky high. I've tried 4 biologics so far with little improvement. I'm pretty sure my recent increase in pain is due to the Taltz trial. I'm just so tired of dealing with it all, the side effects, the disappointment every time a new biologic doesn't work, and don't even get me started on the insurance headaches...
no easy solutions. You might try plant-based nutrition. Have had some improvement in symptoms and numbers.
