Starying rheumatoid arthritis treatment and a new job
Hi everyone,
I have recently been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis or psoriatic arthritis after suffering a swollen knee for 12 months. Over the last few weeks I have increased symptoms so am seeing my rheumatologist next week to discuss treatments.
In two weeks I also start a new job at my local hospital as a graduate nurse 4 days a week. I have a lot of anxiety about starting treatment and the side effects it may come with and am unsure if it will affect my ability to work - especially seeing as this is a year in my career that will be quite stressful learning the ropes. I might add that at the moment the symptoms I am experiencing day-to-day won’t affect me working at the moment - it’s the side effects I am worried about.
My rheumatologist has talked about possibly starting me on sulfasolazine or hydroxychloroquine.
Does anyone have any advice for me?
Hi,
I was diagnosed about 11 months ago, and have been taking Sulfasalazine ever since. I did not experience any notable side effects, but I also didn't get complete relief. In November, my Rheumatologist added Leflunomide. It took a while to get going, but that combination is working pretty well now. Not 100%, but definitely better.
The main thing I was told about Sulfasalazine was it could cause stomach upset (I did not experience that at all). You need to drink a lot of water, take it after a meal, and he had me do liver tests every 4 weeks (now every 8 weeks as my tests have been good). Also, you have to stay out of direct sunlight for long periods of time.
Ultimately, I really think med responses are highly individualized, and you just have to go through the process until you find what works for you. That's the frustrating part. Luckily I have a good Rheumatologist who is easily contacted and works with me well (I had a couple of flare ups early on, and he gave me tapering doses of Medrol which helped a lot). I hope you have a good Rheumatologist too.
Best of luck.
Hi
. Your stress is certainly understandable. First, let me say that I hope you get a diagnosis soon. Sulfasalazine and hydroxychloroquine are used to treat both rheumatoid and psoriatic arthritis, but many of the treatments do not cross over to treat both. We have a sister-site for psoriatic arthritis at https://psoriatic-arthritis.com/ in case it turns out to be the diagnosis. This article from our editorial team gives an overview of RA treatments: https://rheumatoidarthritis.net/treatment.
Our patient leaders have written a number of articles for the newly diagnosed, such as this two part piece from Kat: https://rheumatoidarthritis.net/living/support-new-diagnosis and https://rheumatoidarthritis.net/living/care-management. Hope this information proves helpful and informs future discussions with your doctors. Please feel free to keep us posted on how you are doing and to ask additional questions - this community is here for you. Best, Richard (Team Member)
