Rheumatologist Dr. Jeffrey Curtis shares how the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) integrative treatment guideline for rheumatoid arthritis may prompt lifestyle changes for some patients.
Here’s a look at how the IRA impacts health care costs, which is particularly important for people living with chronic illness.
By CreakyStaff
Here’s what our patient community shared about how insurance-related challenges affect well-being, how to navigate hurdles like prior authorization, and ways to discuss insurance with your health care providers.
Patient advocate Ashley Krivohlavek, a quarter Cherokee, reflects on the health care challenges her grandparents faced on a reservation and contrasts it with her own experiences.
Discover how wearable sensors detecting C-reactive protein (CRP) levels in sweat are transforming inflammation monitoring for people with inflammatory conditions.
By CreakyStaff
Understand how state laws prohibit accumulators and maximizers, protecting patient programs without raising insurance costs. Learn terms like deductibles and co-pays to better navigate your health insurance benefits.
By Kelsey Kloss
Here we look at several of the challenges faced by the LGBTQIA+ community — and how you can take steps to advocate for yourself or a loved one in the doctor’s office.
By CreakyStaff
With this tool, you can have a more informed conversation about treatment options, disease activity, and more. Start planning for a better quality of life today.
Discover what remission or inactive disease means to patients and how doctors discuss and define remission.
Agency announces plans to create new regulatory pathway to vet growing number of CBD products.
Recent studies suggest RSV vaccines from Pfizer and GSK may protect older adults. Learn about these promising developments.
Canadian researchers develop clinical practice guidelines for cannabis use in managing chronic pain, offering valuable insight to patients and doctors.
By Kelsey Kloss
With these expert tips, you can help incision marks fade more quickly.
It depends on the kind of pain as well as the type of antidepressant, suggests new study.
By Kelsey Kloss
These programs often aren’t straightforward but can multiply the cost of your drugs — particularly for patients with autoimmune diseases.
New research suggests up to one in 10 people with inflammatory bowel disease also have rheumatic disease, including ankylosing spondylitis.
A new report examines market trends and explains why most patients won't reap the financial benefits of biosimilars in the near future.
This steroid alternative may be a useful treatment for some patients with gout, rheumatoid arthritis, and other autoimmune disorders.
New study finds that patients can likely switch between biosimilars of the same original biologic without any adverse effects or changes in how well their treatment works.
New research makes a case for expanding the authority of pharmacists to administer all available FDA-approved or CDC-recommended vaccines to improve access in low-income communities.
By Kelsey Kloss
A new review from CreakyJoints provides recommendations for how providers can guide patients who are interested in cannabis for pain treatment.
New study finds drug formularies often have exclusions that could harm your health or cost you more money.
New study finds that people who use NSAIDs to treat an episode of low back pain are more likely to end up with chronic pain.
From prior authorizations to refills, find out the many ways a specialty pharmacist can help in your psoriasis treatment journey.
By Diana Whelan
All isn’t lost when you have to say goodbye to your rheumatologist. Take these steps to find the next partner in your care.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a new drug, upadacitinib (Rinvoq), for people with ankylosing spondylitis (AS), making it the second JAK inhibitor approved for AS.
This mint-based natural remedy isn’t a substitute for other arthritis treatments, but menthol may help with temporary pain relief for some people.
The approval makes Xeljanz the first JAK inhibitor approved to treat ankylosing spondylitis and Rinvoq the second approved for psoriatic arthritis.
New boxed warnings caution about cardiovascular and cancer risks and recommend that people take a TNF inhibitor biologic before trying a JAK. Here’s what this news means for you.
Rheumatologists and CreakyJoints community members offer top tips for getting through a flare — and preventing flares in the first place.
Though arthritis and sciatica can both cause pain in the lower back, the two conditions have distinct symptoms, treatments, and outcomes.
Telemedicine visits are a vital part of rheumatology patient care, but that doesn’t stop with rheumatologist visits. Here’s what to know about telehealth for occupational therapy and how to make your sessions as successful and helpful as possible.
The European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology (EULAR) task force recently developed recommendations to help improve self-management strategies of patients with inflammatory arthritis. The recommendations involve taking an active role in learning about your condition and engaging in shared decision-making.
According to a new study, cannabis use among people with rheumatic disease has tripled from 6 percent in 2014 to 18 percent in 2019.
A new study found that white patients are more likely to be prescribed stronger doses of opioids than Black patients within the same health care system, which suggests race plays a role in how doctors manage patients’ pain relief.
Arthritis and bursitis both cause painful inflammation, but the two conditions affect different parts of the body. Learn the difference between arthritis, which involves joint inflammation, and bursitis, which involves bursa inflammation.
Whether an occupational therapist has been part of your health care team for years or you’re thinking of seeing one for the first time, here’s some things to know about these specialists.
Arthritis and tendonitis can both cause intense pain, but they are two different conditions. Learn the differences between arthritis, which involves joint inflammation, and tendonitis, which involves tendon inflammation.
Icing or heating joints can provide pain relief and reduce swelling. But knowing whether to go cold or hot — and knowing how to use each form of ‘thermal therapy’ — can be tricky.
By CreakyStaff
Learn the research updates and medical news for rheumatic diseases from the European Congress of Rheumatology 2021.
Most people haven’t heard of ICD-10 codes, but they impact all aspects of your health care, from the bills you pay to the science that seeks to understand your condition.
By CreakyStaff
Sulfasalazine (Azulfidine), which is used to treat rheumatoid and other inflammatory arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, and other conditions, may be in short supply. Here’s what to know about the issue and what to do if you can’t get your sulfasalazine prescription.
Although telehealth rheumatology has improved appointment attendance rates among patients with inflammatory arthritis (IA) during the pandemic, researchers found that virtual care may lead to delayed diagnoses and treatment.
A new study suggests that NSAIDs, a common osteoarthritis pain treatment, could be making symptoms worse. But more research is needed.
The medication, used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, and ulcerative colitis, already had a boxed warning for blood clots, infection, and certain cancers. Now more research is needed to understand potential additional risks.
The medication helped improve kidney function in people with lupus nephritis significantly compared with those taking a placebo.
Significantly more men than women saw an improvement in their disease activity a year after starting a biologic, but more research is needed to understand why.
A head-to-head study looked at how RA patients who didn’t do well on their first biologic fared when they switched to either upadacitinib (Rinvoq) or abatacept (Orencia).
By Kelsey Kloss
New research sheds more light on the racial health disparities that exist in arthritis treatments.
By Kelsey Kloss
The medication romosozumab may be more effective at boosting hip and spine bone density when it’s given before other kinds of drugs called antiresorptive medications.
By Kelsey Kloss
Researchers say patients should be reassured that these common injections do not appear to cause progression of osteoarthritis.
Rheumatoid arthritis patient Eileen Davidson has had her share of doctor visits virtually and in person. Here’s her take on the good and bad of telehealth — and why it’s transformed her care.
Rheumatoid arthritis is known to increase the risk of heart disease, but taking biologic medications that help lower inflammation and disease activity can help you stay healthy.
By Susan Jara
Communication is the key to getting your RA pain under good control. Here’s what you need to discuss with your doctor if you’re experiencing an increase in RA pain.
By Susan Jara
Pain isn’t as easy to manage when providers can’t see and touch your joints in person, but you can effectively discuss and treat RA pain during virtual visits. Here’s how.
By Susan Jara
Medication changes are par for the course when managing a chronic condition like rheumatoid arthritis. Here’s what to expect if you’re thinking about a change in your RA treatment plan.
By Kelsey Kloss
More research is needed, but this form of traditional Chinese medicine could provide a convenient treatment option for your pain and fatigue.
Although steroids are known to have serious side effects when used for an extended period, limited attention has been paid to the risks of using these medications for only a few days or weeks.
Cosentyx is the second interleukin-17 drug approved for non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis, which is adding to treatment options for patients with this type of inflammatory arthritis.
Formerly prescription-only, the NSAID Voltaren gel will now be sold over the counter. Here’s what it means if you have arthritis and use this cream for pain relief.
A small animal study published earlier this year suggests that timing of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medication can affect their effectiveness.
A new study found that many patients who tapered their meds wound up flaring.
Taltz, approved last year for ankylosing spondylitis, inhibits an immune system protein called IL-17 that can lead to inflammation.
Having more rheumatology patients see nurse practitioners as part of their medical team could help increase access to care and decrease wait times.
For many patients, side effects worsened right after the MTX dose.
Some studies have suggested that more patients would benefit from starting with a combination of methotrexate and a TNF inhibitor from the time of an RA diagnosis, but new research is casting doubt on that idea.
Initially used to treat seizures, anticonvulsant medications have become more widely used to treat certain types of chronic pain, such as fibromyalgia.
The disease-modifying drug could help improve the effectiveness of biologic medications in axSpA.
According to a study of insurance claims data, about 20 percent of anti-TNF drug prescriptions filled were for brand-name infliximab (Remicade) while less than 1 percent were for an infliximab biosimilar.
RA patients were apt to receive a biologic drug sooner if they lived in an urban area closer to a prescriber.
Younger people are more likely than older adults to lack a primary care provider.
By CreakyStaff
Only about one-third of RA patients in high disease activity were offered a treatment change at their rheumatologist visit, according to a recent study in the ArthritisPower research registry.
By Tina Donvito
Find out if you should give a TENS device a try to relieve your pain.
Learn more about patients, including black and Hispanics, older adults, and men, who are not adequately represented in rheumatoid arthritis clinical trials.
In looking specifically at cancer survivors with an autoimmune condition, those on anti-TNF drugs were not more likely to experience a cancer recurrence or develop a new type of cancer.
Until 2019, the U.S. Virgin Islands had no full-time rheumatologist.
‘Even my regular doctors don’t remember my history off the top of their heads. It’s up to me to be constantly vigilant.’
Almost half of doctors surveyed said that patient-reported symptoms were crucial in guiding treatment decisions.
Learn what to expect and how to prepare from the doctors who perform this operation every day and the patients who have been through knee surgery successfully.
Feeling queasy is a common side effect of many different arthritis drugs. Here’s how to handle this medication side effect.
These findings confirm that the usual treatment strategy in RA — early treatment, tight control, and treat to target — should be applied similarly to both seropositive and seronegative diseases.
There was an increased risk of many different kinds of side effects, but most were mild.
"Giant cell arteritis requires ongoing management, but it does not necessarily require continuous treatment.”
Vagus nerve stimulation and splenic nerve stimulation are being studied for their potential to help RA patients who don't respond to medication such as biologics. Here’s what you need to know.
By Susan Ince
Screening is important because silent hepatitis B and C infections can spring to life when you start biologics or new synthetic DMARDs.
By Susan Ince
New data compares what happens when the dosage of DMARDs such as methotrexate is tapered or kept steady.
By CreakyStaff
But the majority of MTX users felt that the medication protects them from getting worse, according to a new study.
‘We now have a good treatment option and there are more to come. The future of nr-axSpA treatment looks bright.’
These are questions every RA patient has considered at some point. Here are the answers you need to make better treatment decisions.
Make sure to go through these questions with your rheumatologist or other health care provider any time you start a new medication for rheumatoid arthritis.
By Tina Donvito
Here’s what to expect at each point in the disease, and how to keep gout from getting worse in the first place.
In our ‘Ask a Pharmacist’ column in collaboration with Walgreens and AllianceRx Walgreens Prime, we get the facts about how to know the best time to take your medication. The short answer: It depends.
Taking medication that directly targets the underlying inflammation seems to combat any increased risk for Alzheimer’s.
Brain fog, fatigue, and chronic pain are a perfect storm for not remembering to take all your doses on time.
By Susan Ince
Why you need to be monitored while you take MTX, what your doctor is looking for, and how you can help avoid medication-induced toxicity.
A study found that RA patients would fare equally well in terms of infection risk with either drug regimen.
The new JAK inhibitor is approved for adults with moderate to severe RA who can't tolerate methotrexate or don't respond sufficiently to it.
By Susan Ince
If you have arthritis, you’ve probably used or contemplated using corticosteroids. Which means you’ve likely also heard some of these common misconceptions.
Medication changes are common when you’re managing a chronic disease like arthritis. Here’s how to navigate them like a pro.
A certain subset of people was more likely to achieve and stay in remission after starting the anti TNF biologic adalimumab.
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