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.
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.
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.
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 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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
If you have trigger finger from Dupuytren’s, here’s what you should know about your treatment options to feel better and improve your quality of life.
By Susan Ince
If you have inflammatory arthritis, you’ve probably heard of methotrexate. Which means you’ve likely also heard some of these common misconceptions.
The drug, approved for rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, and ulcerative colitis, has been linked to a higher risk of pulmonary embolism.
Here’s what could change next time you go to fill your prescription.
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs can have serious side effects. This new tool can help patients and doctors better assess risk.
A new study suggests that these drugs might raise the risk of some of the same conditions that they're designed to treat.
This research could be used to help predict which patients will do well on methotrexate and which may not respond as well.
On the other hand, RA patients are less likely than those with osteoarthritis to develop a dangerous blood clot.
Learn what to expect and how best to prepare from the doctors who perform this operation every day, and the patients who have been through hip surgery successfully.
This painful eye inflammation can cause serious problems, such as vision loss. Here’s what to know about treating it.
By Tina Donvito
When you begin an arthritis treatment, you may be concerned about hair loss as a side effect. Here’s how to handle it.
There’s no need to live with pain, fatigue, or other arthritis symptoms. These are clues it might be time to change your arthritis medication plan.
Many patients hope to be able to stop medication once they enter remission. Ongoing research can provide some clues as to who can do so successfully.
By Dibs Baer
No more infusion confusion.
By Susan Ince
From tests to detect silent hepatitis to checking cholesterol and blood sugar, these are critical to make sure you stay healthy while using biologic drugs.
It can be a big adjustment to give yourself injections. These tips can make the process less scary.
By CreakyStaff
For patients, remission often means more function and less pain. Here’s what else you need to know.
Learn more about Evenity, a new medication that may help prevent fractures in high-risk patients.
A new study found that chronic opioid use among people with RA doubled between 2002 and 2015.
Almost half of patients had major improvements in their disease activity compared to only 7 percent of those given a placebo.
Learn more about the role of COX-2 inhibitors in heart valve calcification — and what it could mean for you.
The FDA is expected to rule on upadacitinib by the end of this summer.
By Tina Donvito
When other treatments aren’t working, see if these shots to relieve the painful symptoms of knee osteoarthritis may be right for you.
By Susan Ince
This supplement can help minimize many bothersome side effects from MTX.
If you stop too soon you could end up having a flare. If you stop too close to surgery, you might be leaving yourself extra vulnerable to developing a surgical-related infection.
The gout drug is now approved for use only in patients who try allopurinol first.
A new study found little overall difference in infection rates, but here’s one thing to ask your doctor about.
Keeping track of antibody levels like rheumatoid factor and anti-CCP may not be that important, research shows.
“I asked my husband to take me to the emergency room because the pain was so bad that I felt like I was being stabbed.”
Some are available over the counter; some by prescription only. Here’s how your doctor thinks through which NSAID is best for your health needs.
Just because some kinds of NSAIDs are available over the counter doesn’t mean they don’t have important side effects to be aware of.
Rates of prescription opioid use among chronic pain patients use should be similar across the country. But it’s not, according to a recent study.
By Tina Donvito
For some patients, this procedure has vastly improved their chronic pain.
You can treat your arthritis pain topically, but follow these steps to use the right product for you.
The benefit was especially strong for people who started antidepressants after they were diagnosed with IBD.
Many people, including those with rheumatologic conditions like rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, take corticosteroid medications such as prednisone. Some use these drugs for a short time during a flare, but in certain cases the drugs are needed for an extended...
Don’t be surprised if your doctor looks to test you for a penicillin allergy before they recommend a different class of antibiotics.
This news about biosimilar switching safety could alleviate patient concerns.
If you get frequent gout attacks or have evidence that the disease has caused a visible buildup of uric acid crystals (tophi), then your doctor has likely recommended taking a preventive gout medication to protect your joints. Two options —...
Corticosteroid injections can help relieve both inflammatory arthritis and osteoarthritis. Find out more if they’re a good pain relief option for you.
A new study compared infection risks among different biologics for RA — and Orencia came out ahead.
This is important news for doctors and patients to know about.
Reports of pain were similar between the drug and a placebo after four months.
New research sheds light on more ways to manage the opioid epidemic.
This newer biologic may be safer and more effective than older and more commonly prescribed drugs.
If you only pay attention to current symptoms and disease activity, you might not be getting enough treatment that’s aggressive enough to protect your health in the future.
First: They’re not generic drugs. Well, not really.
By CreakyStaff
There’s no burn with this version, patients report.
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