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.
By Susan Ince
Whether a rheumatologist has been your partner in health for years or you’re pondering seeing one for the first time, here’s some things to know about these quite special specialists.
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.
Lack of time at the doctor’s office may be a big reason for the knowledge gap.
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.
Rheumatology nurses are a wealth of information, both practical and medical. Time to take advantage of it.
The gout drug is now approved for use only in patients who try allopurinol first.
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It’s a key part of the doctor-patient relationship, but too many patients and doctors aren’t using this process regularly.
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...
By Dibs Baer
This doctor-patient relationship has a huge impact on your well-being. Make sure it’s a good one.
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.
“It’s hard to plan for my life when no one will tell me the hard truth.”
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.
Quit these habits and you’ll be a lot healthier — and happier.
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.
People who take Enbrel (etanercept) for inflammatory arthritis know that it can be incredibly expensive. But in recent years, some “biosimilar” options — which are considered comparable to the original medication yet have the potential to be far less expensive...
A new study found that methotrexate didn’t reduce the risk of heart attacks in people without arthritis.
The guidelines address tailoring recommendations for people with inflammatory arthritis and advise when to use medications beyond statins.
This newer class of medications are becoming prescribed more often.
By CreakyStaff
Are you an arthritis patient, or a person living with arthritis? A lupus patient, or a consumer of health care who has lupus? The word “patient” has taken on a negative connotation in the medical community over the past couple...
By CreakyStaff
Do you need to cut out drinking when you start MTX? Here's what the latest thinking says.
By CreakyStaff
These drugs are commonly used to treat arthritis flares, but you need to know about their side effects.
Could a lack of health insurance coverage of back pain remedies be contributing to the opioid crisis?
A new study found a possible connection between checkpoint inhibitor drugs and rheumatological conditions.
'Treat to target' means your doctor should set a specific goal for you and treat you as intensely as needed to make that goal happen.
Crowd-sourced websites may not be the most reliable sources of information about how to pick the best hospital because they leave out this key data.
Many RA patients are supposed to take methotrexate once a week but often miss a dose. A weekly reminder via text message could make all the difference.
RA studies aren't usually designed in a way that makes the results easily translatable to regular patients, according to a recent analysis of almost 100 clinical trials.
By CreakyStaff
Minimizing your symptoms with your doctor can get in the way of your care and treatment.
By CreakyStaff
Researchers found an association between obesity and less effectiveness of tumour necrosis factor inhibitors (TNFi).
By CreakyStaff
Extended study reinforces the importance of early interventions for rheumatoid arthritis.
By CreakyStaff
A nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) previously thought to carry heart attack risk is no likelier to do so than are naproxen (Aleve) and ibuprofen (Advil). That’s what a U.S. Food and Drug Administration panel said recently about celecoxib (Celebrex), coming...
By CreakyStaff
The disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug methotrexate, the first line of defense against rheumatoid arthritis symptoms, is administered as a weekly pill or a shot. Many patients find it helps keep their symptoms under control for years, but up to a quarter...
By Cheryl Crow
There is no finish line. You won’t walk out of the operating room in a moment of triumph saying, “We got it! She’s better now.”
By CreakyStaff
If your physician has hugged you, how did you feel about that, both in the moment and with the benefit of hindsight?
By CreakyStaff
Asking your doctor is among the best ways to find out about new treatments and clinical trials.
By CreakyStaff
The introduction of biologic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs are associated with a decrease in total knee replacements among RA patients.
By CreakyStaff
On its face, it seems like a pretty simple question. Can and should patients record their meetings with their physicians?
By CreakyStaff
Rheumatoid arthritis patients who take opioids or antidepressants are likelier to fracture their bones, according to research presented at the 2017 American College of Rheumatology annual meeting in San Diego.
By CreakyStaff
“The results of this preliminary study may help rheumatologists to differentiate RA patients who would successfully down-titrate biologics”
By CreakyStaff
Tips and solutions for common problems patients face with their healthcare providers.
By CreakyStaff
Treat-to-target, evidence-based guidelines recommend that rheumatoid arthritis patients be monitored regularly for disease activity.
By CreakyStaff
Patients with longstanding rheumatoid arthritis, called refractory, who had been treated with tumor necrosis factor inhibitors (TNFis), saw improvements after a year of taking rituximab (Rituxan). That’s according to an analysis from the Corrona RA registry, which was published in...
By CreakyStaff
On July 27, German pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim announced it had enrolled the first patient in a study intended to demonstrate that a biosimilar is interchangeable with Humira (adalimumab) for treating patients with moderate-to-severe chronic plaque psoriasis. Ivan Blanarik, Boehringer Ingelheim’s...
By CreakyStaff
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the drug guselkumab (tremfya) to treat moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis, announced Janssen Biotech, part of Johnson & Johnson, in a release. The drug is “the first and only approved biologic therapy that selectively blocks...
By CreakyStaff
Focused ultrasound (FUS) operates by an analogous principle to “using a magnifying glass to focus beams of sunlight on a single point to burn a hole in a leaf,” notes the Focused Ultrasound Foundation. “With focused ultrasound, an acoustic lens...
By CreakyStaff
White went into the first meeting with a “great deal of skepticism,” expecting “New Age-y” nonsense. Instead, he found practical advice, ranging from how to lift heavy objects with his legs, rather than his back, and how to process childhood traumas.
By CreakyStaff
Copayment Assistance programs, such as copay cards or “discount cards”, are offered by drug manufacturers (the companies that make your drugs) to lower the high costs charged by insurance companies for non-preferred drugs.
By CreakyStaff
Many of the patients that Michael George and his colleagues at Penn Medicine see in their Philadelphia clinic elect to get surgery at some point. Common procedures for older patients are hip and knee replacements, and those surgeries are even...
By CreakyStaff
Dr. David O’Reilly a friendly rheumatologist from the UK recently published some facts about gout. Read below to learn more. Gout is common. 2 million Americans suffer from gout. Gout is caused by uric acid. Uric acid is produced when our...
By CreakyStaff
I still remember my first visit with my rheumatologist when he told me I had psoriatic arthritis. It didn’t register. What in the world was psoriatic arthritis? I didn’t have psoriasis! As an RN I had taken care of patients...
By Neen Monty
This post is going to upset some people in the arthritis community who insist they are undergoing chemotherapy, and that’s fine. I wish I had known that methotrexate when used to treat inflammatory arthritis was NOT considered chemotherapy by doctors when I...
By CreakyStaff
We don’t talk about this stuff often. When it all goes wrong. A surgery. A procedure. A new drug. A new promise. Promise to reduce your pain, increase your quality of life. We research. We believe. We hope. We trust....
By CreakyStaff
Part 1: A background in medicine “Preserving the Finest Traditions of My Calling” ~ from the modern version of the Hippocratic Oath, ca. 1964 I have gone through a range of emotions since learning I had rheumatoid arthritis (RA), experiencing the...
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