I was on 9 Methotrexate a week at one time also and it helped me too but after a while it hurt my liver numbers. So I went down to
six and doc added sulphazine. It helped but I started having stomach issues. You are smart in my opinion for passing on prednisone. I have done the same with the exception of a couple shots when I was first diagnosed to get things under control. They were months apart. I figure I have enough issues unless I am desperate I am staying away from steriods. I now use Embrel and 3 Methotrexate a week. If you feel Humera is not working for you as my doc told me their are many biologics to try everyone is different and what works for one may not work for you. I wish you luck and pain free days :)

Absolutely, don't kid yourself. It is not just because you started the methotrexate that things are working. It is a cocktail of the three medications together and once everything settles for a while they can start to first look at bringing down your prednisone because that is the one drug they should always be trying to get you off of. The side effects especially long term aren't so nice trust me. What ever you do don't go off the cocktail until talking to your specialist. because the side effects of that is going to be a very sore and unhappy you while you try to get that cocktail up and running again. Hope your having a great day.

I have had two injections of Humira and already feel much better. I don't know if I will get another flare only time will tell. My worst joint was my elbow. Swollen and deformed and the pain was so bad I wanted to cut it off, but so far the swelling is way down and the pain is tolerable most of the time, but I still have to be very careful with it.

Oh yes the Embrel has been great, I still have occasional pain & stiffness but at a very tolerable level

Laurie, prednisone is a steroid and its purpose is to reduce inflammation. I was on 20mg per day for 3 months at which time I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. It took me 9 months to wean off the drug and by that time it had leached minerals from my bones and I now have osteoporosis.
Humira is a biologic drug that stops or slows down the disease's progression by suppressing one's immune system. It sounds scary when you learn about the side effects, but after being on three different biologic drugs, I have had very few side-effects, the scariest part for me is when they stop working because when the disease is active it causes pain, but even more importantly it can cause damage to internal organs including ones heart.