When to see a pain doctor

I've failed Enbrel, Remicade, and Xeljanz. Now I'm awaiting approval for Orencia. I'm hurting a lot. My right hip has hurt for 8 months and many of my larger joints hurt a lot. I'm supposed to take prednisone, which works, of course, but I cannot sleep on it and I hate the weight gain... Duh. Narcotics make me sick, so I don't want them, but I wonder if I should see a pain doctor. In a weird way, I feel like im betraying my rheumatologist if I do, though. Thoughts? Experiences? When is… read more

Are you using any sort of stimulant?

I can say that I finally am at a content place regarding my daily pain levels (without the use of any pain meds might I add). At this point I believe it is safe to say that Remicade is doing it's job.

However, my quality of life is still piss poor. Fatigue has always been a chief complaint and at this point I don't know what to do. I don't have the stamina to do much of anything and I require more than frequent breaks and cannot make it without multiple naps to get me through… read more

Switching from Remicade to Orencia

I have found out the hard way that Remicade no longer works as well for me. I have been on it since 2008.
I will be changing to Orencia. What should I expect and what should I watch out for?
Thanks.

Remicade

is there a needle form of remicade

How soon after Remicade infusion did you experience stomach issues?

Hello -

For those of you that have knowledge regarding Remicade and side effects, I had my second infusion on Wednesday and was doing well until Thursday afternoon when I started feeling extremely nauseous. I called in sick to work this morning and am starting to experience some other GI issues (feeling like I may have diarrhea).

I know this can be a side effect of the medication but there is a stomach virus going around at work. I also… read more