Rheumatic Arthritis?

Question

My mom has been suffering from R. arthritis since the past 18 years. In the earlier years the pain and symptoms were not very grave. she was taking medicines like Voveron sr, Shellcal, Methotrexate,etc. Her disease has become active since the past 6-7 yrs, so much so that even doing the most basic daily chores have become very painful. Her doctor prescibed Arava(20 mg)(Cleft) but her liver seems to be rejecting the drug. the improvement in the pain and inflammation was magical with this drug but after 1- 1&1/2 months of its usage, her SGPT/SGOT shooted upto 120/130. So she had to stop its intake and consequently her state is back to worse. Now the doctor has advised that there is no way other than taking the drug(although he has prescribed 10mg daily instead of 20mg) and monitor the liver counts every 10 days and then vary its dosage accordingly.Her ESR is 99 presently.
I want to know whether this is the only way out for her and whether the doctor's assessment is correct.Thankyou!

Answer 1

I have RA and find a low fat diet with Omega 3 oils, or fish oils helps. Likewise they have me on Valium 2mgs at night to relax my muscles and Lyrica for the neuropathy pain. Obviously your Mom might need to loose weight and get some exercise, water exercise. Yes many of the new drugs can and do knock the flare into remission, but if your Mom contracts a infection, it will trigger the Arthritis again. Even on these new drugs she should also be taking a anti-inflammatory drug.

Answer 2

I am not familiar with some of those names -- Indian brands? Her doctor surely knows more about her than any of us here, so it is hard to say if his plan is the right one, but maybe learning more about all the options would help you assess what he is saying. You might want to take a look at the source below, which lists all different kinds of medications, and maybe you could ask the doctor if any of those are an option for her. I hope all goes well with her.

Answer 3

Rheumatoid arthritis can be controlled by prescription pain medication. But these medications have severe side effects. The other option is to choose natural alternatives to handle the pain that you encounter while doing your daily tasks.
http://www.arthritisinfo4u.com/category/5-Ways-to-Deal-With-Rheumatoid-Arthritis.html

Answer 4

I don't know how much it will help or if it is available where you reside but try to get some cetyl myristoleate - sometimes goes by the name olea oil (or something) - it is an alternative medicine;

you may also try searching for alternatives in the web site: http://newstarget.com;