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Medical Forum / Diseases and Disorders / Arthritis / May 2008Switching from Remicade to Orencia
My Mom has been on Remicade for her RA for years, and it has been getting progressively less effective. Her RD is now talking to her about the possibility of trying Orencia. Apparently, you can't take both at the same time as it increases risks of infections. Just wondering if anyone has thoughts/experiences on such a switch????  SignaturedeT notsuH bass-ackwards ude.hcimu@pcird Doctors don't really prolong your life, but when you're stuck in the waiting room, it seems that way. Hi,,, Welcome to ASA. Every now and then someone will mention that they are making the same choices your mother is and not just with Remicade but several medicines. It seems that our body will adjust to the medicine we are taking and we start to have the same old aches and pain with swelling that we had before we started the medicine we were on. IMO,,, the doctor is making the right move and if that does not work well,,,, maybe they will try another one to get control of our immune system. I know that is what I would want to do. I have RA and have taken 4/5 different medicines to control it. We are very lucky that we have choices today. When I started to try to control my RA with a Rheumatologist, we only had a couple of choices. I started out with gold shots and a strong steroid. That was over 25 years ago and choices are a good thing. Harv > My Mom has been on Remicade for her RA for years, and it has been > getting progressively less effective. Her RD is now talking to her > about the possibility of trying Orencia. Apparently, you can't > take both at the same time as it increases risks of infections. > Just wondering if anyone has thoughts/experiences on such a switch???? I agree Harv. In fact, I was the one pushing my Mom to ask about the new drugs to try. Now if my Mom can just beat this bronchitis infection she has had for a month or so, she can switch to the Orencia for a try. My fingers are crossed that she will get some relief. > Hi,,, Welcome to ASA. Every now and then someone will mention that they > are making the same choices your mother is and not just with Remicade but [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] >>take both at the same time as it increases risks of infections. >>Just wondering if anyone has thoughts/experiences on such a switch???? SignaturedeT notsuH bass-ackwards ude.hcimu@pcird Doctors don't really prolong your life, but when you're stuck in the waiting room, it seems that way. Ted, hope the bronchitis disappears quite soon so your mom can try Orencia. What works for one may not work for another, so all you can do is try to find the best one that works for her. Gwen I agree Harv. In fact, I was the one pushing my Mom to ask about the new drugs to try. Now if my Mom can just beat this bronchitis infection she has had for a month or so, she can switch to the Orencia for a try. My fingers are crossed that she will get some relief. Harvey R. Stone wrote: > Hi,,, Welcome to ASA. Every now and then someone will mention that they > are making the same choices your mother is and not just with Remicade but [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] >>take both at the same time as it increases risks of infections. >>Just wondering if anyone has thoughts/experiences on such a switch???? SignaturedeT notsuH bass-ackwards ude.hcimu@pcird Doctors don't really prolong your life, but when you're stuck in the waiting room, it seems that way. Ted, You may want to have your mom also check with her doctor about rituxan instead of orencia. With the rituxan, you go in for 2 IV infusions two weeks apart, and then you don't have to get another set of infusions for any where from 6 months to a year. Rituxan also seems to have less side effects of infections than does the orencia. Good luck in what ever you all decide and hope your mom can find something that will get her back to having better control of the arthritis and feeling better! . . . . Donna . . . . 1.) ANGELS EXIST, but some times, since they don't all have wings, we call them FRIENDS...... 2.) J.K.M.A. I had wondered about Rituxan, too. I had mentioned it to my Mom in the past. Her RD seems to be steering her to Orencia, and that is fine since she likes the guy and trusts him. It could be that he is thinking that Rituxan is used with MTX (or Arava?), at least for RA, and that my Mom has had problems with her liver on MTX. I don't know. He's in a far better position to know. Thanks for the reminder and I'll see if I can find out more of the backstory here. So difficult doing all this from so far away. > Ted, > [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > something that will get her back to having better control of the > arthritis and feeling better! -- deT notsuH bass-ackwards ude.hcimu@pcird Doctors don't really prolong your life, but when you're stuck in the waiting room, it seems that way. Many doctor's prefer to try Orencia first - probably because there is not as long a life as rituxan in case of serious side effects. It is used with mtx but it doesn't have to be (I am no longer on mtx.) A couple people here are on Orencia (it didn't work for me for the inflammation and I had horrible headaches on it so was taken off) and the infusions are shorter in a day which is a consideration for a senior. Glad she has a rd she trusts. She will have to watch for infections and stay clear of people who have colds etc. Make sure she is up to date in all flu shots each each and has had her pneumoniavax. The infusion itself was a breeze. Good luck. Kelly >I had wondered about Rituxan, too. I had mentioned it to my Mom in the > past. Her RD seems to be steering her to Orencia, and that is fine since [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > Doctors don't really prolong your life, but when you're stuck > in the waiting room, it seems that way. |
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