Lisa,
If we seem "happy" with these drugs its because many of us know what life
was without them.  Yes, there can be scarey side effects but those of us who
take DMARDs have weighed the benefits of these meds verses the risks of the
meds when compared against the risks of the disease.  When you have lived
through uncontrolled RA, when you live daily with the problems and pain that
joint damage bring ,then to many of us. the meds risks are worth it.

I had some mild hair loss with Methotrexate.  It stabalized then regrew.

Karen

Side effects are rare. Remember too that a side effect profile lists
all potential side effects including syptoms that occured in the
sample population whether there was a direct cause effect relationship
established or not. Generally you know right away whether you will be
able to tolerate a drug or develop side effects, and you can stop
early in the course of treatment.

I have been on mtx for many years and have a thick head of hair. Many
people in this group that have experienced hair loss, also take grape
seed oil an OTC product (grapeseed oil) with good results.

My one "female" issue occurred when i took mtx in combination with
cytotec. Then I had prolonged menstrual bleeding, which stopped when i
stopped taking the misoprostil (cytotec).

It helps to be informed so asking questions is a good thing. The other
thing is to find out as much as you can about RA. Some of it sounds
pretty scary as well. Some of the co-morbid conditions that can arise
are not pleasant either. If the drugs can prevent these, then it is
great, in spite of the risks.
    Rose   @}>->--
    Being educated means that rather than fearing the unknown, one seeks to understand it. RB

    Please remove "Ima" to reply.

We are happy because we are delighted to have the disease alleviated.  Also,
most of us suffer few side effects and find those far more manageable than
the pain and fatigue of the disease.  

Remember that the side effects are things that MAY happen, that doesn't mean
they will.  And for 99.99% of side effects and people, the problems will go
away once the med is stopped.

When I got on both Arava and mtx, I did have some hair loss.  It wasn't a big
deal for me as I have very thick hair to begin with.  (LOL, I recently
reconnected with a gang of high school friends and they still remember my
hair!)  Eventually though, I got tired of cleaning up all the blasted hair
(LOL) and started taking grape seed extract.  That greatly slowed the hair
loss, probably down to a normal level again.  The only problem is that
between the biotin I take for my nails (also helps hair though) and the grape
seed extract, both my hair and nails are growing so darn fast these days!

I was probably on the largest doses of mtx (for RA)  of anyone in this
newsgroup, and had no hair loss.  Remember mtx is a cancer drug so
much of what you read is for doses many times greater than anything we
take.   Keep in mind that RA is very serious disease aside from the
fact that if untreated it can cripple you it also has many other
systemic effects including: increased chance for Lymphoma, lung
inflammation and scaring, inflammation of the heart, inflammation of
the eyes and blindness (ask Duckie about that one), enlargement of the
spleen.  Inflammation of the blood vessels open ulcers etc etc.  The
disease is serious and needs to be treated seriously.  Everyone
worries about potential side effects, but don't forget about the
certainity of the disease.  I take Remicade and mtx the combination
has put me into remission I never want to go back to the pre-remicade
days.  -- MZ

Visit my website:
http://www.mzuschlag.com

Hi Lisa,    You have received several good answers.   Sorry,  I am male with
RA and we have the same hair problems with the same drugs that women do.
     I want you to know that your use of the word :"happy",,, makes me a
little bit angry at your thought process.
      Let me ask a question or two.   Why do you ask?   Do you have a
better understanding of how both men and women think with loss of function,
jobs, husbands or wifes because a person lives with dialy pain so bad that
it controls them and what they can do on any given day?????

   You talked about scary side effects.  I want you to understand that the
DISEASE is what is scary.   You have no idea how good a day is when our
disease is controlled and we can do things that normal people TAKE FOR
GRANTED.  Grrrrr. going to stop now.  I hope you got some answers.
Harv

There can be side effects, Lisa, but they have to list all the possible side
effects that can happen. Most people will not experience most of them, and the
dosage of Methotrexate for instance is small compared to the dose used to treat
cancer. Side effects "usually" but not always occur with high doses. Regular
blood tests keep track of potential side effects.

I am grateful for these drugs as the damage done by arthritis could be much
worse without them. I don't especially like having to take drugs but I would be
in much worse shape without them.

Don't think I have had hair loss, and I guess it would not be a big thing if I
did. There are always wigs. And I think what people experience is probably a
thinning of hair. Again, everyone is different. My advice, if your doctor is
considering these drugs is to research them, talk with him or her about the best
one to try, you may have to try more than one, and them make a decision
together. It is important for the person taking the drug to be as comfortable as
possible with the decision. It's a big step, but treatment is so important. Good
luck.
---
Joan

I have a really thick head of hair, I could actually afford to lose some of
it.  But I've been on MTX for several years and it hasn't thinned it at all.

I wouldn't care if it did.  Without the MTX or something like it I wouldn't
be able to function, hair or no hair.

Jo

Thank you, thank you to all the women who thoughtfully answered my
questions. I am terrified and depressed (at times suicidal since I have
battled one illness after another the last 10 years and have little
fight left now-not to mention no insurance and no chance of getting it
if I can't go back to work full-time) over the whole long drawn out
process of diagnosis. (I have been through this before with other
illness.) What I have is either RA or Lupus (elevated ANA speckled
pattern, high sed rate, specific symptoms etc. etc.). I am exhausted
and not feeling well and outside this group no one understands. The
progression of the disease and the drugs used to treat them are all
frightening to me which was why I asked the questions I did. Yes,
people here seem happy with their meds which was why I commented on it.
That gave me hope and I wondered why that was and you have all answered
beautifully. I had such thick hair I had to pin it up during the day or
I was hot, it thinned considerably but not too bad if you didn't know
me pre-thyroid. As thyroid affects metabolism and the fatigue makes it
impossible to exercise (then my joints started hurting even water
exercise hurts)for a while I weighed almost 200lbs. with thinner hair.
At the time at 39,  and divorced, men ran the other way when I tried to
talk to them. I was even sadder to think that I'd be alone the rest of
my life. I finally lost the weight and my hair stopped thinning (though
it never came back to the way it was) and no Harv I don't think hair
loss is anywhere near as traumatic for men as women. All women are
judged on is appearance. I have 10 years university education, had a
career as an inner city teacher and spent my life giving back to the
community both in my work and as a volunteer and none of that counted
for s**t when I got fat and ugly-men didn't care that I was
intelligent, well-educated and giving. I've been alone for years and
years, it is very lonely.  Then I lost the weight and suddenly I exist
again. I have not met many men willing to take on someone with a
serious progressive illness, being ugly and losing my hair will assure
that. I know, been there, experienced that...My concerns are many, my
fears are many and the hair thing in context is not huge but to me it's
devastating. All the women who answered me here took me seriously and
were very kind. I don't know Harv, why each time I post (and some
others I've seen)you are so hostile. In fact I wasn't speaking to you
anyway.

I'm one of those who had quite a bit of hair loss with 20mgs of mtx.
Probably almost a third of it wiht some thinning patches that were
noticeable to only me and my hubby. I did have a lot of hair to begin with,
though. The grape seed didn't do much for me but I did add a french-canadian
product with all sorts of things including biotin that has helped. My rheumy
also lowered my mtx dose to 10mg and added 10 mg of Arava (in addition to
the Enbrel I've been on for almost 6 years). The doc figured that by using
lower doses of two drugs, as opposed to a higher dose of one, I could still
get the same effectiveness with fewer side effects. I don't know if it's the
supplements or the new drug combo but the fall-out is lessening.

I, too, have the added thyroid problem with the hair, so I suppose it may be
an issue I will revisit periodically. Fortunately, I haven't had serious
weight issues from the Hashi's, although the Arava is dropping my weight a
little more than I expected.

As scary as all the side effects are from all the RA drugs, I'd rather risk
it and die an early death with a decent, functioning body and a physically
active lifestyle, than to live a long, painful life unable to do the things
I love to do. Does it get me down sometimes? You bet. Do I rage at the
unfairness of this disease and all the difficult choices we have to make?
Probably more than I should. But thankfully, I have these drugs available
and am managing to live a good life in spite of my body revolting on me. Of
course, it's easier to say this when I'm not in a flare. ; ) Hang in there
and know you will have better days.