after having my appointment postponed from January ( I haven't seen anyone since initial diagnosis in sept. ) it's my appointment tomorrow , starting to worry now , I have been on varying doses of MTX since October , and I don't think anything is improving , in fact I know I'm worse , been feeling awful lately , really fed up now and my poor family are going through it all too as my previous life disappears , I am really hoping that maybe there will be some sort of change of treatment , although I realise it is still early days , I think it's just all wearing me down now , if they just tell me to carry on I think I will just fall apart , there are a lot of people here with much bigger problems than me , feel a bit guilty , but I know you all understand ,

hi, oh I hated the fact it takes forever to get meds right,i was nearly 2 years before they got me down to a fine art on meds but its ok when they hit target for you,honest, I am now on mtx 25mg injections as the tabs didnt get into my system fast enough took about 6/7 months to work that one out then its the other tabs you take,some cause a rash,headache,nausea so need changed and it goes on,great fun,it got me down also but hang in there its a slow journey but worth the wait,i have lost weight to help me and had a good look at what I eat , I am still trying to get the pace yourself thing,thats the hard one as we still think we can busy about all day every day,we had a lovely lady called lynn on here and she was so good at giving us a ticking off without us realizing it bless her,chin up ,keep typing,dorothy

That's excellent advice. Have a list of questions and don't be afraid to get it out. Most consultants welcome someone who is prepared, and your mind is guaranteed to go blank if you DON'T write it down.

Good Luck - let us know how it goes.

It almost goes without saying but write down the answers too. If you're anything like me, half of what I'm told had been forgotten by the time I get home.

Hi all
a positive consultation , I think . consultant was running behind so told I would be seeing a registrar , not too happy initially but turned out to be ok , she was very nice and understanding , agreed mtx not working , so I have been changed to leflunomide , ( any experiences welcome ) she is going to apply for anti TNF treatment as she thinks she may be able to class prednisolone as a DMARD and this isn't helping a lot either , she says it's worth a go , if not maybe the leflunomide will suit me better , and if not then will be in a better position to get the approval , it's a performance isn't it ? feel rubbish now after driving , walking and being prodded , but feel like at least something is happening.

Hi Julie
Glad you have had a fairly positive outcome from your visit today and here's hoping the leflunomide will be effective for you As has been said ,it is very much trial and error at this stage.
When is your follow up visit?

Julie x

Hi JUlie,

I'm so pleased that you had a 'good' consultation, that is very helpful and certainly eases all our concerns.

I started on Leflunamide ten weeks ago and have had no problems on it. I am only on a subclinical dose
of 10mg at present due to the starting of all the other drugs. I understand that as soon as they think it's safe to do
so it will be increased to the maintenance dose of 20mg daily. I am also on steroids.

Good luck, hope it suits you, it has made a marked difference to me.

Gogs xx