Health Boards
Thu-26-07-2018, 18:12 PM
Hi Jopoh. I'm Moxie.
I had my first 300mg loading dose of Coxentyx on Monday. It's now Thursday. Since I weaned myself off prednisone for an MRI a few weeks ago, I have been debilitated by PsA, Ankylosing Spond & a flare of my skin. ( I was on prednisone because Humira stopped working, dead in the water, at 6 months because I developed antibodies.)
Until yesterday, since coming off the 'roids, I'd been taking about 1800 mg of ibuprofen a day (sometimes more), just to exist. My PsA is like a pinball, changing locations over the months... but it affects the ligaments/tendons in my feet, ankles and palms, and the joints of my toes, my wrists, one thumb, one index finger, my shoulders, spine, hips, knees.... I mean, suffice to say, every kind of movement brings a symphony of pain.
Since weaning off the prednisone, my rather controlled (but still existent) psoriasis was in rebound horror mode. Super flare.
Today is Thursday. It's only DAY 3 of treatment. So far, I've had stomach upset, diarrhea, a bit of a headache, a low grade fever on exertion and a great deal of fatigue. I mean, I never feel great, so it's not a huge difference but the stomach thing and headache is unusual and the fatigue is pretty extra.
HOWEVER... in the last 24 hours, I've only taken 200mg of ibuprofen. And I'm actually walking and getting about, able to pull up my pants and such without devastation. Still inflamed, of course, but the difference is noteworthy. I want to say that it's the drug, working already.
But, me being me, I need to play devil's advocate: as my stomach has been upset AND Cosentyx (and other biologics) can easily cause a flare in cold sores (herpes virus), I've been eating very little and only super basic unprocessed stuff, gluten free, avoiding any L-argenine containing foods (brown rice, chocolate, raisins, peanuts, etc. - because they cause cold sores if you have the virus). So. Here's my question:
Is the drug helping THIS fast (I had a sensationally fast reaction to Stelara, BTW, and my psoriasis was in remission within 2 weeks, so it's not totally unheard of)
Or
Is the starvation diet to thank?
Not that I mean for anyone to actually answer that. Just food for thought. I posted photos a few days ago in my intro thread. I've decided to come off dovobet for my skin at the same time as starting the cosentyx, just to see the actual results of the medication.
At any rate. I'll keep y'all posted about my Cosentyx experience.
Good luck!
Moxie
I had my first 300mg loading dose of Coxentyx on Monday. It's now Thursday. Since I weaned myself off prednisone for an MRI a few weeks ago, I have been debilitated by PsA, Ankylosing Spond & a flare of my skin. ( I was on prednisone because Humira stopped working, dead in the water, at 6 months because I developed antibodies.)
Until yesterday, since coming off the 'roids, I'd been taking about 1800 mg of ibuprofen a day (sometimes more), just to exist. My PsA is like a pinball, changing locations over the months... but it affects the ligaments/tendons in my feet, ankles and palms, and the joints of my toes, my wrists, one thumb, one index finger, my shoulders, spine, hips, knees.... I mean, suffice to say, every kind of movement brings a symphony of pain.
Since weaning off the prednisone, my rather controlled (but still existent) psoriasis was in rebound horror mode. Super flare.
Today is Thursday. It's only DAY 3 of treatment. So far, I've had stomach upset, diarrhea, a bit of a headache, a low grade fever on exertion and a great deal of fatigue. I mean, I never feel great, so it's not a huge difference but the stomach thing and headache is unusual and the fatigue is pretty extra.
HOWEVER... in the last 24 hours, I've only taken 200mg of ibuprofen. And I'm actually walking and getting about, able to pull up my pants and such without devastation. Still inflamed, of course, but the difference is noteworthy. I want to say that it's the drug, working already.
But, me being me, I need to play devil's advocate: as my stomach has been upset AND Cosentyx (and other biologics) can easily cause a flare in cold sores (herpes virus), I've been eating very little and only super basic unprocessed stuff, gluten free, avoiding any L-argenine containing foods (brown rice, chocolate, raisins, peanuts, etc. - because they cause cold sores if you have the virus). So. Here's my question:
Is the drug helping THIS fast (I had a sensationally fast reaction to Stelara, BTW, and my psoriasis was in remission within 2 weeks, so it's not totally unheard of)
Or
Is the starvation diet to thank?
Not that I mean for anyone to actually answer that. Just food for thought. I posted photos a few days ago in my intro thread. I've decided to come off dovobet for my skin at the same time as starting the cosentyx, just to see the actual results of the medication.
At any rate. I'll keep y'all posted about my Cosentyx experience.
Good luck!
Moxie