Fumaderm and blood tests

[Vincent]

Hi Folks - I've recently started with Fumaderm now on 120 mg X 3 times per day .....see my consultant on 18 th Jan.....with upping the dosage I assume ........not real visible improvement yet but some of the " anger " has gone from the soreness on both calfs.

Just a question /advice from you that have used this medication .....I shall be out of the U.K. early April until abt 26 June ......so I will not be able to have blood tests during this period ......will this be ok or any suggestions thanks Vince

[jiml]

Hi Folks - I've recently started with Fumaderm now on 120 mg X 3 times per day .....see my consultant on 18 th Jan.....with upping the dosage I assume ........not real visible improvement yet but some of the " anger " has gone from the soreness on both calfs.

Just a question /advice from you that have used this medication .....I shall be out of the U.K. early April until abt 26 June ......so I will not be able to have blood tests during this period ......will this be ok or any suggestions thanks Vince

Hi Vincent and    to the club ...so it looks as if you are on week 3 of the full stregth tablets and I'm assuming you are getting regular blood monitoring...

I would think that as long as your bloods are good when you leave the country they should hold up until June...but ask the hospital or doctor what your lymphocyte count is, and get them each time you have a test, then you can see if there's a trend downward

Also if it worries you don't increase the dose while you are away

If the levels do fall,  reducing the dose will allow them to recover.....with good monitoring Fumaderm is a great drug .... if you have any questions just ask ...I've been on it almost 5 years  

Heres the leaflet about the drug in case you haven't read it Fumaderm leaflet

[Vincent]

Many thanks for that .....I'm just amazed I've had the condition for over 40 years and only seen a consultant 2 times in all that time with the advise to " slap on the creams " ......I spoke with my diabetic Nurse last Dec 15  if there was any new  treatments available ......." nope " was the reply .

So did a search on the Internet ......then found an injection had been approved by NHS.......so on returning back to UK in following retirement travel made a " Bee Line " to my Drs ......go an appointment to Derm Dept told them my story .........but was told they have to adopt NICE Guildlines ...... I so hitting the tablets ..........but after searching it seems NICE do not stipulate only suggest so the " rules " can be broken .......hey ho let's see how it goes

[jiml]

It should go well, you don't say how long you have been building up on the tablets. So I assume you went through the initial tablet stage without any problem and are now at 360mg a day which is halfway to maximum dose

Have you experienced any side effects ?
You say there's no visible improvement but the plaques are not as angry as usual ....that's a good sign

It's not a fast acting drug but you should begin to see changes fairly soon I would hope, you will see many members here that are on Fumaderm or have been on it ...I promote it as much as I do because in all my years ( and that's quite a few) I have never had such a long period clear of the psoriasis

Do keep us updated as it's good to hear others experiences  

[Caroline]

In the mean time there is quite an amount of new treatments, and indeed our enemies are the guidelines, they are in every country.

On the blood measurements, where do you go to? Very far outside of the known world?
In most other countries your blood can be measured.

[Vincent]

Hi - yes travelling outside UK for blood tests will become a " problem" for me ....our trip is for some 11 weeks in the US....our routine is only to stay 2-4 nights in one place then move on.......our " stops " are off track and in remote areas....I did mention it to my consultant on my last consultation and she didn't seem too concerned ........I will mention it again on my next meeting on 18 th Jan ........still a while to go until the April -Vince

[Vincent]

Hi Folks - been on the blue tablets x 3 day ( Fumaderm )for some time now .....maintained level due to bloods results going tithe wrong way but results early April where very good prior to going on 11 week trip to the USA.....so Derm said to maintain at 3/day until my return at end if June..
However since travelling Ive had a massive flare up in new location .......anyone had any similar reactions and or solutions 
Thanks Vince

[jiml]

Hi Folks - been on the blue tablets x 3 day ( Fumaderm )for some time now .....maintained level due to bloods results going tithe wrong way but results early April where very good prior to going on 11 week trip to the USA.....so Derm said to maintain at 3/day until my return at end if June..
However since travelling Ive had a massive flare up in new location .......anyone had any similar reactions and or solutions 
Thanks Vince

Hi Vincent ...not a problem I've encountered ...but when I started I built up to the maximum dose 6 tablets a day to get clearance then dropped back one at a time till it started to return ...for me 3 tablets was too low and was steady on 4 tablets for ages ...but upped to 5 a day to control my arthritis

So I would imagine that three a day is not enough for you.....we are all different ...some can maintain clearance on one tablet ...so I suggest upping the dose with the dermatologists approval ( providing blood results are in the normal range)
Good luck
Jim

[Vincent]

Thanks Jim ......I se my Derm on my return so we can discuss a plan together