The Drugs.

Or my happy pills. Here's my personal opinion and experience with each:

1.)  Hydroxychloroquine (more commonly known as Plaquenil). This is the pill that I have been on the longest, having started iti approximately right after being diagnosed (2009). This is also the pill that I would say has helped me the least. Initially, I was to take two of these a day, along with Naproxen, but the later has been removed. It caused me to bruise very easily and greatly upset my stomach.  Which I have unfortunately found is a common side effect of any ra medication. So if you are just starting, I hate to break it to you, but your stomach will be pretty raw. Anyways, my ra got better for a while (with bad flares here and there), but I came out of remission this past summer.

2.) Allegra. I take an allegra pill for allergies daily, and I find that it helps to clear my skin of any rashes ra can cause.

3.) Folic Acid. This pill is often prescribed along with methotrexate. When taking methotrexate, your body can create a folic acid deficiency which can lead to stomach ulcers, nausea, hair loss, and liver and blood complications. I have been on methotrexate for about 7 months and actually just recently started taking 1 folic acid pill daily. I have already noticed a pretty significant decrease in my nausea (Thank god!).

4.) Biotin. I take one biotin pill daily to prevent the hair loss side effect of being on an anti-metabolite.

5.) Vitamin D. My dietitian and my mother are both avid supporters of taking vitamin D. People who are undergoing treatments for RA tend to have a vitamid D deficiency, and I take it daily to prevent any further bone damage.


I am also taking the oral methotrexate pills, and enbrel injections.