ali,
i have just started azulfidine EN. after only 1 week on it, i have noticed some improvement in my AS symptoms (not pain free, but improvement). i have been on NSD for 5 months so this may have something to do with the quicker results i have seen.
it is true that you need regular blood monitoring especially when you ramp up on the drug. in terms of pure toxicity, my feeling is that it is more toxic than nsaids, but definitely less toxic than mtx or these newer drugs like enbrel and remicade. however, i believe the azulfidine attacks the root cause of AS which is probably in your intestines. as you know, nsaids just treat the symptoms and the newer drugs are just fancy ways of short circuting the inflammatory response of the immune system. the nsaids may also weaken your intestines, adding fuel to the fire for the long term.
i disagree 100% that you must take any drug for the rest of your life. that is a choice the patient makes. i think you can take the azulfidine to get your disease under control and then experiement with dose reduction to see if you can control the AS naturally. why would your doctor say you must take azulfidine indefinitely when he earlier said the disease cycles and can naturally remit? why would someone want to take a drug when they are in remission? this is a reckless and contradictory statement made by your doctor.
-ken
