Kickas.org Forums Ankylosing Spondylitis General Discussion Helpful Tips Tip on medications -- side effects

I have had RA for five years. In the beginning I tried a lot of meds and had some side effects that were worrisome , but my doctors never told me that my ailment was from my medication. I had to figure it out myself, by stopping the medication and see if the symptom went away.An example is anemia .
Currently, if I have a new ailment I look to my medication side effects list first to see if my ailment is a side effect.

Hi ValsMum - old friends surfacing... Good tip on the meds. I do the same as you. Those side effects can sure be worritsome.

Take care

whenever i start a new med, I note the start date in a journal, and i keep a symptom diary....

for me, edema was something that crept up, and with the journal / diary, was able to tell it was from a med, as it started around the same time I started the med.

for me, stopping the med, stopped the edema.

Then do a re-challenge. Stop med. Wait. Are OK ? Right, re-start the med. If 'same' adverse events happen up, then, note and stop meds, which will now hit the no-no list.

I have a list as long as two arms...! Sigh.

Good job ladies! Hello to you all.
.
Have missed you

Ditto on stopping and checking. Although I have been known to through a hissy fit at the docs armed to the teeth with medical side effect reports but they know me now lol now we go through time lines and possible things it could be and if they cant treat it they say "lets look at those possible side effects again"

I always stop it and restart it after adverse symptoms stop. Usually, it's just a fluke. A few times, it's been due to the med. Then it goes on the 'don't take this med' list. A couple have had such a messy side-effect (totally climbing walls on a shot of compazine, a known side-effect) that I've permanently avoided it since.

Sometimes, it makes lab values wonky, so it takes some time to figure out what's causing it. Hubs had a reaction to Zanaflex--raised liver enzymes more than 3 times normal. They went down after stopping it, and is a known issue, so he doesn't take that any longer. But that might have been a mystery requiring a restart of the med to see if it happened again....or doc might have decided it wasn't worth the risk to the liver.

Always a good thing not to start more than one new med at a time, if it can be helped. Also a good thing to be your own advocate in things like this.