Otezla and Upset Stomach: What Users Say (Page 2)

• Den...
• September 17, 2017

For Psoriatic Arthritis "Been on Otezla for about 6 months. The first few months, I thought my prayers had been answered. My skin cleared up by 75 percent in 3 months. I have psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. My pain had decreased as well. I did have stomach issues, severe headaches, and major pressure in my ears and can hardly hear! The medication has quit working. Not clearing up my scales or itching at all! And the pain! The pain in my fingers, elbows, and feet is worse than ever. I'm up all during the night from joint pain, now have nerve pain in my feet and cannot open a bottle of water in the mornings. Very sad this didn't work out because I refuse to take immune suppression medication."

• gee...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• April 1, 2018

For Plaque Psoriasis "Otherwise healthy 50+ year old guy who's had this for 30+ years. Like every other drug I've tried, it works for a while, then it doesn't. Mine worked great for 2 weeks, kinda worked for maybe 2 more weeks, then it all came back worse than before. I had stomach aches after taking it and resorted to 'Tums,' acid reflux meds, and eating something when taking the med. Moving on to something else after 6-7 weeks."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• November 30, 2017

For Psoriatic Arthritis "I have been taking Otezla for psoriatic arthritis as well as psoriasis. At first, I thought it was a miracle drug helping with the pain and the patches. I did have terrible (and I mean terrible) problems with my stomach. While it improved slightly, after a year and a half, it still kills my stomach. I am going to get off of it because it stopped helping with the pain, and my skin is worsening. I stuck with it despite the nonstop bowel movements (and headaches) because I thought it was helping, but now that I'm reverting back, it isn't worth the nearly debilitating side effects."

• Mad...
• December 22, 2021

For Psoriatic Arthritis "I started this medication about 3 weeks ago. I have psoriatic arthritis. I am having all the side effects of the medication. I’m going to the bathroom immediately after eating something small. I’m going to try to make it to 8 weeks. It has helped my pain levels, but it hits hard on the stomach. Hopefully, it goes away in the weeks to come. I’m allergic to steroids and biologics. I’m coming to a point where every medication doesn’t agree with me. I’m hoping it gets better!"

• Bat...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 23, 2021

For Psoriatic Arthritis "I'm currently taking Cosentyx and Otezla for the absolutely life-sucking psoriatic arthritis pain that developed after I had a thyroidectomy for cancer, and it's my experience that both of these drugs together have helped my pain/skin a lot, and neither helped me much on their own. Crazy. For people experiencing an upset stomach with Otezla, you need to eat a little before taking it, and that feeling will go away, and the diarrhea will also subside."

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 1, 2022

For Plaque Psoriasis "I have been on this medication for about 16-17 days, and my symptoms are still coming and going. I had GI issues for the first 7-8 days before they started to go away. I had complications with having to skip one of the doses a day 2 times that I’m thinking have somewhat brought back my symptoms. Stomach's upset, gurgling, going to the restroom, pain, body is also shaky, weak, and tense/on edge when my stomach gets like this. Indecisive if I want to stay on this medication or not."

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 1, 2022

For Plaque Psoriasis "I have been on this medication for about 16-17 days, and my symptoms are still coming and going. I had GI issues for the first 7-8 days before they started to go away. I had complications with having to skip one of the doses a day 2 times that I’m thinking have somewhat brought back my symptoms. Stomach's upset, gurgling, going to the restroom, pain, body is also shaky, weak, and tense/on edge when my stomach gets like this. Indecisive if I want to stay on this medication or not."

• Cai...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• August 31, 2021

For Plaque Psoriasis "I recently went off Otezla after a year of use because not only did it not even help, my psoriasis got so much worse. The plaques I already had got thicker and larger, and just before I stopped taking it, my entire chest and neck broke out in over 20 new spots, and people kept telling me it looked like I was breaking out with a rash. I had to go back to using my greasy steroid cream, but I can't use it on every spot or I'd go through a tube a day. And now I have to suffer with rebound rosacea on my face due to a reaction from the steroids. And since I am one of the lucky few who get psoriasis on their eyelids, I now have to get a different ointment to use on my face, and it burns like mad. And my insurance doesn't want to cover it without jumping through hoops every time I need a refill because, without insurance, one tube costs $330. My life is now more miserable since Otezla because along with all of the side effects like upset stomach, diarrhea, and headaches, I got none of the benefits."

• jus...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 1, 2015

For Plaque Psoriasis "Well, I have been on Otezla for 3 days now, and they were not kidding about the side effects: serious headache and stomach aches. Hanging in there, let's wait and see."