Leflunomide and Tiredness: What Users Say

• Reg...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• March 1, 2020

For Rheumatoid Arthritis "I took Leflunomide for just over a year. It helped my symptoms, but in the last month, it severely suppressed my bone marrow, and my hemoglobin and white blood cells have plummeted to the point of being a few points away from needing a blood transfusion. My hemoglobins have not come back yet after stopping it (and doing the washout period with cholestyramine) 9 days ago, in fact, it continues to go down. I am at 7g now and can’t work my corporate job anymore. I’m so exhausted with headaches and just hoping my bone marrow starts making the blood cells again and remembers the natural process and that taking this didn’t cause my body to forget and permanently leave me in this state. Any drug that has the potential to do that, please seriously decide whether to take it or not. I 100% regret it."

• Srs...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• March 13, 2020

Leflunomide for Rheumatoid Arthritis "Arava has been brilliant for my RA. I've been on it for 1 1/2 years. Previously, I was on methotrexate 27 mg a week for severe arthritis for 8.7 years, which I came off as I found it hard to breathe. Only side effects I've had are tiredness, which I can live with, but none of the other side effects."

• Bre...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 15, 2018

For Rheumatoid Arthritis "Finally, after 10+ years of RA crisis after another, I feel hopeful. I definitely need to take the leflunomide with food in my stomach and before going to bed at night. I’m still very tired, but bone/joint pain has diminished. This must be the 6th different RA med I’ve tried since diagnosis, and I wish I’d have done it earlier. I continue to have regular lab work done to monitor liver levels, and I monitor my BP daily. When I see my BP creeping up, I skip one nightly dose of the leflunomide, and it comes back down. Hair is definitely thinning, and I see my scalp through my thin hair, but I don’t care. I can walk, feed myself, shower myself, which is fantastic!!! I still require some assistance with daily tasks, but my quality of life has tremendously improved."

• cla...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 5, 2020

For Rheumatoid Arthritis "I have been taking Arava for about 3 weeks now. I take 20 mg per day. At first, there were severe side effects: headache, tingling sensations in the feet, restless legs, severe dizziness, lethargy, and muscle rigidity. After about 2 weeks, these symptoms began to slowly decrease. I have not been taking this medication long enough to know if it will help me, but I did wake up today feeling better than I have felt in years. Hoping it’s not just a fluke or a coincidence."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 9, 2018

For Psoriatic Arthritis "I went on this drug in November 2017 (0.20 mg), and the biggest side effect at first was diarrhea, which was tolerable. My skin cleared up 100%, as well as any joint pain, and I thought I had found my miracle drug. But after 4-5 months, I now have nausea, have lost 10 pounds, all I want to do is sleep, and I am emotionally in a very dark place. My rheumatologist doesn't think it's the leflunomide, but I feel as badly as I did when I went on methotrexate, (which I couldn't tolerate). The symptoms are the same. So I went off of the leflunomide a week ago, but still no relief from side effects. Does anyone know how long it takes for this drug to get out of one's system?"

• Aph...
• April 8, 2018

For Rheumatoid Arthritis "I had nausea, severe nausea. I had diarrhea to the point where sometimes I had to wait until everything was emptied out of my guts. I had severe stomach pains. I had no energy whatsoever. I could wake up feeling great, but when I took it, I just lost all of my energy. I felt sick to my stomach, and even after being off of it for days, I'm still having side effects with my stomach: diarrhea, cramps, and also the pain in my back from going on. My muscles are sore and achy. It's hard to keep water in me, it made me feel extremely dehydrated. No matter how much water I drink, nothing that I can think about this medication."

• RAS...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 23, 2022

For Rheumatoid Arthritis "Leflunomide made me extremely tired, and it made my beautiful hair fall out. It has taken so long for it to grow back. Also, I got pneumonia after I started taking it with Humira. My hands were less swollen, but I was still in a lot of pain from swollen joints."