Otezla Compared to Alternatives

For Plaque Psoriasis: I have had plaque psoriasis for nearly 35 years. Tried all the topicals and just lived with it. I was having some minor depression and Dr gave me Wellbutrin and about 2 weeks in my body broke out in a wellbutrin /bupropion induced Erythrodermic Psoriasis which is life threatening. 85% of my body was covered with huge patches of open skin and extreme burning. You could feel the heat coming off my body. My Derm put me on 60mg of Prednisone that I took for a week until it made me so ill I couldn't function and I stopped it. My skin cleared completely within a few days. At that point I started Otezla. I'm 3 months in and my skin is still clear but it take Otezla a few months to 'work' so I'm not sure if I'm naturally clear or if the Otezla is actually doing something. The DOWN side is the first few weeks I had a constant pressure headache and after each dose I would feel really lousy for a few hours. So 3 months in I have basically had a headache for 3 months and feel lousy, lethargic, and blah.

For Plaque Psoriasis: I have tried otezla twice the first time it cause horrible stomach pain and I had to discontinue it after three weeks. It worked miracles for my skin though almost all clear. I went to GI to get something to counteract the otezla. Went back on it and after two months on it I started having really bad panic attacks. I am not a panic person and have never had anxiety it got so bad I had to stop the pills. However be warned you can not just stop the pills you have to slowly decrease the dose the same way you have to increase in the beginning. I was not told this and ended up in the ER.

For Rheumatoid Arthritis: I'm a 69 yr old woman with seronegative RA - hence it took a long time for a diagnosis. Many rheumatologists do not understand that you can be seronegative & have RA. Sad. After several years of anti inflammatory drugs & cortisone I was prescribed Humira. Took about 2 months & wow! Not so much pain relief but having so much less fatigue. As I live in Australia my experience with obtaining the drug is different to the US. My rheumatologist makes application through the federal government after other drugs have failed & they heavily subsidise. Thus far no obvious side effects. However, reading other's comments I wonder about the flushes at night - never had them as a menopausal symptom...... Wish you all the best in managing RA

For Rheumatoid Arthritis: I was using Humira in conjunction with Methotrexate. Both meds were working marvellously, but out of the blue I became sick after each dose of both medications. RA dr took me off the Methotrexate, and it was awhile before restarting Humira. I’ve had 3 injections with no signs of relief, which was significantly different from before. Very discouraged & scared.

For Rheumatoid Arthritis: I've had RA for two years now. Started MTX about 7 months ago. I started to get worse, not able to open bedroom door in the morning. Stiffness lasting most of the morning and joint pain all day. MTX increased to max dosage without improvement. I take MTX injections. Started Embrel a month ago, much improved with first injection. Now morning I do not have a lot of stiffness, still have joint pain but it is improving as well. My RA was rated as severe. I've had no real side affects from either drug. I have muscle pain in my legs which I understand can be a side affect of Embrel but it beats the joint pain. I had read that the Embrel injections were painful. I personally did not find that to be true.

For Rheumatoid Arthritis: I have severe RA and was started on MTX about 6 months ago already maxed out and pain and inflammation was doing major damage. Two years ago I was running a mile several times a week and when the RA hit I could not even open my bedroom door. Recently was started on Embrel. After the first shot I noticed a 25% improvement with pain and stiffness. I did not find the shot painful as some describe, but I had already been self injecting the MTX. No other side affects thus far. Looking forward to my second injection this week and continued improvement.