Rheumatoid Arthritis Support Group

At one time many years ago I took Mobic. I personally had a bad reaction to it. I have had RA for going on 12 years now, and I find OTC pain killers work as well as prescriptions. Just my perception and one girls' opinion. Good luck!

i took it about 3 years ago and reacted poorly to it. However, my doctor said it was due to my weight in proportion to the medicine. I only weighed 115 lbs at the time and he said i really didn't weigh enough for my tummy to handle it. I hope it works for you. Vioxx and Bextra are the ones that worked for me and I can't get either anymore(removed from market). I take ultracet as my painkiller and it works but it makes me fidgety so i can't take it at night. what bizemomm said is right though about OTC painkillers, most of the painkillers are acetaminophen(tylenol) and a little bit of oxycodine. you can take a little higher dosage of tylenol than the bottle suggests and equal out to your painkillers, won't give you the full effect but it would be cheaper. However, as you probably know, this is bad for your liver..so do so sparingly!

My opinion is, you shouldn't take Mobic with MTX. I don't know however, what's going on with you as far as disease progression, swelling etc. But know to read your information on MTX. I believe it says not to take with NSAIDS, and I know there's a warning especially with high doses of MTX. Just know that all these drugs can cause problems........stomach bleeding, stomach disorders, liver problems. Just remember that it's you who makes the decisions in the end. Although your doctor has your best interest at heart, you also need to realize that these drugs, as well as RA can lead to other problems and weigh your potential gain with taking the drugs. Good luck! -Sarah

I used to take ultracet but it made me even more tired than what the RA was already making me. I couldn't stay awake at work and to me that just wasn't worth it! I had fairly good luck with the ibuprofen because I would take 800mg OTC and it was very cheap but I didn't take it on a regular basis because it wasn't prescribed and I was a little nervous about 'drugging' myself up. Thanks for the help and support ladies!

I also get monthly labs done to check my liver, etc. I do need something on most days because by the end of the day I feel terrible as far as joint pain and swelling is concerned (and wouldn't you know the first day I met my new rheumy I had no swelling or inflammation that he could see, although I only felt fair that day). I will definately reread the medication info sheats about both Mobic and MTX.

If I do decide to continue with the mobic, the sheat said to take it the same time everyday. I currently take it in the evening, usually with dinner, so if it does make me sleepy, I won't be at work and I can always go to bed early. Do you think this is ok/effective? Thanks so much!

Hi, I took Mobic several years ago and had a lot of success with it. It worked wonderfully for my pain, but the one drawback to it was the swelling. I was already having trouble with swelling, especially in my feet, ankles, and lower leg regions. Mobic made that much worse so I had to end it.

Still, I'm glad I tried it and swelling was the only negative side-effect that I had (as I recall). I'm not sure about taking MTX with the Mobic, because I wasn't on MTX at the time.

I would think your rheumy would be aware of any drug conflicts but you might want to read up on it to be sure. Also, if you are beginning to experience daily pain and the MTX alone is no longer working, I would suggest talking to your doc about a biologic. That seems to be the new big thing that is helping so many to live with this disease.
I wish you all the best!

Sounds weird to me. Yes, NSAIDS work better if taken regularly. If you're fine taking pain meds only when needed, in my opinion, that's better than taking something all the time. (Don't we have to take enough nasty stuff?)

If your RA is still not under control with the MTX (knock on wood, mine is) then shouldn't your rheumy be trying another RA med? I know cost and insurance issues are, but if you can get coverage, I'd suggest trying some of the newer meds like Remicade, Humira, Enbrel ... After 6 months you should know if the MTX is a good treatment on its own.

Early on it's way more important to treat the disease than it is to treat the pain.

Good luck with things!

I have a good frind who is a pharmacist. She told me to take tylenol arthritis 3x a day. I try to do that and it keeps the pain fairly well managed. On really bad days it takes the hard edge off the pain, which is all the prescription painkillers do anyway. I think the key ifs to take it regularly and make sure it stays in your system. Hope this helps. ((hugs))

See I am so torn. I switched RA docs because I felt like my first doc was not listening to me and was not beging aggresive enough. My new rheumy said that he is not going to put me on any biologics (at this time anyways) because I am only 23. He said if I switch to a biologic now then what am I going to have to turn to 20 years from now and in 20 years, what are all of those highly toxic drugs going to have done to me. I agree with his logic and I told him I could tolerate the pain but I recognized that when I have pain it means that my joints are deteriorating or becoming damaged. He said that was a myth; it is not necessaryily true. He said that some patients have pain and are bugged by it but 10 years down the road they have no deformity because the disease is really under control. He said the other type of patient is the one that has no pain but 10 years later they are crippled. I switched docs becuase I wanted to take an aggresive approach to this but now I'm second guessing myself. Some days having RA just seems like a real crapshoot!

It really is a tough call....I have a much older friend who has RA. He has had it for a very long time. He took gold shots for 12 years and one day they just quit working. He is very positive and agressive in his approach.He is active and enjoys a full life even though he's in his 70's. He said to me, "If you don't try what is out there, you have to live everyday in pain and if you're in terrible pain, who cares if you live a long life or not?" After talking to him, I decided to try the biologics. My rhuematologist is very supportive of this and has told me that there are so many drugs being created for RA that surely one day soon, we will have something that will work on most everyone. In addition, he is hopeful that we may soon find the genetic and environmental keys to the causes of this disease.
I think that you have to do what you think is best...you know what kind of pain you can live with. The sad part about RA to me is that damage can be done to your joints even when your pain is non-existant. My doc thinks I have had RA symptoms for years but just didn't realize it. Even though we want to worry about years down the road, I mostly want to enjoy the here and now--while I have the most time with my children. Feeling good now makes me have a more positive outlook on the future, and I think thats good.
Hang in there! I think your future looks bright -- and pain-free!