Help Me Understand..........Side Effects
Ok. So I have psoriasis. It’s on my fingers and has had a negative impact on my ability to play guitar. So far, everything that the doc has given me has failed to work. Then I find out that I can get psoriatic arthritis and, when I look at my hands, some of my knuckles are starting to swell. Great. I’m thinking that this can’t be good for my guitar playing at all.
I go to the doc and he says we’ll have to put me on a "more serious" drug to attack the psoriasis. I’m thinking that’s a pretty good idea................until I read the warning label. I really don’t think you should ever read the labels of any drugs that you take.
The first listed side effect, you ask? Death.
Yep. It’s true. I think I’ll pass on that side-effect. The next listed side-effect was permanent hair loss, followed by depression, suicidal tendencies, liver failure, and so on. It even went so far as to claim dry-mouth as a potential side effect.
Now look, I tried to donate my body to science and they sent me a rejection letter. That wasn’t so bad, but they went on to say that my body wasn’t even worth the cost of cremation! Just my luck that only out-of-work comedians write their rejection letters. The way I see it, I have only two parts of my body that are worthy of not cremating. My hands and my hair. Now, both are at risk.
I guess what I’m wondering is why aren’t there better side effects to drugs, and, more importantly, why aren’t we demanding them. Here are a few I would like to read as I ponder whether I should take my psoriasis poison-pill:
WARNING! USE OF THIS DRUG MAY CAUSE THE FOLLOWING UNINTENDED SIDE-EFFECTS:
You may make break out in spontaneous, witty conversation
You run the risk of losing weight and developing six-pack abs
Your IQ might suddenly skyrocket
Your teeth will become whiter
You may find yourself whistling happy tunes and experiencing harmony with creation
Your hair may become rich and full-bodied
Your breath will become fresh and irresistible
Well, you get my drift. Until we have some better side-effects, I guess I’m just gonna have to deal with what I have. In the meantime, get on the phone to Pharmacia and ask them to step up to the plate on this whole side-effects thing.
Side-Effectingly Yours,
Blawgerman
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I understand your concern about the side effects of the drugs. I also have psoriatic arthritis. I'm assuming you are talking about methotrexate? One thing to understand is that MTX is given to cancer patients in much, much higher doses than what we take for psoriasis and PsA. Most of those effects will be seen in persons taking the megadoses required for cancer chemo. If you take MTX, the doctor will check your liver enzymes often. If they start to go up, he will reduce the dose or stop the drug altogether before any permanent damage is done. Most people who do have some liver problems find that the liver enzymes return to normal within a few months of lowering the dose or stopping the drug. Psoriatic arthritis can be a very bad disease if you let it get out of control. The only thing proven to stop the joint destruction are these heavy-duty drugs. Believe me when I tell you the risks are worth it - you don't want to be permanently crippled from PsA. We have a great online support group for people with PsA at http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/PsoriaticArthritis/ I hope you will join us. You'll find some good info there on how to mitigate some of the minor side effects like fatigue, nausea, etc. Good luck, sherry z
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