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Am I on right treatment for rheumatoid arthritis?

Dr Sandeep Saluja
Consultant in Medicine,
Saran Ashram, Dayalbagh (Agra)

Q: I am a 62 years old male suffering from rheumatoid arthritis 12 years back and underwent for a treatment for three years. After that I had no problem and took no medicine. Two years back, it recurred. I consulted a doctor who prescribed Folitrax (7.5 mg) per week. Now, I have been prescribed Folitrax (20 mg) with folic acid (5 mg) per week. The doctor added Hcqs 200 twice daily with Shelcal 500 mg and Calcirol 60000 per week. My recent ESR is 55 and I also take Voren (75 mg). Am I on right treatment?

A:Generally a good response can be anticipated in about 4 - 6 months. Of course, it is not easy to predict who will respond and who would respond better to which drug. In case of an inadequate response, many other options also exist and your doctors will exercise them if needed.