Home Forums General Discussion Husband is having good results

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  • #460946
    Trudyp7
    Participant

    I,m new at this and hope I am doing it correctly. My husband has been on Minocycline for around 5 months. He seems to be doing very well. He started 2 1/2 years ago with Methotrexate and then to Enbril then Humira then Orencia then Xeljanz. The last Xeljanz he took was 2 months ago. He has no pain no stiffness. He said he has not felt this good in years! He’s taking the Mino once a day. 100mg. I think he has had a Herx reaction as he was not feeling well for about a week. About a month ago his RA test still came out high but no pain! Question is will his numbers eventually go down. And I think as long as his numbers are high he should stay on the Mino correct?

    #460953
    Maz
    Keymaster

    This is great news, Trudyp7! Yes, you’re right, minocycline shouldn’t be viewed as a cure for RA. It can, however, be very effective for bringing RA into remission. If you have a copy of the Henry Scammell book, you will have likely read that Dr. Brown would continue to treat his patients until all symptoms and aberrant lab values had returned to normal for a good period of time. However, most RAers prefer to remain on a lower maintenance dose to hopefully waylay any chance of relapse due to stress, another infectious trigger, surgery, hormonal changes, poor diet, etc. Some people do come off their AP and, especially if young, can maintain minocycline-free remission for years, but once a person has developed RA, there is a risk for future relapse. Those who have come off their meds and who have relapsed have said they have a harder time regaining remission the next time around. Why this happens is unknown – age? going back to unhealthy lifestyle habits? hormonal shifts? stress?

    See FAQ #29 by clicking here

    When you say “his RA test,” can you share more about which labs you mean? Some people have had success in bringing down RF or anti-CCP by adding a second abx. I think you and your husband might find the RA Research section to be interesting in this light and the different infectious causes that have been tied to these autoantibody markers.

    What infections have been associated with rheumatoid arthritis (RA)?

    All this said, 5 months is a very short time for anyone with RA to find remission (WOW!) and especially so for anyone who has had RA for some time and who has been on other medications. Your husband has done remarkably well and it bodes well for continued success on the treatment. It’s worth noting, though, that RA isn’t a disease that one would want to mess with by just stopping it without trialing a taper to a maintenance dose (after a decent period of sustained remission) to see if there is a return of symptoms. Flares can and do still happen while on minocycline, because although it has some nice immune-modulating effects, it is not an immune-suppressant medication. Over time, however, flares should begin to be less frequent, less intense, and shorter in duration.

    Does this help any?

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