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Introduction: The decision
to start a new medication should not be entered into lightly.
It should involve a frank and open discussion with your health
care provider regarding the potential risks and benefits of
each drug, its side effect profile, other medications being
taken concurrently, and history of general health status to
ensure each drug is the right choice for each patient. Other
alternatives, as well as the risk of not taking the
drug and experiencing worsening of the disease activity or
irreversible damage from the disease being treated must also
be considered. If the potential consequences of not taking a
medication are greater than those of taking it, this
medication is most likely an appropriate choice for therapy.
The following
are various medications that are useful in the treatment of
arthritis and autoimmune conditions. While this list is not
all-inclusive, it deals with some of the medications most
frequently prescribed by providers in this office. While the
dosages of the medications mentioned below are those utilized
in treating rheumatic diseases, the dosage may differ with the
patient�s height, weight, age, and according to the disease
being treated. The monitoring recommendations in the
following information are simply guidelines utilized by the
providers in this practice. Others may choose to utilize
additional laboratory studies or to monitor more or less
frequently.
Many of the
medications discussed in this section may interact with other
medications, either increasing or decreasing blood levels, or
producing additive or contradictory effects. This often
changes the way your medications work. It is, therefore,
important that each patient brings an accurate medication list
to each visit.
Medication List
To find the medication of interest, first look
over the list below. All medications are listed
alphabetically, according to the generic name of the drug. In
some cases, only classes of drugs are listed, with common
examples included. The respective trade names and category of
drug in which each medication is discussed is also detailed
below.
To see
a description of the medication, click on its name in the
"Generic Name" column. To see a description of the category
and the medications in that category, click on a name in the
"Category" column.
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