When Men Get Rheumatoid Arthritis
What to do if joint pain turns out to be RA.
Stick with Your Treatment continued...
For his arthritis, Ellis takes an NSAID, as well as methotrexate, a DMARD that Louie calls the “mainstay” of his arthritis treatment. Taking the drugs, which Ellis says has not caused any noticeable side effects, has eased his pain and stiffness considerably. The balls of his feet no longer trouble him, and he is now able to go running again each weekend.
The drugs, says Louie, can be extremely helpful, and men and women do equally well when taking them. But men, he says, are less likely than women to stick with their prescribed treatment. “Once they are being treated and start to feel better, they often say, ‘I’ll see if I can take less of the medication,’” Louie says.
Ellis was no exception. “I said to myself, ‘I don’t want to take all these drugs.’ So he stopped taking the NSAID. "Then I had more pain, and I went back on it," he recalls.
Keeping Active Helps
“Everyone needs exercise, but especially patients with RA,” says Louie. “RA patients who adhere to an active lifestyle appear to have less severe disease activity than those with more of a sedentary lifestyle.”
That’s true for men and women. But participation in physical therapy and sticking to recommended exercise programs appear to be lower in men, Louie says.
Not Ellis. He is a lifelong exerciser. And that seems to have helped keep his arthritis under control. Although he wakes up achy and stiff, he says that doesn’t last past his morning routine of pushups, sit ups, and leg lifts coupled with a cardio workout, either on his elliptical trainer or, on weekends, running.
“Whatever type of exercise, I’m out and doing something,” he says, adding that the medications he takes help make that possible. “The methotrexate subdues the pain and lets me do those things.”