hyalgan injections

camyskitties · Posted: Fri May 11, 2007 8:17 am Post subject: hyalgan injections

Hi all -

My mom has started a new drug treatment for her Rheumatiod Arthritis. She has tried everything for it for the last 10 years. Since RA and SLE are both auto immune related I thought I would mention it on here to see if anyone has had any experience with it. It is a weekly injection that she gets in her knee. You get five injections spaced a week apart. Some patients get relief after only 3 injections but it can take up to five. If it is succesful the patient will see an improvement in pain for up to one year. I sure hope it works for her. She has taken a lot of the meds I see on here and though some work well, each one has it's own downfall to it.

IloveHistory · Bear Joined: 17 Dec 2006 Posts: 689

Hi Camyskitties!

Please know that I will be praying for your mom and sincerely hope that these injections work for her!

Keep well! Smile

camyskitties · Posted: Fri May 11, 2007 12:11 pm Post subject:

Thank you very much. That means a lot to me!

MARYCAIN · King of the Jungle Joined: 03 Aug 2006 Posts: 1576

Hi, Camy - I had the Synvisc injections, which are the same drug as the hyalgan. It is not really intended to treat RA - it is for osteoarthritis (degenerative arthritis) of the knee. The hyalgan replaces the fluid that normally cushions the joint, which is often lost in degenerative joint disease. I had knee problems from a car accident years ago, which required five surgeries to repair the damage to various joints. If your mom has degenerative damage to the knee joint, then the hyalgan should help her knee pain - unfortunately, it will not help inflammatory pain or her other RA symptoms. I hope your mom's condition improves soon.

camyskitties · Posted: Fri May 11, 2007 2:13 pm Post subject:

Oh man, that's very disappointing. I don't think I will tell her that. It was her doctor that recommended it for her RA. She really hopes it will work. She is desperate at this point. My mom has taken everything possible for her RA: Celebrex, Remecade, and another injection that I forgot the name of that she used to give herself every other day at home. Well, maybe it will give her some releif. I sure hope so.

MARYCAIN · King of the Jungle Joined: 03 Aug 2006 Posts: 1576

I'm sorry - I thought your mom must have some degenerative arthritis in her knee and that was why the doctor recommended it. If the joint pain is mainly in her knee, it will help that, but it's just a synthetic replacement for the fluid that normally lubricates the joint - it doesn't have any other treatment benefits. I'm sorry if the doctor hyped it that way to your mom - he should have explained exactly what the drug will and will not do. If she has significant RA involvement in other joints, it will not affect them.

Has the rheumatologist managing your mom's RA tried any of the newer biologic drugs, or immune suppressants? Humira, Enbrel, Arava, etc. Even if Remicade didn't work for her, one of the other drugs might give her some relief from the symptoms. Sometimes it takes trials with several different drugs to find one that works.