<p>I have severe enough arthritis that I needed a complete knee replacement at 55 and am seriously contemplating getting a replacement thumb joint too.
( but its my left hand, & I am right handed, so except for my guitar lessons, not that motivated)
Before my knee replacement, I was taking lots of meds and still was in pain, I barely could get around the block once six months ago, even using my cane.
I didn’t sleep.
Ten months ago I started regular water exercise, counterintuitive, but exercise is great for arthritis. Which helps the sleep as well.
I also started taking aspirin instead of tylenol.
I also have fibromyalgia, and have noticed that I can partially manage symptoms by paying attention to what I eat.
Things that are good for me- raw veggies & fruit are preferable to treats that have dairy, fried & or salty/sugary. (& coffee makes the fibro worse)
It might be worth it to explore other treatments, rather than one that the fda urges alternatives to.</p>
<p>A Canadian court of appeals upheld Pfizer’s patent extension to 2014 and I’m not sure what has happened with the requested 2015 extension there. This should mean there is no true generic form of Celebrex in Canada - at least not legally.</p>
<p>Nonetheless, canada pharmacy dot com and med center canada dot com have both versions of the drug available. One of the them says it is coming from India, the other does not specify. </p>
<p>Several months ago, I bought a generic drug for my D from Canada that is unavailable in the US (even though the brand name drug has been around at least 20 years). It was purchased from a Canadian pharmacy but was shipped from the UK. I guess they know their way around things and considering the hundreds of dollars we saved, I am grateful.</p>
<p>My pharmacy told me about it…they are resubmitting. I have been using Celebrex since Viox was taken off the market. I was not aware of the controversy and I’m willing to give alternatives a try. Celebrex just takes the “edge” off…not a miracle worker. It just struck me as odd as another drug my husband has been using for the last two years was also recently denied. We have what some consider as “Cadillac” insurance through my employer…so this is new to us.</p>
<p>Look into Relafen for an anti-inflammatory; the generic is called Nabumetone and I would imagine that every insurance company will pay for that. I’ve got OA and RA, so I’m pretty familiar with these meds.</p>
<p>OP, I also find it odd that a prescription your insurance has been paying for is suddenly denied. This in essence is a change in benefits. I would be questioning your insurer as to why the sudden change without any prior warning.</p>
<p>Bumping this thread back up. Just got back from seeing an orthopedic doctor. Have bursitis in my hip - have had it for two months now. The first doc I saw a couple of weeks ago jumped right to a steroid injection or high dose Aleve. Didn’t even suggest PT, which is why I went to see another doctor today. I have a rather sensitive stomach (serious GERD), so I didn’t want to try the Aleve or Advil at the dosages they were recommending. The doctor I saw today suggested Celebrex, ‘if your insurance will cover it’ (and immediately my mind came back to this thread). He said it ‘can’ be easier on the stomach and is having me start at a lower dose and then will titrate up if my stomach does OK. I’m not necessarily taking it for pain, but am taking it for the anti-inflammatory benefits (am also to ice the area 3-4X/day for 20 minutes). He said it will be a very temporary situation - taking the Celebrex, that is. So I’m not so worried about some of the other side effects that can happen with longer term use. </p>
<p>LOL… just as I was typing this, CVS auto-called my home to tell me my prescription was ready for pick up; so I called them back to see if it was covered under my insurance, and it is! 100% since I’ve met my out-of-pocket maximum for the year. </p>
(& coffee makes the fibro worse)