started plaquenil and methotrexate six months ago. thursday injections were rough but the flares backed off. then around month four my anti-dsDNA started climbing and C3 dropped. rheumatologist said time for a biologic.
wasn’t scared of the injection. more scared of what it meant: plaquenil and metho weren’t holding anymore. i’d hit the limit of what those do. three weeks in.
some nausea, different brain fog than metho. last labs showed anti-dsDNA finally moving down. my rheumatologist said “we caught it before more damage.” that word before stuck with me. i can already feel what’s already happened: mornings when my hands won’t close all the way.
the math is bleak but it’s real: slow joint damage if nothing changes, vs side effects i can at least manage now. not actually picking a choice. just deciding which direction things go. did anyone else feel like adding a biologic wasn’t really a decision but an inevitability?