Ask HN: Has anyone undergone stem cell treatment for auto-immune disease?

> Currently I take NSAIDs, especially newer medicines like Vimovo https://www.vimovo.com/ helps a lot, but is not something you should take every day.

If you want to save some money then skip the Vimovo and take generics of the two active ingredients: Aleve (Naproxen) and Nexium (Omeprazole)

http://thehealthcareblog.com/blog/2015/11/04/dont-fall-for-t...

Only reason I can see to take Vimovo is if your doctor gives you a few samples at the office.

Has your doctor talked about Otezla (aprimelast) or biologics?

Otezla inhibits PDE4, an enzyme which regulates pro-inflammatory cytokines, and has the benefit of being an oral medication; one tablet a day. Biologics such as Humira and Stelara are more potent and even more targeted, but need to be injected.

What Otezla and biologics have in common is that they're much more narrowly targeted to the immune pathways of PsA/PsO than older systemic treatments such as prednisolone, methotrexate, cyclosporine, etc.

Aleve is naproxen sodium immediate release designed as a fast-acting analgesic, Vimovo uses slower-acting base naproxen in an enteric-coated delayed release tablet as the core around which the immediate release esopremazole magnesium is wrapped. The esopremazole magnesium —as well as he enteric-coating for the naproxen—is a technique to manage the potentially serious side effects of long-term use of naproxen.

If you can get your doctor to write you a prescription for separate enteric-coated delayed release naproxen and immediate release esomeprazole magnesium, that may be a suitable substitute.

Using the non-generic OTC medicines you (and the blog you cite) name, which would reverse which component has delayed released and use a faster-acting NSAID formulation is definitely not a suitable substitute. (Also, the non-physician writing the blog gets dosages wrong, suggesting 440mg of OTC Aleve—which he claims is naproxen, when it is in fact naproxen sodium—is a substitute for 500mg of base naproxen; if Aleve was naproxen you'd obviously need 500mg, not 440mg, but with naproxen sodium, the equivalent to 500mg of naproxen is 550mg of naproxen sodium, so in addition to magnifying the side effects the drug combo seeks to manage, his recommendation would seem to be underdosing for the intended therapeutic effect.)

And this is why you shouldn't take medical advice from someone whose qualifications for giving such advice seem to be that he is a health economist and former hospital accountant.

We're a fairly clever group here, with diverse knowledge. Which means I trust that people asking for advice here realize the need to balance anything posted here with asking a doctor.

Besides, doctors won't tell you anecdotes from other patients. They will present you with the options to treat your problems. Sometimes there are clear answers how to proceed. But when it is less clear, all they can do is tell you the options, and give you pros/cons, and maybe possible outcomes. You then need to make a decision. And asking other people who have been in the same place can be helpful to that decision-making process.

I have psoriatic arthritis, which is a seronegative spondylarthropathy, just like ankylosing spondylitis.

Through lifestyle changes I have managed to significantly reduce pain, improve energy and cognitive function, and recently I also stopped one of the two drugs I've been injecting weekly.

I was previously on weekly injections of 25mg Methotrexate and 50mg Enbrel. I'm now on only 50mg Enbrel. Minimal symptoms.

My recipe for success seems to be: * Vegan whole foods (a la the How Not To Die book by Dr Greger) * Daily exercise * Reduce stress * Plenty of rest * Socialize with people I like

As for the Enbrel, my strategy to get off it is to continue with weight loss (I'm overweight). Enbrel is a TNF-a inhibitor, and TNF-a is overexpressed in body fat tissue.

I hope this information is useful to someone.