Are There Long Term Side Effects from RA Medications?

Are There Long Term Side Effects from RA Medications? (1:09)

Because rheumatoid arthritis drugs suppress the body's immune system, there is a long term risk of infection, says Natalie Azar, MD, a rheumatologist at NYU Langone Medical Center. In this video, she talks about those side effects.

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There are some issues regarding long term issues of long term rheumatoid arthritis medication. Specifically they can increase your risk of infections by suppressing the immune system somewhat. The long term side effects of the medicines however are very individual, so some classes of medicines like the biologics for example could increase your risk ofr reactivating TB of you've had exposure in the past, there's always an issue when we want to very closely for immersions of cancer for example, so there's not one specific side effect that is inclusive of all the medicines but as a patient being treated for rheumatoid arthritis you obviously have to have open communication your rheumatodologist and make sure that you are being monitored appropriately for any known potential side effects that that drug may cause.