Leflunomide

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Medications
Orthopedic

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Rheumatologist

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Rheumatologist

Vancouver, BC

Leflunomide

Leflunomide is indeed an immunosuppressive disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD) that is used in the treatment of active moderate-to-severe rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis.
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True/False - Quiz: Do You Understand Leflunomide?

Quiz: Do You Understand Leflunomide?

Test your knowledge by answering the following questions:

Questions

True

False

0

Leflunomide comes in a 20 milligram or a 40 milligram pill.

Explanation:

Leflunomide comes in a 10 milligram or a 20 milligram pill. Your rheumatologist may start you at a lower dose of around 10 milligrams a day, and if you tolerate it well, he or she may increase your dosage to 20 milligrams a day.

1

You can develop sores in the nose and mouth as a side effect of taking leflunomide.

Explanation:

Leflunomide is commonly associated with side effects such as diarrhea, hair loss, sores in the nose and mouth, headaches, high blood pressure and cough or shortness of breath.

2

Getting pregnant while you're taking leflunomide is safe.

Explanation:

Leflunomide is an absolute contraindication for pregnancy or consideration of pregnancy, so your specialist will recommend that you don’t go on leflunomide if you’re of childbearing age. If for some reason you are of childbearing age and you are on leflunomide, it’s very important that you let your specialist know well in advance, because leflunomide stays in your body for months to even years.

3

Leflunomide is often prescribed for psoriatic arthritis.

Explanation:

Leflunomide is a medication that is commonly used for rheumatoid arthritis and certain types of inflammatory arthritis, such as psoriatic arthritis.

4

You won't notice the results of leflunomide overnight.

Explanation:

Leflunomide can take several weeks or months to be effective, so you need to be patient.

Taking Arava -Leflunomide

Arava is available as oral tablets in 10 mg, 20 mg, and 100 mg doses.A dose of 10 mg or 20 mg is usually taken once a day as a single tablet. In some cases, it may be prescribed every other day.Rheumatologists used to start Arava with three loading doses of 100 mg per day. This is not usually done any more because there is a greater risk of side effects at this dose.

It usually takes 6 to 8 weeks for Arava to start working, and it can take up to 6 months to feel the maximum effect.