Generic Name: Sulfasalazine for Rheumatoid Arthritis (sulfasalazine)
Sulfasalazine for Rheumatoid Arthritis Reviews
"I've dealt with joint pains and swelling of my joints that on and off forced me to use crutches at only 22 years old. (And several other symptoms) Prednisone was the only medication helping me deal with the worst of my pains. My doctor suggested I start taking sulfasalazine about 5 months ago and I was shocked at my results. I haven't felt this healthy in a very long time. Sulfasalazine helped me get my life back, and I am so grateful for my results. I've had no side effects that I've noticed except for the headaches I got when I started taking the medication."
Azulfidine (sulfasalazine) "56-year-old female diagnosed with RA two years ago. Before the diagnosis, I had severe pain in my hands, arms, shoulders, knees, ankles, and legs. I really thought I was going in the direction of a wheelchair. I had been a runner but never thought I would run again. After about six months of being on the medicine Azulfidine, I was able to start running again. This year in July, I qualified for the Boston Marathon! Something I’ve only dreamt about, thank you so much for the medicine!"
"I have been taking sulfasalazine for 19 years, the age of my son. As a baby, I could not lift him, my wrists were too painful. My rheumatoid arthritis was in 15 joints, symmetrical, etc. I was on the Dutch COBRA study, combining sulfasalazine, methotrexate, and prednisone, except I was in the placebo group getting only sulfasalazine. It kicked in after 6 weeks and so far has worked well. Some issues with my left foot started a year ago, but it doesn't stop me hiking in The Alps for a week."
"I have been on it since 2009 due to severe back pain. I was told I have ankylosing spondylitis, a disease which affects joints. But this medicine improved my condition up to the point that I can lead a normal life again."
"I was diagnosed with RA when I was 10 years old. I was prescribed methotrexate originally, and that worked well. But when I reached 21, I wanted to come off of it because I wanted to be able to consume alcohol. I was then prescribed sulfasalazine and found that this worked just as well as methotrexate. The only downfall was how long it took to kick in and relieve my symptoms. After taking sulfasalazine for a little over a year, I went into remission for 3 years. But this week, my jaw is very stiff and hurts pretty bad so I started back up on sulfasalazine (2 pills in the morning, 2 pills at night). I have no side effects. For those who get nausea from sulfasalazine, folic acid really helps with that. I highly recommend this medication."
"Have been on sulfasalazine for a year since being diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. I am grateful to have it since other medicines aren't an option for me due to unexplained elevated liver enzymes. It has helped the pain of rheumatoid arthritis quite a lot and my inflammation has gone down. I just wish it addressed the fatigue."
"Initially caused severe headaches upon waking. The headaches responded well to Tylenol. Took months to become effective at all, and after that, my rheumy doubled my dose, which took even more months. Total time to achieve a tolerable level of inflammation was 7 months. I finally feel like a more 'normal' person again. It is not 100% effective, but I am satisfied as I do not need to take anything else like an NSAID or other pain meds anymore. I'm glad I didn't give up on it as it is working and is considered one of the more benign DMARDs available. I suffer from inflammatory arthritis (nonspecific/not RA). Check into turmeric (golden paste) to help with inflammation. Praying for a cure for all!"
"Rheumatoid arthritis since 1994, pretty severe case. Had to stop taking Humira and methotrexate due to repeated bouts with pneumonia and lung damage. Currently on sulfasalazine, Plaquenil, and prednisone. Occasional flares but things are basically back under control."
Sulfazine (sulfasalazine) "Been on sulfasalazine for 3 years, for me the first 2 weeks were hard on the stomach. Felt like I was going to vomit all the time but never did, it was slow to have the effect maybe a month, but after that it has been good. Still get flare up the odd time. It is inexpensive compared to the other medications."
"It’s only been a few weeks, and sulfasalazine has stopped the shooting pain in my wrist, along with bad cramping in my fingers and thumb, that was waking me up at night. While the swelling in my hands and feet hasn’t gone down much, I’m enjoying the relief and feel grateful. I just now started the two-a-days but am optimistic about my ability to stay active. I’ve only experienced a little nausea so far, and it’s worth it. Headed to the gym to see what I can do!"
"Diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis 18 months ago, been on sulfasalazine all time. First 2 months felt sick and headachey, but okay since. Found ringing in ears relieved by having high pillows, i.e. two good ones and a very soft lesser one. Visit Rheumatologist every 6 months, with blood tests every 3 months. Carpel tunnel was very bad prior to taking sulfasalazine. Much better now; keeping well."
"My reaction was unusual! After the second week, I began to get daily severe headaches and a raised temperature. After the third week, my temperature was quite high and I still had severe headaches. The doctor thought it was an infection. Blood tests showed extremely high CRP, ESR, and raised liver enzymes. I also had extremely low blood pressure. I was taken off sulfasalazine and treated with antibiotics. I improved quickly. I recommenced the medicine, and had exactly the same reaction within a week!"
"I've taken sulfasalazine for four months (1000 mg twice per day). It took at least six weeks to become effective, but combined with Etodolac, an anti-inflammatory, I have had good success with controlling a monoarthritic knee that had been diagnosed as rheumatoid arthritis after almost 20 years of problems, various surgeries, etc. I worry about side effects, but the pain and extreme swelling is controlled after many years."
"After 6 months of symptoms, I was diagnosed with RA 5 weeks ago and started this medication immediately. The pain was primarily affecting my feet, ankles, and toes, and I had been totally unable to walk for the whole 6 months. After about 3 weeks, I noticed a major improvement. Although I still had pain, the locked-up stiffness was totally gone, which meant I could walk again. Today, after 5 weeks, the pain is drastically improved, and I hope this continues. Today, I went out to see how far I could walk, and I made it 4 kms. I also experienced no side effects coming onto this medication. I would also suggest anyone with RA check out the Paddison program. Clint Paddison developed very severe RA at 31 and got to full remission and off of all of his medications in only two years. You can do it too!!"
"I’ve been on the good injection for years, which has been amazing. Due to it not being sold anymore, they have put me on sulfasalazine. I’m on 3 a day now and have constant headaches, pain in my neck, no energy at all, and loss of appetite. I’m dreading taking 4 next week. I just hope my body can adjust to the medication and no side effects."
"I’ve been on sulfasalazine for RA for about 10 weeks. I increased the dose gradually over 3 weeks. Once I reached the full dose (2000 mg/day), I started noticing side effects. Mostly headaches and nausea. I decided to try to stick it out, and I’m so glad I did. Eventually, side effects went away as I adjusted to the med. Over the past week, I’ve felt better than I have in years! Still have joints that are sore, but the symptoms I have are very mild compared to what they once were. Hoping this continues to improve over the next few months."
Sulfazine (sulfasalazine) "I have rheumatoid arthritis and have been using Sulfasalazine for the last 4 years as an 'add-on' to methotrexate. I take the maximum dose, but must confess that I can only see a minimal reduction of pain using this medicine."
"I have only been on this med for 4 months. It has helped with my stiffness. My body would become so stiff, felt like I had pre-death rigormortis... especially after sitting for any length of time. Getting up from a sitting position was extremely painful and awkward. My only complaint about the med is that it is too large for me to swallow. I take 3 per day, and I am fearful that I will choke on them. They scrape my throat and esophagus when I take them. Wish they would change the shape and coat them to make them easier to take."
Sulfazine (sulfasalazine) "I have had a small improvement with sulfasalazine, but unfortunately, I started having severe ringing in the ears after 6 months. Also, it gave me pain in my Achilles tendon and calves at night. Keep in mind that I had the pain side effect also with cholesterol medications, but not the ringing in the ears."
"Been on this sulfasalazine for RA for 4 years now, and for the last 6 months, sharp cramping pain in the stomach right of the navel. I don’t know if anyone else has had this problem, plus pain under the left rib. Seriously thinking of packing it in, joints no improvement either, also dry, itchy upper feet. Also been taking it without folic acid, which is advisable apparently, but which I didn’t know about. This drug can cause folate deficiency and vitamin B12 deficiency too. Horrible drug."
"Diagnosed with RA in 2013. Managed on hydroxy and Kenalog injections until last year when wrists, neck, and knees were in constant pain. Started on sulfasalazine last September - Kenalog injection initially reduced pain and swelling until it kicked in, and apart from a couple of blood issues, sulfasalazine has been great. No daily side effects at all, but when I reached 4 daily, my neutrophils decreased to an unacceptable low. I’m now settled on 3/day rather than 4, and it seems to be working for me."
"I have been on these meds for 6 weeks now. I started with one pill a day, then increased weekly to four pills a day. It has greatly helped with my pain. I'm sleeping better at night and especially within the last week, I have been able to go about life almost how I did pre-diagnosis. So for that part, I would recommend giving it a go. As for side effects, I've been fortunate enough to not experience any type of stomach upset or headaches or anything like that. I have, however, been losing a lot of hair. I can run my hand through very lightly, no tugging whatsoever, and end up with about 20 strands. I can run my hand through continually like this and the same thing happens. No pain from pulling, just falling out. :( Choosing to tough it out for now."
"No benefits of using sulfasalazine for RA. Just stomach pain, asthma, depression, anxiety, and a constant feeling of impending doom. Strange, but I'm post-menopausal and had menstrual bleeding after 1 week on sulfasalazine. All of this stopped when I stopped taking this drug."
"Was diagnosed with RA in July 2018, started on Plaquenil a couple weeks after, then in December 2018, they started me on the sulfasalazine. I was very gassy when starting out. It took me 6 weeks to go from 500 mg per day to 2000 mg. My symptoms were pretty severe in July 2018, and it took about 4 months for Plaquenil to do anything. At about 6 weeks on sulfasalazine, I started getting improvements. I'm now at 9 weeks, and I went all day and barely had any joint pain. The only thing that sucks is it seems to be making my GERD symptoms a little worse at times still. I'm hoping that this will gradually decline in the next few weeks, though. Other than that, I get a bit drowsy and seem to sleep longer on this. But so far, I'm pretty happy with it."
"I started on sulfasalazine three months ago. The first four weeks were difficult as I experienced headaches, palpitations, and felt exhausted. I also had severe mouth ulcers and required antibiotic therapy. I found that increasing the dosage weekly was too intense, so I reduced the increase to four weekly and found my body tolerated the increase better. I am now on two in the morning and one in the evening and am starting to see improvement in swelling and flare-ups. I noted that once a flare starts, it is time to increase the dose. I started feeling aches all over this weekend, so I plan to increase to two in the morning and two in the evening. I will update on my progress. NB: I'm in the UK."
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