New to Enbrel...

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-24-2004
New to Enbrel...
11
Sun, 05-28-2006 - 9:28am

Hi!

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iVillage Member
Registered: 05-01-2005
Mon, 05-29-2006 - 1:12am

Hi Sarah and welcome to the RA support board. You have certainly come to the right place! This is a group of knowledgeable and caring people.

I have had RA for seven years. I have been on Enbrel for about five years. I have never taken the Enbrel just by itself. I started it with Arava and Plaquenil. It took four months for me to see a difference. After a year or so, I actually went into remission for eight months - no meds during that time. The RA came back and I went back to my twice weekly shots of Enbrel. I am currently on Enbrel, 15 mg. oral methotrexate, 200mg. of Plaquenil. For many of us here, it is a combination of drugs that work best for us. I have heard of people where the Enbrel worked right away. It just depends on the individual. The only side effect I have from Enbrel is the occasional bruising, a welt sometimes or itching at the injection site. Taking a Benadryl on shot day helps with these reactions. There are many of us on Enbrel here and I am sure there will be many posts after the Holiday. We, also, have a couple ladies with Crohn's on the board.

One thing that does concern me, is that you say you have been on and off of Prednisone. I hope you taper off of this drug very slowly. It is a steroid and can cause problems, if you stop it "cold turkey". Check with your rheumy about stopping the Prednisone.

One more thing to remind you, is that we are not doctors here. We just relate our experiences and what we have learned through dealing with this disease. Keep checking the board, as you will get more responses. I know Molly and Cyndi, our co-cl's, will pop in and give you more information.

I look foward to getting to know you.
Gentle Hugs,
Vicki

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-25-2003
Mon, 05-29-2006 - 9:45am

Dear Sarah,

A wonder drug...for me it has been. I have been on it for 2 1/2 yrs now ( since it first became available here..if you qualified) and before that I spent 2 years in an horrendous flare, in hospital 8 times in that period for iV 1000mg prednisone infusions daily for 3 days, & once for liver failure thanks to Arava.

Enbrel for me gave me the opportunity to get my life back. Yes I was concerned about long term side effects, will we find out in 15 years that we have developed a problem for its use that was unkown, a possiblity. But in my own opinion many drugs can have longterm ( & short term)use effects, but like a lottery not all will have problems. For me the issue was the damage RA was rapidly doing to the integrity of my joints, a more serious side effect was the disease for me.

I did have inital reactions to Enbrel. I developed large raw welts & cellulitis across both thighs and my stomach, my reaction was registered with the maker of Enbrel, my doc suggested I stop Enbrel but I jabbed on...and the reaction stopped in a few weeks. I started to notice a difference in about 2 months, even on 20 mg of pred daily at the time.

Today I am on MXt 20mg. Enbrel twice week. Prednisone 2.5mg daily ( i have just come off 5 mg and plan to be nil pred in a few months. I still get mini flares, just before I menstrate, & have pain daily but that is due to the joint damage & working. I now go to the gym 5 times a week. And I have actually never felt better. 2 1/2 yrs ago I needed help to dress, help to cut up my meals, help to get out of bed and to the toilet on time, I cried alot I could not get my pain under control. My RA is still active, but my pathology is all normal and my body just knows when it is my Enbrel injection day...so I just jab away and have a few more good days.

Will I ever be able to go a day with out consuming so many medications?? Maybe Sarah. I hope this for myself as well. Lell

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-03-2003
Tue, 05-30-2006 - 2:10pm

Sarah, welcome to the RA board.

Molly

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-13-2005
Thu, 06-01-2006 - 6:51pm
HI Sarah,
I've been on Enbril for about 9 months now. I spent a year and 1/2 trying differnt medications and having bad reactions. It took 6 months for the Enbril to actually work for me, but my doc says I could be a poster child for Enbril now. I also take plaquinel, for 12 years, but we may try weaning me off that.
I'm finally feeling good. Even my coworkers notice the difference. I use the twice weekly shots because I was allergic to the preservative in the 50mg. I got HUGE welts. I also had a very sever reaction to salazine.
Good luck to you,
Wendy in NM
iVillage Member
Registered: 09-24-2004
Fri, 06-02-2006 - 9:24am

Thank you for all your replies!!

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iVillage Member
Registered: 11-03-2003
Fri, 06-02-2006 - 1:25pm

Glad to see you again, Sarah!

Molly

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-24-2004
Sat, 06-03-2006 - 9:07am

Hi Molly!

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iVillage Member
Registered: 05-01-2005
Sun, 06-04-2006 - 5:50pm

Sarah, I can't answer the Crone's questions, but I am hoping that one of our posters will read your post and I know she will respond, if she sees it. Bruising at the injection site is very common with Enbrel. I don't always bruise, but most of the time I do. Some are little and some are huge. I guess it depends on if you hit scar tissue or not. My husband gives me my shots and sometimes he says it is hard to get the needle in, mind you, I have been on Enbrel for many years. You are doing a great job with the injections, I hope the Enbrel kicks in soon.

Hugs,
Vicki

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-03-2003
Mon, 06-05-2006 - 2:21pm

(((((((((( Sarah )))))))))))), you have really done your research and homework.

Molly

iVillage Member
Registered: 09-24-2004
Tue, 06-06-2006 - 7:25pm

Hi Molly,


I do a lot of research mainly because I've been on so many different kinds of medications!!!

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