Actemra | Arthritis Information

hello everybody!

i am starting a new infusion drug called Actemra. has anyone tried it? you get an infusion every month. please let me know if you have. i had a bad experience with rituxan so now i am scared although i should not be. i have been on enbrel, kineret, remicade for at least 6 years and many more. drs are increasing my synthroid tomorrow and starting ProLia shots (2 a year) next week for my bones which are quickly dissappearing. i couldnt handle fosamax for years on end. i have been off it about 3 years now but i took it for at least 6. i would appreciate any input. thanks for helping me! did i tell you my son and his bride are coming right after christmas!!!! he goes to afganistan in april. please pray for him. he is incharge of 39 men. i think his unit is called 3/4 he is out of 29 palms, ca. wonderwoman

hello WW!!
So glad to hear from you..

Also thrilled that you are getting some help w/ the RA meds and thyroid!!

Hang in there.. and I will keep your boy in my thoughts..
Good luck with the Actemra. I was just going to update my thread on it, I started a couple weeks ago.

Here's my comments on the infusion and how I feel now: http://www.arthritisinsight.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=27203&PID=287130#287130
Green~Tara2010-10-23 10:22:35

Six months I've been on Actemra now, on max dose with no side effects. After the first infusion, my CRP and sed rate dropped to normal for the first time in 4 years, and have stayed that way. Gradually I'm starting to feel less pain. I wish you the best of luck with it, and will keep your son in my thoughts.

Hello WW, I started RA medicines about 7-8 weeks ago in an "Actemra drug trial". Have written about it here in the forum, and the link that Tara sent above. I may be on Actemra only, MTX only, or some combination of the 2. Have had 2 infusions (Actemra or placebo), no side effects on infusion days, and am much much better, maybe about 80% better. It isn't consistent, some days I have more pain that others, but overall something is really working. I am newly diagnosed with RA, have tried no other medicines, and that made it really attractive for the trial. I do feel lousy, nauseous, on the day I take the weekly capsules of MTX/Placebo, so I have a suspicion that one is not a placebo.

Roland
thank you for your input. this drug sounds promising. life has been extremely difficult for the last year and a half at least. i have had extreme ra a long time (24 years) but i am hoping for the best. please keep me up dated. i did well for awhile on remicade i was probably on it 6 years before it quit working. thanks for your prayers for my son and remember he has a new bride they married last december. keep her in your prayers too as she will stay with the Officers wives in california. wonderwoman
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