......have nothing to do with this topic!
This is a question for those on the biologics and especially Enbrel. When you look back at the progress you have made with your medication, would you say you had no pain or just less pain, less stiffness, less fatigue, what? I am trying to get a detailed description of what type of improvments were felt.
To me, and mind you I may be overthinking this since I have only been on Enbrel for 3 weeks, but I am less tired and less stiff but still have weakness in the joints and pain is still about the same. It is easier for me to deal with the pain if I am not so flippin' worn out all of the time and not so stiff when I wake up. Is this what you all have experienced or am I just weird, or am I jumping the gun?
(okay, I know I am weird anyways...but you know what I mean here)
Good attention grabber
I had my sixth shot yesterday. The morning stiffness is down to about an hour and a half but still have it off and on throughout the day. Pain...hasn't gone anywhere. I have had a super bad week and had to call the RD yesterday. They called in tramadol for me and took it about 7:00 yesterday, man, was I loopy. Laid on the heat massager for about an hour after that. Edge was taken off pain but it is right back this morning.
Not quite as tired as before, can get by on an hour nap instead of a two hour nap.
I don't think you are jumping the gun. Going back over notes of each shot, I saw a difference in the second week, back to square one with shot three and four, shot five helped with morning stiffness and tiredness. Although today I am soooo tired my eyeballs keep crossing.
Here's hopig the enbrel works for all of us that are new to it.
So you kind of regressed a bit then? See I felt real good Sunday (took shots on Sat night) and I overdid it because my energy level was up. It took 36 hrs to recover from that! Duh!I've been on Humira more than a year and a half now. I won't say everything is perfect; but I now feel better than I have in years.
The first things that changed for me was my energy level. I found myself doing more and more and the exhastion was more than cut in half. It took about 4 injections before I have a noticeable difference in joint pain.
I still have to remember that I can't over do it. I work a 40 hour week and by the time I get home in the evenings I have little energy for anything more than dinner and MAYBE a load of laundry. I'm certainly no super woman; but I know plenty of folks that do not have RA and get less accomplished than I do once they get home in the evening.
I'm not sure I answered the question right....
I don't like Enbrel. I guess if it does anything, it helps with the fatigue. But I'm not sure because I'm in so much pain, I have a hard time sleeping. Maybe it helps with FM instead of RA. But my swelling, inflammation and pain are worse. And, it has definitely not slowed the progress of the disease for me. I've been on it about 9 mos out of the last year. I had two infections already, one serious with bronchitis that really got bad fast, putting me on the verge of pericarditis again.
I don't think it is the miracle drug it claims to be.
No Lovie, you did answer my question. I think. You are saying you have had the most noticable change in your level of energy, but you have had an improvment in the pain too...right?
Deanna, you clever girl! You figured me out! The secret cure for RA is Lacey drawers.....and this works especially well for men with RA...really, trust me, I'm a nurse...I know these things!
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