Well I got the call today and now have to decide what to do. My Dr. wants to start me on Embrel soon. Anyone on it please give me some feed back. I am scared and just don't know what to do. I'm sitting her boo hooing like a baby instead of a 56 year old woman. Encouragement please.
Rocxy from Tennessee
Rocxy,Rocxy,
Enbril has been a God-Send for me. I was on MTX alone for 3 months until insurance approved it. 1 year ago today I was a limping shell of a 45 woman. I would hobble in to the Fitness Center and take the Arthritis classes with the Seniors and I would march throught the warm water and gain a little mobility to get me throught the day.
Today, I have been on Enbril for 8 months and am on Planquenil as well. I get up in the morning, get my kids off, exercise 6 days a week with intense cardio and yoga. I feel great. I am thankful everyday. I know the side effects are Lymphoma and I think about it each week during my injection. I have my life back. Don't I sound like I work for the drug company. I dont. I own a small antique and decorative arts warehouse in the Chicago area!
Good Luck!
Rocxy- I have been on Enbrel and I thought it worked very well up until about a month ago. It is always hard to tell whether increased pain and stiffness is due to a flare or whether the Enbrel is losing its edge. I hope its not the Enbrel, it seems to work wonders for so many people. Best wishes.Roxy, I've been on enbrel for about a year and of all the drugs I take for RA it has the least side effects. I get a site reaction which has lessoned over time. Occasionally, I get a slight runny nose. I have less of a reaction if I inject myself in the stomach rather than the thighs. The enbrel people have a hotline which you can call any time. They'll answer questions about how to give your injection and strategies. If you go back through the archives, you'll find lots of good information from our medically astute people like crunchy and deanna on how to give yourself the shot. Your doctor or nurse will teach you too.Good luck and feel better.Enbrel didnt work for me and gave me terrible migraines...I get them from time to time, but was getting 3+ a week on the Enbrel. It sucked, I was really excited to try it and the company is great too. But, even so, I dont have any regrets for having tried it. It is always scarey...I am going to start Remicade on Monday...and I have been through the same "new med jitters" with MTX, Enbrel, Humira, and now this. You just have to try not to worry about it...kind of like jumping off of the high dive for the first time...you see everyone else doing it but when it is your turn you want to cling to the board. Eventually, you just close your eyes and jump. You may do a swan dive, and you may do a belly flop....but at the end of the day your glad you went for it.
Dive on in girl...you may be pleasently suprised!
Thank you crunchy for the encouragement. I will be getting the Enbrel by UPS or Fed X Tuesday and then will go to Nashville to my rheumy and get started. I feel much better about it after whining and boo hooing to you guys and my best freind Sue. I will let you know how it goes.
Have a Blessed Feeling Good Week
Hi Rocxy, I have been on Enbrel for 6 months now. I take 50mg. once a week. The trick for me is giving myself the shot SLOWLY that way it does not burn. Enbrel has been great for me, no side effects, I take Arava also. After 10 months I have finally found the right RA cocktail. Good luck to you.