I have an appt with my rheumy on Friday - he gave me a list of meds to research. I was on Enbrel previously for three years, but had got to the point where I was having regular discomfort and swelling so we switched to Humira. I have progressively gone down hill - I forgot how horrible RA can be and dream of my 'bad' Enbrel days!
He wants to add another med. I refuse to do methotrexate. The other suggestions were Arava and Imuran.
Of course there are the infusions... my insurance pays for them. But he has been 'dropped' by my insurance for prescribing them in the past. (oh.. did I mention my IV phobia ??).
Does anyone have suggestions/recommendations?
My knee jerk answer is to resume Enbrel ( I have 4 doses in the fridge!), but fear I am masking the reason why I quit it in the first place.
Thanks so much for listening!
Dear Vickey, I don't have any suggestions about meds as I'm struggling with my own 'cocktail' of Remicade (8 wks), 6 methotrexate 2.5 each weekly, and had to take prednisone because of a serious operation, which caused a serious RA Flare up!. Good luck with all this as I know how difficult it can be.
sarah
Have you considered AP therapy? If you're interested, a good book to read is The New Arthritis Breakthrough by Henry Scammell (check out the reader's reviews!), and you can probably get it from your local library. I haven't been on it long enough to know if it works for me, but I know it works for a lot of people. Good luck with whatever you try!After the Humira starting loosing its effectiveness I stated Orencia (infusion). I can't take methotrexate, so I also take plaquenil. The good thing about this combo is I don't seem to get as many colds and infections. I am still on pred.
I found the once a month IV not as scarey as giving myself shots once a week.