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Mary

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My name is Mary and I am 49 years old. I have had PA for 11 years, developed AS about 4 years ago, Crohn's 2 years ago and recently inflammatory ulcers. Have been on MTX for 3 years. My RD says it is unusual for someone to have good results from MTX for that long. Guess I'm just lucky :) A month ago I started on Enbrel. Trying the Tuesday-Friday routine. After the first week I had positive results because I could sleep through the night without my hips and spine waking me up. Just had my monthly blood test yesterday and I can't wait to see the results. I am the mother of 2, and a busy parish pastor, living in the Midwest. The Crohn's symptoms seem to have worsened some in the past 2 weeks, so I asked my RD if it could be the Enbrel. He wasn't sure as the long, cold, dark winter tends to flare me anyhow. I have to say I am not feeling more energetic which I was hoping for. But maybe it hasn't been a long enough time. That bone-crushing fatigue we all know about is still pretty much there. I have a good friend who has severe RA and she is convinced that she couldn't even get out of bed in the mornings if it were not for the Enbrel. So who knows! I have been encouraged and interested in following people's experiences with Enbrel through the AI newsletter.

I welcome any correspondance-email me at: heatherbrae@comcast.net Over the 11 years I have seen a lot of changes in arthritis management, for PA as well as other forms. It is good to be part of a community of caring folks who do not mind sharing their stories. We all benefit from what others are willing to share. Yet there are tragedies, too. My first husband had severe RA-with bone marrow complications and ended up dying in 1997 from organ damage and infections due to the blood disorder. His Dr. said he would rather treat someone with cancer than this stuff-at least most cancers have some form of treatment. We don't often hear about these stories-fortunately they are rare. I sometimes wonder what would have happened if he had been able to use Enbrel or Remicade. But if wishes were horses...

It doesn't keep me from celebrating the fact that these new classes of DMARDS seem to be helping so many people. Now if some of our Docs out there can get on board with the new pain protocols and pay attention to the research in that area we will all benefit some more. Thanks for listening, AI friends. Mary