Enbrel

[alsmum]

Hello all and gentle hugs to anyone in pain today. It's a long time since I posted but I do check in from time to time just to keep up. Today my lovely rheumy confirmed my start on Enbrel. I am happy about this, have read all about it and the best news is I can cut methotrexate (metoject) from 20mg to 10 mg weekly. I haven't been feeling too well on 20 mg so this is good news for me. At the moment the metoject is in pen form - is that the same for Enbrel? I know I should have asked today but what happens to our brains when the consultant gives us good news - mush!

Best wishes to all. x xxx

[Wildschonau]

Hi I have been taking enbrel without methotrexate for a year. It has been great and worked very quickly and I am now in remission. It comes as a pen which I take out of the fridge 30 minutes beforehand and I also numb the area with a bag of peas which helps with site reactions . I hope it works well for you.

[alsmum in reply to Wildschonau]

Hi,

thanks for your reply and advice. That's great news about your remission - fingers crossed!

Fi x

[d-creasey]

I am on Envrel alone now as Methotrexate was making me feel so ill. It comes in a pen and I take mine out of the fridge 1/2 hr before I inject. They work well for me even without oral medication in conjunction without Enbrel I cannot function as I get flares. Good luck. Delia. X

[d-creasey in reply to d-creasey]

Sorry that should say Enbrel

[alsmum in reply to d-creasey]

Hi Delia,

thanks for your reply. It's good to hear that it has worked well for you so here's hoping!

Fi x

[Slumberparty]

I`ve been using Enbrel for 7 weeks alongside MTX. It`s working!!!!! The only problem I have is an inflamed itchy jab site. That started on the 5th injection. . I`m going to try the pea trick next week.

Oh. Yes, it is a pen x

[alsmum]

Hi Slumberparty,

thanks for your reply. I'm so pleased this is working for you. Definitely try the frozen peas - I have a pack permanently in my freezer anyway with "not to be eaten" written on them!

Best wishes.

Fi x

[francherry]

Hello Alsmum,

As others have said you can inject it as a 50mg dose (the pen) which is once a week, or you can do 2 injections a week (25mg x 2) which comes in pre-filled syringe form. I do it this way and inject on Mondays and Thursdays. I was given the choice of which one I wanted and the reason I went for the syringe is I tolerate meds better this way. But the pen sounds very straightforward and has the advantage that you can't see the needle. I agree with taking it out of the fridge half an hour before injecting. I take Enbrel without MTX too. Good luck with it, whichever option you go for. Take care.

[alsmum in reply to francherry]

Thanks, Francherry. My consultant recommended that I continue to take Mtx with the Enbrel but I can reduce to 10mg injected weekly which is fine. I hope to receive the meds within the next 4 weeks so will see how things go then. It's a bit weird to say I'm looking forward to this, but I am and hope it works for me as well as it has for others on this site. Keep well.

Fi xx

[IainM]

When I was on Enbril site reactions started at week 5 also, an anti histamine day before and some steroid cream does the trick, the freezing it just didn't take away the itch or mare for me, hope you get results, it worked great for me until I had to come off it, Start Cimzia on Thursday

[alsmum in reply to IainM]

Thanks for the reply, Iain. I hope it works for me too and best of luck with the Cimzia. Fi x

[nellysgran]

Hello alsmum, I started with the Enbrel in a pen form but I found it so very painful that I was literally screaming with the pain, so when I told my Consultant she immediately put me on the pre-filled injections, which means I can control how fast or slow the medication goes in, I have no problems now, I inject every Thursday morning after taking it out of the fridge for about half an hour, I also inject Mxt every Wednesday.

So far everything is working well and I hope everything works for you.

Wendy x

[alsmum]

Thanks for this, Wendy. I've yet to receive my first supply so don't really know what to expect yet but it's great to know there are alternative methods if there are any problems. I'm glad this is working well for you.

Best wishes.

Fi x