Hi....I can only give you my experience of Enbrel...to be honest I was really anxious about starting it but it was fine!!! A nurse came to my home the first couple of times to show me how to inject and to make sure I could do it correctly. After all my anxiety I got on brilliantly with Enbrel apart from a couple of strange drug induced rashes but they were not that troublesome, injection site reactions are also very common but seem to settle the more your body gets used to it! The injection literally took seconds to do...I really rated Enbrel but sadly it didn't get my RA under control fully so I had to stop. Good luck with getting approval and which biologic you go for 😊
Yes I know what you mean..the roll reverses and your supposed to be the doctor and expert knowing which to choose..crazy.I have tried 3 different ones and none have made any difference but to be honest they only let me try for 3 mths before changing.had to wait another 2 months in between too.The thought of injecting made me nervous but most are a pen like devise and are so easy.I did it into my leg. I have tried Enbrel,Humira and rituximab infusion.They work for some and not others and can only work for short time too.For all I went through it wasn't worth it but you never know and when desperate you try anything plus do as consultant says.
I would have thought they would tell you what one to go on. As they may work differently. I've been on humeria for 8 weeks. It has worked on my stiffness, I do not dread getting out of bed anymore. fatigue has decreased. My problem now is joint pain. I was in a flare for about a year, I think I now have permanent damage in several joints.
So if you have stiffness & fatigue I would recommend humeria. ( it started to work after 1st injection). Good luck 😀
HI Heathersmum69,
this happens quite frequently and we do get calls on the helpline from people who have been given the same choices as you.
We can't say which drug would be the best based on symptom control but based on all things being equal from the effectiveness of the drug to control your RA then what we say is to consider things like frequency and method of administration. Is it given by an infusion, sub cut, pen? Which one of these do you prefer and how often. Would you prefer to have an infusion in hospital ( some people prefer that) etc.
If you would like to discuss this more then please feel free to call the helpline on:
0800 298 7650 Monday - Friday 9.30am - 4.30pm
Hope this helps and good luck with the biologics whchever one you choose.
I had Retuximab infusion in December, just about to have a second in about 6 weeks. First one took about 3 weeks to work but was magic when it did. Hope whatever you choose works just as well for you.
I wish you the best of luck with this. I eventually was put on Enbrel after failing on 3 traditional meds and it has been simply wonderful for me. I also inject MTX once a week but combined with the Enbrel I was noticeably better within 2 weeks of starting. We are all different and it is a bit of a lottery but if it works for you it is a wonderful drug.
All the best. Fiona x
ps Enbrel was my consultants preferred choice of the biologics on offer so I went with that.
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