enbrel

[jujubee43]

Hi was diagnosed over a year ago with RA and have only taken prednisone and sometimes meloxicam. my left wrist has been hurting on and off for sometime now. my RA doc had me get an MRI and found that it was all from RA and has now advised me to start takin Embrel. I am nervous about taking this because of the risks of infections and cancer. my RA doc says not to worry and that those won't happen and that by taking the drug I will appreciate that not getting any joint damage. anyone out there take embrel?

[Sophie_dog_lover]

Hi Jujubee43, I'm starting my first injection of Enbrel on Friday. I'm a little nervous about doing the shot, but a nurse is coming to show me how. I hope you get some relief from the pain! Is your rheumy also having you take some methotrexate? It can help your immune system to not build an immunity to the Enbrel. I attached a link to an article about it and cancer risks - which are low. This article was very helpful for me. Hope it works well for both of us!

nras.org.uk/etanercept-enbrel-

[jujubee43 in reply to Sophie_dog_lover]

thank you so much for the article and i plan on discussing with my rheumatologist. very helpful

[jujubee43 in reply to Sophie_dog_lover]

good morning. how did your first injection go? My wrist is feeling much better. i believe the swelling is going down. unfortunately, i twisted wrong and threw my back out. i have only done this two other times in my life. i don't believe the back incident has anything to do with my RA. i see a chiropractor monday. can't fully enjoy the effects of enbrel yet, but i think it is going to work.

[Sophie_dog_lover in reply to jujubee43]

Hi, it was much easier than i feared. Fingers crossed it helps! I'm glad your wrist is better! What rotten luck today hurt your back! I hope it's feeling better very soon!!

[jujubee43 in reply to Sophie_dog_lover]

how are you feeling so far with the enbrel?

[Sophie_dog_lover in reply to jujubee43]

Hi, jujubee34,

Sorry for the delay, it's been a busy time. I have had two injections of Enbrel so far. It's hard to say because I got a steroid shot last month and I think it's only just starting to wear off. So I will probably be able to see in the next few weeks if I'm noticing any improvements. I hope your back is feeling much better now!

[jujubee43 in reply to Sophie_dog_lover]

hi there, had my second injection last wednesday and felt good for a few days and then left wrist started hurting again along with right wrist and fingers. today, on the other hand (no pun intended) i've felt great! almost no pain. my doc told me it may take 3 to 4 months to really start feeling the effects. i am not going to get my hopes up, but will continue praying for good days. and for all those in this blog. God Bless.

[keeta]

Hi lovely . Have tried mtx was brilliant .but it didn.t like me.effected my blood .liver .and lungs.went on to sulfazalzine.didn.t do anything at all.stayed on that but now on embrel aswell. My third injection this week.already swelling in both wrists have gone down and they were big.hasn.t done much for stiffness and pain yet but early days. Just be aware of your own body and any changes .or infections. Take care .don.t worry.goid luck. Kathy x

[jujubee43 in reply to keeta]

thank you so much. i will try not to worry and i will try to be patient

[Paula-C]

I started Enbrel on November 2012. I was so bad at the time that I was more worried about the drug not working than side effects. Both my specialist nurse and the nurse who came to my home to watch me inject said that some lucky patients have a "Ta-Dah" moment shortly after injecting it, it can start to work almost straight away..........I was one of those lucky patients. Got up the following morning and felt so much better. I just got better and better and after a few weeks was in clinical remmision and still am!

I still get the odd rumble of RA but not bad enough to have to take any pain relief. Had no side effects at all. I call it my magic potion. My consultant told me that if it works it's the best one to be on because your body doesn't build up too many anti bodies to stop the drug from working. That's why they like you to take mtx along with it because that also helps stop anti bodies building up.

Good luck.....hope it works it's magic for you!

[Simba1992]

Maybe you are lucky not having to go through the often so endless and tiresome months of trying to find dmards that would eventually work for you, or then not. Biologics have less side effects and are in fact more efficient in stopping progression. The risk of adverse serious effects depend on many factors and the longterm effects are still not sufficiently known. It's always a gamble to some degree with these meds. Good luck and hope all goes well.

[rawillbebeaten]

Hi, I was in constant pain in all my joints and I was very stiff, could only move with difficulty, for almost a year while I went through various medication options in 2001 to 2002. When I got prescribed Enbrel it was like a miracle. The consultant said I should feel better after 48 hours, he was right. Initially I was nervous about doing the injection and it was early days of the drug and I had to mix a powder with a liquid before injecting and it was 25ml twice a week. I had to come off it in 2014 as it was no longer working as well, the 50ml pre-mixed was so much easier. I know Enbrel slowed down my joint damage and after some tribulations I am now on Rituximab and other drugs that I've always been on and at Last, seem back on track after a very difficult end 2015 and most of 2016. You do have to be very careful of infection but a lot of RA drugs supress the immune system so that's standard really. I never really considered the slight increase in risk of cancer. Pain, stiffness and joint damage were there and present and that was all that mattered.

Wishing you the best of luck in your progress and hope Enbrel works for you fantastically

Michele

[jujubee43 in reply to rawillbebeaten]

thank you. i am happy you are feeling better. i hope and pray that your years to come are painfree.

[jujubee43]

Hi All,

Thank you so much for your comments. Very helpful. I did my first injection this a.m. after some praying. I am trying not to worry about the possible effects. My nurse showed me how to give the shot weeks ago and did the stretch instead of the pinch method and feel like it went into my muscle (thigh). I hope I didn't go too deep. My leg doesn't hurt at all now. Does anyone know, if it went into my muscle, if that is okay? I'll do another shot next week.

Have a Blessed day.

[Hobbits in reply to jujubee43]

I am on Enbrel and the needle is too short to go into muscle for me as I inject into my stomach area and do the pinch. I use the manual syringe, very similar to a diabetic needle. The spread is usually done with the auto-injector pen. I think what you might be feeling is the burn. Quick injection can cause a temporary burn. I chose the manual syringe so I can control how fast the Med is administered. This medicine saved my life and allows me to work full-time. I inject every 6 days 50ml. I suffer terrible fatigue, the kind that you are too tired to even shampoo your hair in the shower so you just soap your body instead - I need all my energy to get through work and then I am zapped, too tired to move. For a very long time my Rheumy thought the chronic fatigue must either be my RA disease or the Enbrel. I wasn't about to stop the drug to find out.

Recently I was diagnosed with very advanced

Crohn's disease, and turns out this may be the cause of my debilitating fatigue.

Enbrel has risks, but weighing them with the benefits it's worth it to most people in it.