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Enbrel,Humira or Remicade?

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Rheumatoid Arthritis
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Posted 2/8/2012 5:36 PM (GMT 0)
Hi :)
I was at the hospital today, for my arthritis (If you need to now more check my profile!)
And the Docter told me I can choose Enbrel,Humira or Remicade...

Have you ever tried any of the drugs? Did you have any side effects?
If you wonder at something just ask..: D

Posted 2/12/2012 4:27 PM (GMT 0)
I have used all 3, and I didn't get much relief. Now I'm on Cimzia, still feeling rough and terribly fatigued. The only thing you might want to consider is that Remicade is usually given as infusions, and you have to go sit in the clinic for several hours. The others are more convenient, you self-inject at home. I have not noticed any side effects from any of them.


Good luck! More people than not are helped by these drugs. I hope you are too!
Posted 2/13/2012 3:47 AM (GMT 0)
I'm so sorry I don't uses these medicines as I get pneumonia easy...but maybe you could google each one and
find more info out there on them, The infusion ones might be more expensive so take that into considerations...
Prayers and well wishes to you in hopes you can find one that'll work good for you...
Posted 2/13/2012 5:46 PM (GMT 0)
I used Humira for a year and it worked great for the first six months, then I increased the dose to weekly and it worked well for another six months. I then switched to Enbrel which has been working great since July 2010. My rheum doc switched to the Enbrel because she said that it has the most different mechanism of action compared to the Humira in the anti tnf group.

There are five anti tnfs- Enbrel (sub q weekly), Humira (sub q every two weeks but can be increased to weekly, Cimzia (sub q every 2-4 weeks), Simponi (sub q once a month), Remicade (infusion every 4-8 weeks).

Beyond the anti tnfs are Orencia (initially an infusion then sub q), Actemra (infusion), and Rituxan (infusion). But usually they try at one or more of the tnfs before moving on.

When I was on Humira I did get some injection site reactions although it wasn't bad. I've had no reactions with the Enbrel.

Hope you find relief!
Posted 2/13/2012 5:49 PM (GMT 0)
One last thing- the biologics work differently for everyone- but for me they have been truly miracle drugs, worked rapidly, and gave me my life back. I hope they do the same for you!
Posted 2/14/2012 12:52 AM (GMT 0)
I like humira. I didn't suit remicade, the infusions took up a whole day by the time you get into hospital wait your turn for a chair, wait for your tests, get the infusion.... then I reacted badly to the mouse protein so they would infuse stuff to stop the reaction and then the remicade, it just took forever!
I also tried Orencia, which worked but not as well as humira, so my vote is humira.
They do take a while to kick in, a couple of months for me and then you feel so much better. Just watch any infection you get, go immediately to a dr, no fighting it yourself, you end up really ill. Thats my advce.
Good luck, golitho
Posted 2/15/2012 8:35 AM (GMT 0)
Everyone reacts differently on these meds. I had been on Enbrel before and it did not do a thing for me. Than I was on Remicade, it work very well for about 4-5 years and than it lost it's effectiveness. as a matter of facts, the last couple of infusion of remicade gave me a allergic reaction. couple times, I was getting itch and hives, the nurse gave me some benadryl and it took care of the hives, but benadryl itself also gave me a problem. the last infusion I have on Remicade, I had a respiratory reaction, I was having a hard time breathing, so I had to be off of it, since it didn't work anymore anyway. Than I was placed on Orencia for a few month and it didn't work for me, now my doctor wants to try Humira on me. I have yet to start Humira yet, will see how it works
Posted 2/17/2012 1:16 AM (GMT 0)
Hey Swon, my infusion nurse told me it takes up to 5 months for orencia to work at all. It was exactly 5 months before I noticed any difference, if you were only on it a few months you hadn't given it long enough to build up in your system. It accumulates very slowly. Having said all that it never worked as well as humira has fo me. Plus I got a lot of mouth ulcers on it.

But just in case you didn't know.

Regards, golitho

Posted 2/29/2012 6:21 PM (GMT 0)
I am new to this forum but I agree with the post above... biologics work differently for everyone. And like that person, Enbrel has worked wonders for me. I've been on Methotrexate and Plaquenil (along with Folic Acid) for about 4 years now. All was working VERY well and then Wham!.... unusual stress entered my life and suddenly, the balls of my feet hurt, my ankles hurt, my wrists and fingers were swelling up.... I was so scared that the bliss disappeared.  I know that I was "doing it to myself" due to the way I responding to stress in my life but my Rheumatologist  said that it didn't matter WHY I was worsening. We just have to TREAT IT. She recommended Enbrel. I was hesitant since for me, Enbrel means a once-a-week shot that I give myself (pre-filled syringes of the meds come to me on ice once a month for me to put in the fridge so I can do the self injection ). The nurses worked with me to teach me how to do it and the Enbrel site was really informative on technique as well. I bit the bullet and went for it. That was 8 weeks ago. It took a few weeks for me to notice a difference but now that 8 weeks have gone by.... I love it. I HATE Thursday evenings since that's when I psych myself up for the shot but once that is over, I once again remember that the pain is GONE and my life is my own again. I still take my regular doses of M ethotrexate, Plaquenil, and Folic Acid but now I add Enbrel. Also, my insurance stinks so I use Enbrel's "co-pay support plan" to make it easier on the pocketbook. Thank goodness for THAT! Good luck to you. I hope you too, have a success story soon. ~Debbie
Posted 2/29/2012 8:34 PM (GMT 0)
ENBREL: Been on it for several years now. 50mg injection in my leg every Sunday. Stings a tad for a minute, but it is BETTER than having the pain for the other 1,679 minutes in the week. I am sleeping better and able to camp (flop and drop) with the Scout Troop again.

A TRUE wonder drug!!


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Diagnosis - Ankylosing Spondylitis
Meds - Enbrel, Piroxicam, HCT
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