going off enbrel temporarily

Hi koi collector

I have ad to come off enbrel several times over the past few years because of infections and have found that the pain gradually increases as the effects of the enbrel decrease, it certainly has never been a 'sudden' experience of a lot of pain more a gradual but persistent build up over perhaps two - four weeks. On occasions the effects of the enbrel have lasted longer than the period I have been off it. Generally the pattern with my rheumatologist is to increase the steroid intake to redress the pain. Of course, the long you are off it the more persistent the pain becomes and I have noticed to that my hands ewtc gradually become more deformed but that goes qwhen i go back on the enbrel, but going back on it means it takes time for it to build up again in your system so the pain only disappears slowly. It's as if everything occurs in slow motion.

Hope that helps

best of luck

arthur

Hi Koi,

I think Arthur really covered my experience of coming off humira when I caught pneumonia last year. Slowly started swelling up in lots of joints until I was shuffling up and down the ward feeling like I was a little old lady. It took me 6-8 weeks after restarting humira before it worked properly again, but I was a mess for over 3 months until my body started to readjust they also put me on prednisone for my chest as well and it took forever to come off that! But my specialist told me that some people have no problem at all and can miss two doses before it becomes noticeable, since then she has bumped up my mtx to give me more of a buffer and now I missed a dose with bronchi*** and had no side effects at all. So what I'm trying to say in a very long winded way is it will depend on what else you take and how long was it before you noticed the improvement when you started enbrel initially. My rheumy said once you start again it should kick in with the same time span. Does that make sense?

Still sick myself and can't get my brain functioning rationally!!! Best wishes, golitho

07/24/09

New member here. Read your post on cost for medication. If you go to www.needymeds.com and click on name brand and then click on E for Embrel the company that makes the medication will come up. They provide Embrel free or low cost depending on your income. For most no one has an income over the limit. You fill out one part of form and your doctor fills out two sections as one is approving you need this medication and second part he or she signs is the px and it provides you with 1 year supply of the medication. It is in most cases delivered to your home. Some cases in medications the pharmacy companies provide are 90 day supply for 1 year and then you apply again before your px runs out in the year time. You do not want to wait until the last few weeks. I have always done it a month ahead at least. You can take an easy step and with most companies they provide not all but most a toll free telephone number to talk to them. It is a service the pharmacy companies have been doing for many years they just never advertize about it. I discovered it many years ago and have always passed it on to anyone in need of medications and can not afford to pay for them. There are very and I mean very few medications they do not provide for. So it is a very good source to get the medications anyone of us need to maintain the best quality of life one can have in this journey! Hope this helps as I am sure it will. Take Care! MountainMan...............P.S I do not have R.A. but a very good friend of 35 years just got diagnosed and they want them to go on Embrel. Have read it comes in 25mg or 50mg shots. They do not like the thought of giving themselves a shot and do not like the side effects it can cause. I was hoping to find another medication they could go on that do not have all the side effects Embrel gives. For all I have read about it the side effects are not something I would ever take the chance of getting. I have 9 chronic illnesses I live with and all my medications are great for me and work together but Embrel is one I would stay away from so there has to be another one that helps. So far in reading everything about R.A. and talking to my Drug Store they only have Embrel as the medication for R.A. but there just has to be something else. Keep Hope Alive I always say. From the neck up it is me but from the neck down I do not know who's body I have! LOL! One has to keep a positive outlook on surviving as that is what keeps me going. Humor is the best medicine. It releases those amazing Endorphines that are better than any Morphine a doctor can write a px for. I always stay away from the negative in life as much as possible but helping others is not negative as the rewards are always priceless.

Most drug companies have some sort of assistance program. I just switched from Enbrel to Cimzia and Cimzia has a 'Cimplicity' card that will pay my co-pays for a while. My insurance covers these meds not under their pharmacy program but under Major Medical so my co-pay is much higher than my pharmacy max co-pay of $50.00. The Cimzia monthly payment would be $170.00 which would be a stretch for me!