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Enbrel vs Humira

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Rheumatoid Arthritis
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Posted 6/30/2015 8:58 PM (GMT 0)
Whelp... my Dr wants me to consider biologics now. I tried searching to see if this had been posted about and I if it exists, I couldn't find it.

I'm only a year and a month into my RA journey. Currently on a max dose of methotrexate, hydroxychloroquine (Plaquenil), and she added sulfasalazine a couple of months ago.

The sulfasalazine was supposed to bring my inflammation levels down to acceptable levels but has failed to do so.

I've been given the option of Enbrel vs Humira and wanted folks who have had experience with one, the other, or both to chime in with their experience. Which would you select? Why/ Why not? If you could have done something differently what would that be?

Thanks for any and all advice you may give.

Thanks in advance, folks.
Andrea
Posted 7/1/2015 12:02 AM (GMT 0)
I haven't been on either yet. My rheumatologist has me on plaquinel and Leflunomide. Together they reduce a lot of my swelling and inflammation.

I'm actually feeling better than I've felt in three years.
Posted 7/1/2015 12:31 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Wolf,
Welcome to HW. I am sorry to hear that your RA is so severe and you are having a hard time controlling. I was in your shoes over 10 yrs ago. I started with humira and I chose that because it was injections only every two weeks.. It worked so well I was almost back to normal with minimal prednisone and flares. It reversed my joint damage. Eventually it quit working and I went to Enbril. It works good too, but I need some methotrexate to control completely.
Good luck and let us know how you do!
Beth
Posted 7/1/2015 5:44 PM (GMT 0)
Hi and welcome!

I was on Enbrel for over 10 years when it first came out and I would recommend it. One reason is that it is one of the first biologics to hit the market so it has been around a long time and as far as biologics go that is a good thing.

My experience on it was very good. It almost completely relieved me of my symptoms for years. However, this certainly doesn't happen for everyone and also i ended up developing a pretty nasty side effect after 10 years. I started with getting bad sinus infections and ended up getting pustular psoriasis on my hands and feet. It was bad enough that I had to stop taking it and was moved to Humira which didn't work for me at all even after 6 months on it. The side effects went away thank goodness and eventually I was put on MTX and Orencia and the combination has had good results for me but nothing like when I was on Enbrel. Not even close in fact but I dont have massive flares now and my inflammation is much better so Im very grateful none the less.

The thing about these medications is that some may work and some may not. Fortunately Enbrel worked for me and gave me relief for an extended time but in between then and when I had to find another medication that worked was almost 2 years and it was really bad.

So that said give either a try and see. One thing I was wondering though was that when I was on Sulfasalazine in the beginning I was told that it would need to build up in my system over about a 3 month period. It took that for me to find any relief from it but it did help me quite a bit and I was able to use it for almost 3 years before having to move to Ebrel.

I hope you find a medication that can offer some relief soon. Hang in there and whatever you choose for a biologic make sure that you take the infection warnings they give very seriously. I didn't have any issues with it at first but over the years they have become something I have definitely learned to pay close attention to and seek medical care for immediately. I am taking antibiotics right now in fact for another sinus infection. Not ideal but sure a lot better than the alternative.

Take care
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