My experience with Pred: The Good: took away almost all the pain and swelling (which was really bad) almost instantly. The Bad: after a few months, my immune system was so bad that I started getting...
Keep in mind that Enbrel affects the immune system. Enbrel has a half-life of 60 hours which is roughly 2.5 days. My doctor says taking it twice a week keeps the immune sysem supressed more...
Because Methotrexate has failed me in the past after having worked for so long, I was worried that Enbrel (aka My Wonderful Magic RA Cure) might stop working at some point. My doctor told me that...
I'm very afraid of getting sick while on Enbrel. I wash my hands all the time, I quit biting my fingernails, and stay away from sick people. If someone were to come to work sick I would let them have...
I feel the same way about Enbrel. After having been on Pred and Methotrexate and those two just not quite cutting it, it is a relief to find a medicine that actually works. I've been on it for 14...
What are the opinions of all your doctors about excercise? Mine always looks very worried when I tell her about exercise I've been doing. I get the feeling she would rather me do less than more. She...
Here is a good motivator for some of you: on the P90X "Plyometrics" workout DVD, one of the guys has a prosthetic leg! Plyo is very high impact but one of the persons on the DVD demonstrates how to...
Sounds like me and Sally are pretty similar. And yes, I had syptoms for 10 years. Doctors constantly said "hmmmm, you're too young for arthritis....". I just found out last year there is something...
Took me about 10 years to get diagnosed. Pain in shoulders and knees, with the left knee swelling about three times during that time and the bottoms of my feet swelled twice to the point I couldn't...
It probably counldn't hurt to call Blue Cross and ask them how much a plan that would pay for Humira would cost. My insurance cost is significantly less than the out of pocket cost that my medicines...
When my knees were at their worst, the elliptical put a big strain on them. For cardio I got a recumbent exercise bike, which has worked out pretty good. That still irritates the knees a little, so I...
100mg? That is an incredible doseage! While I was on Pred (40mg daily for 9 months) I made a concerted effort to eat clean and reasonable. While on the Pred my stomach felt empty all the time no...
Not on MTX also, at the same time? As for insurance, I almost cried when I first went to fill by Enbrel script the first time. My pharmacist called me and asked if I was sure I wanted to fill it...
I was on Celebrex for a while and noticed absolutely no improvement whatsoever. Tell your doctor and you will probably be moved up to something better and stronger. As for Plaquenil, I had no...
Ha! - I remember how upset I was that I had to start taking medication. I was very reluctant and was scared of side effects. Well after years of trying different meds with varied results, and I went...
That sounds very familiar. My RA test turned up negative too, but treating my arthritis like it was RA has certainly gotten rid of the pain! As for the doctor seeming to blow you off, don't be shy...
Oh my goodness but that sounds VERY familiar. I left one job and went to another right in the middle of my worst arthritis time(s). I remember once at the old job where we had to dress nicely (for no...
Before I was on the hardcore meds I am now I started off on a taper pack, which worked like a miracle - until the end of the taper five days later! Then I went to daily Prednisone that basically left...
That sounds like how my arthritis escalated. Mild to irritating pains in the knees for years, then at age 34 my feet started huring one day and just got worse and worse and spread quickly up and...
This is a very interesting thread. I've been on MTX for a few years now. Started off with just a few pills of MTX and a high dose of Pred, but quickly escalated up to 8 pills per week (I was in a...
My doctor suggested the once a week 50 for me because Enbrel has a half-life of 60 hours, and a once a week shot gives your immune system a chance to recover a bit before the next dose whereas a...
I've been away for a while! I was hardly able to work at one point recently in my life, and since I've been feeling well I've ended up with two jobs here recently! Just wondering if anyone else is on...
Maternal Grandfather - RA My mom's sister - RA Me - RA...
My Enbrel run has been good so far (since Novemberish of 2007). I've had to miss a few shots for mild respiratory infections, but nothing as bad as when I was on Prednisone for nine months and had to...
My doctor is a "she" actually! She can tell which joints are bothering you just by touching - very perceptive. My left knee has always been the most persistent in causing me problems (although I've...
Ducky - actually I technically have osteo-arthritis as my diagnosis (RA test came back negative - but the doc said that sometimes that is a false reading) but my pain was so severe and my...
Is there any way you can get on with a "better" insurance company, Sunpuppy? I've been through several companies and it is only blind chance that I happen to be with Blue Cross right now and they had...
The shipment I got last month direct from the manufacturer (the first one is free!) came in a disposeable cooler with some sort of frozen chemical in a bag that kept it very cold. I actually told...
My problems were numerous and persistent communication problems between my doctor, the pharmacies, and the insurance company. I said "were" because the Enbrel is now on a Fed Ex truck and should be...
Gosh, my post above as on 12/14 - still no Enbrel. I called the Pharmacy for about the ninth time today and got yet another putoff. They were about to send me the wrong stuff! So, I've been off...
Miracle cure for me so far. Started in November. Missed the last several weeks due to some confusion with my insurance, but no return of symptoms as of today... Had no luck with pain medication, some...
How are you feeling today? My last shot as of today was 12/10/07 - still no new supply from the mail-order pharmacy yet! Only very very very minor symptoms returning at this point - maybe a 5% return...
Erin - your original story above sounds similar to when I saw when I worked for the Bankruptcy Trustee last year. People would have to wait for hours and then get ushered in and out in sometimes as...
I noticed results in three days. The doctor said it would take two weeks, but by that time I had seen unbelieveable results. Left knee went from swollen and not bendable past 90 degrees to 95%...
I've heard of injection site reactions with the injectible medications, but the Enbrel doesn't bother me at all. I do it about 30 minutes after taking the "pen" out of the fridge but I swear I can...
Thanks to Enbrel the swelling in my left knee is completely and utterly gone, but it was up and down with swelling for so long (and pain in both knees) that I apparently walked and did everything...
Call a different doctor first thing tomorrow. If that doctor won't listen to your symptoms, then call another one. I went through decades of doctors who were not willing to consider arthritis because...
I had a big weight lifted off of me today. I called Blue Cross to find out what is going on and they said if I buy the Enbrel from one of four approved pharmaices (in the entire country), all I have...
My doctor let me choose from Enbrel, Humira and Remicade and I picked Enbrel for various reasons. It is luckily working great for me though... but I have unconfirmed rehumatoid arthritis and I am not...
I just found out this morning also that I might be going off Enbrel due to cost! My pharmacist called me first thing this morning with a rude wake-up call. Said I owed $1,800 for last month and...
I took Plaquenil for about nine months with nothing to show for it except extra visits to the eye doctor. Everyone reacts differently to medications, but for me the Plaquenil had no effect...
I've been on MTX for a few years now with no discernable side effects whatsoever. I've taken lots of different meds, and only had some strange things happen with Prednisone, and after having taken...
My infection was very very mild. I went to the doctor ONLY because I was on the Enbrel. I called my rheumy and she said to skip the Enbrel for a week. I felt fine after three days. Also, having...
Enbrel update: Three weeks in and almost all signs of arthritis are gone. Three weeks in and today I have a wicked respiratory infection - spent all morning at the quick-med. Started two days ago. I...
I had similar symptoms that started around the same age as you, but mine progressed slower. I had bad shoulder pain at age 18 and then slowly the knees started to bother me and then the feet from...
How long have you had the pain, and does the medication(s) seem to be working for you?...
Your pain areas sound just like mine!...
The doctor said it would take two weeks for the Enbrel to take effect, but here it is just a few days later and my knee is about 50% better. After having been swollen for about three months and the...
Well I injected myself with no trouble yesterday. I wasn't worried about the needle at all just the medication really... but good news was that they gave me a very easy to use injection "pen" where...
Also notable is that an employer (of more than 15 employees) has to treat RA sufferer like any other person protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Your employer (again, if they employ...