Betty - your daughter

October 7, 2004

Betty, I'm sorry that your daughter has suffered for so many years and

that her therapy is off to a rocky start.

I'm assuming that she is seeing a rheumatologist. Perhaps getting a

second opinion is in order. If her current physician is satisfied with

her situation, that's not acceptable.

Enbrel is usually noticeably effective pretty quickly. For most it can

be days or weeks rather than the months it takes for some of the older

DMARDs to kick in.

Arava (leflunomide) has comparable efficacy to methotrexate (MTX), but

MTX has been used for RA for decades and Arava has only been on the

market since 1998. The safety profile of Arava is still being developed.

Also, in the past, Public Citizen petitioned to have Arava withdrawn

from the market, but the FDA reviewed the situation and proclaimed Arava

safe and effective.

I'll tell you where to go!

Mayo Clinic in Rochester

s Hopkins Medicine

[ ] (unknown)

>

> Hi everyone,

> My daughter who is 28 was diagnosed with RA after many long years of

pain. Her doctor has her on Enbrel and had her on Vioxx as well.

Neeless to say she is no longer taking the Vioxx, but she is still

taking the Enbrel. She has been taking the Enbrel since June 2004, and

when she first began treatment was on Prednisone, Vioxx and Enbrel, she

felt great for the first time in a long time. But when she was taken

off the Prednisone, her pain returned, and it seems the Enbrel isn't

very effective. How long does it take to become effective? Also the

cost of the Enbrel is a real hardship for her and yet her doctor is

reluctant to prescribe something less costly- Surely there must be

something- I had looked up some medications, and found one called Arava

(leflunomide). Do any of you know anything about this drug and it's

effectiveness and cost? Thanks in advance for any information you can

pass on to me.

> bettymiller56

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