Embrel

March 9, 2006

My wife has been on Embrel for almost 3 years now. Although it has

not stopped the pain with the right combinations it can make the

pain bearable. She in also on Celebrex, Ultram, and occasionally the

hard pain killers when the weather is changing.

Hi ,

> I'm glad I have found this forum! It certainly helps to know

that I'm not alone with RA.

> You wanted to know about Remicade...well, it is VERY expensive,

for me, it runs around $3000 a visit, but my insurance covers 85% of

that. The Remicade is given by IV in the arm which takes about 2- 2

1/2 hours, sometimes 3 if the nurses adjust the drip to go slow.

Sometimes they will speed up the drip, and you HAVE to take an

antihistamine such as Claritan or Allegra right before the infusion

to take care of any allergic reaction from the Remicade.

> For me, I find that if I eat a good, solid breakfast before I

go in, I tend to handle Remicade better.

> Sometimes, if I move around alot, I'll get a little nauseated

and have a headache. At my doctors office, they have recliners for 6

of us to sit in or lay back in...the Remicade WILL make you a bit

sleepy, and that could be from the antihistamine also. During all

this, I usually go down the hall to the rheumys office while I'm

hooked up to the IV so that she can check me out-then the nurses

take blood. They also will take your blood pressure (they tell me

that a persons blood pressure can drop sharply with the Remicade

infusion, just a nasty little side effect), they take your temp too.

If you have a cold, sore throat or just feel sick, OR if you are

taking antibiotics, they will NOT do the infusion on that day, you

will have to reschedule.

> When all thats over I go home and have a nap.

> The Remicade is a miracle worker for me, if I didn't have

Remicade, I probably would not be able to hold a full time job.

> Hopefully this will be helpful for you in your decision.

> '

>

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