Re: Enbrel -

[Guest guest]

Oh yes , x-rays show i have a lot of damage. I've had both knees

replaced and my ankles have a lot of erosion and would be replaced if

the surgery had a higher success rate. I also had erosion evident in

my wrists before they even started hurting. I am sero-negative,

meaning my rheumatoid factor test is negative. My sed rate and CRP

are always elevated, meaning I have a lot of inflammation in spite of

medication. I've had RA for a very long time, so this doesn't mean it

will happen to you. Better medications are available now that weren't

available when I was first diagnosed.

a

On Apr 10, 2006, at 3:15 PM, wrote:

> Hi a,

>

> Does your RA show up on xrays or in blood tests, is that how you

> know the progression is worse? Mine doesn't (yet?) so I can only

> go on symptoms.

>

> Thx,

>

>

[Guest guest]

:

I, too, recently started Enbrel. Last Friday was my fifth injection.

Unfortunately for me, I have not seen any positive outcome yet. In fact, I am

actually more fatigued (if that's even possible) than I already was, my

inflammation has actually increased and the Enbrel gives me severe nausea and

headache within 12 hours of injection. I also take an NSAID, Plaquenil AND MTX.

So far, Plauenil and MTX are the only drugs that have made any difference at all

for me, but things are so much worse now, that it's not enough anymore.

My rheumy told me on my last visit when she put me on Enbrel that it would

probably not do the trick. She had wanted me to go straight onto Remicade, but

I begged her to let me try the Enbrel first since it would be less of an

interruption in my life (could self-inject rather than going to doc for

infusions). I have severe, aggressive RA and was diagnosed less than two years

ago and now I can barely walk. I am still working full time and struggling to

find meds that will turn my RA around, but not much success yet. My rheumy told

me that because my RA is so aggressive, the Remicade would be better because it

delivers a steadier dose where the Enbrel peaks and wanes. It's looking like

she was right.

Enbrel may work great for you. It works well for many people, but for me, at

least so far, it's not helped at all and even seems to make me feel worse. I

hope that you have better luck with it.

God Bless!

in Texas

Posnick <bepoz@...> wrote:

I took my second shot of Enbrel and was wondering how many of the

members took this drug and how they are doing now? What how about the

side effects, what problems did you have? How long did it take for it

to work? After you read the paper, it is the a little scary. That to

all of you who respond. I live in south florida and would to know if

anyone is in my area. Thanks again.

Posnick