Enbrel and infections

[Guest guest]

I just started Enbrel last week and now I have tonsilitis -

I have a question - Are we supposed to be concerned about infection at the

injection site with Enbrel, or ANY infection??

So, should I report my tonsilitis to the rheumy? I don't want to stop the

enbrel, but I don't want to create more health problems for myself either.

Thanks for any responses.

[Guest guest]

Hi -

Please report the tonsilitis to your rheumy as soon as possible. It is very

important to stop the enbrel while you have an active infection and are

taking antibiotics. You can start the enbrel again when you're finished with

the antibiotics.

I have been on enbrel since February 2000 and it's working great for me,

but.... it does lower your immune system response so you can contract

infections relatively easily and when you do...you can get really sick! I

ended up in the hospital for 4 days from a simple strep throat that made me

septic. (The symptoms started pretty suddenly and progressed very rapidly).

I don't want to scare you away from the Enbrel.....I hope it works for you

too ..... but...just be very careful with your health from now on.

Good Luck!

Rivky :-)

[Guest guest]

It is not the injection site that you should be worried about re: infections.

It is an infection anywhere else in you system. Call you doctor right away.

The enbrel knocks out your infection fighting cells so they can't fight off

those bad germs. that is the bigggest danger when taking enbrel.

[Guest guest]

You need to tell your rheumy and see what he wants to do. Mine stops all

meds when I am sick. Hope you feel better!

Take care,

D in MN

[Guest guest]

Update on the tonsils - It's strep - yuck!

and my rheumy said no enbrel until I'm 100%

[Guest guest]

,

I think you should report the tonsilitis to your doctor. That is the

type of infection you need to be careful of when taking enbrel. My

rheum. has had me stop for a cough (and get a TB test, since my job is

very involved with the public) and for an invasive medical test

(cystoscopy). Missing one or two doses should not make a big

difference as opposed to not being able to fight off a serious

infection.

Andy

> I just started Enbrel last week and now I have tonsilitis -

> I have a question - Are we supposed to be concerned about infection

at the

> injection site with Enbrel, or ANY infection??

> So, should I report my tonsilitis to the rheumy? I don't want to

stop the

> enbrel, but I don't want to create more health problems for myself

either.

> Thanks for any responses.

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Joy, thanks to my 5 little grandkids( :-) ) I was lucky enough to

get two infections since starting Enbrel 2 years ago. If I remember

right, I was off the Enbrel and MTK for between 2-3 weeks until the

antibiotics had time to work and I was feeling better and then

started back on them. That was when I really knew that they were

helping. Oh I can still remember the pain.........

This was back when I was taking the Enbrel twice a week so it got

out of my system quicker. Now with the 50mg injections it might

take longer for the antibiotics to work. Talk with your Rheumy and

he can advise you how long to stay off them.

Good luck

Dick

>

> I was told that when I had an infection such as an infected

> tooth or sinus infection or flu to stop taking my arthritis meds

> except for my prednisone. Is this not the same for you all?

> How long do you wait to go back on it again? It seems like since

> December I have one infection after another. Did anyone else find

this

> after they started on Enbrel? I am also on arava, mtx, and

prednisone.

> Joy

[Guest guest]

Betz, I am surprised that your doctors thought only 4

days of antibiotics WOULD clear up a UTI. In our

practice, when a patient has a UTI, we put them on 10

days worth of antibiotics (either Amoxicillin or

Suprax) with a recheck urine culture three days after

STARTING the antibiotic to ensure it is clearing up,

and another three days after STOPPING the antibiotic

to ensure it is gone and staying gone. I have NEVER

heard of only taking antibiotics for 4 days for a UTI.

You can take only 3 or 5 days of Sustained release

Biaxin or Zithromax for sinus or ear or strep, but I

have never heard of that for a UTI. I also had a

urinary tract infection recently; (kinda worried me as

it happened two weeks before surgery and I was scared

it wouldn't clear and they would cancel the OR, but

luckily that didn't happen) my docs put me on 10 days

of Cipro. I was off the Methotrexate and Enbrel for

about 2 weeks before getting the UTI, but likely my

immune system was still slightly suppressed. I did

notice that I got several infections on the Enbrel

(sinus infection, a cellulitis after getting a spider

bite on my lower leg, influenza despite having had a

flu shot, a urinary tract infection about a year ago,

and this UTI.) but they cleared up nicely with

antibiotics; since the Enbrel makes me feel better,

I'm willing to risk a few infections here and there.

If you don't like to drink cranberry juice, you can

take cranberry capsules or eat dried cranberries that

you can get at the store. It sounds like an old wives

tale, but medical research has shown that something

about the cranberries (the acidity of them perhaps?)

makes bacteria less able to adhere to the bladder

mucosa. Also drink plenty of water to flush out your

system. Hope you feel better soon. And congratulations

on getting your brother-in-law to help out. That's so

awesome he would do that for you.

Take care,

Wanda

__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

My PCP is an angel. I've been with him for 9 years. The blame falls

on the monster called HMOs. I am happy with my HMO as HMOs go...its

one of the better ones...even calls you to see how you are doing

when you are high risk like me but all HMOs in general have a

protocol to follow with medications. My docs used to be able to just

put me on the strong stuff to begin with but now they can't do that

because of HMOs. They have to treat you like you cookie cutter style

rather than like an individual with individual needs. My doc told

me that the med he put me on was the first line of defense for this

HMO and was the recommended med for the bacteria that showed up in

the culture. I questioned the short stint of the meds myself. The

one he put me on next....the one I'm on now....is Nitrofur Mac. Now

that the first one failed...which we knew it would, he can go for

the big guns. Stinks but it is what it is. Nitrofur Mac? Have you

ever heard of such? What's it made from? Nitro and Fur????? Yikes.

Hamster fur no doubt. Maybe even hamsters that eat too many big Macs

and therefore have to take NITROglycerine tablets. That's what I'm

thinking. I do eat dried cranberries often. I eat a salad I make

from brocolli slaw, sugar free bacon dressing, dried cranberries and

golden raisins and sunflower seeds. YUM. And yes...I'm willing to

take a chance here and there too with Enbrel. Love Betz

>

> Betz, I am surprised that your doctors thought only 4

> days of antibiotics WOULD clear up a UTI. In our

> practice, when a patient has a UTI, we put them on 10

> days worth of antibiotics (either Amoxicillin or

> Suprax) with a recheck urine culture three days after

> STARTING the antibiotic to ensure it is clearing up,

> and another three days after STOPPING the antibiotic

> to ensure it is gone and staying gone. I have NEVER

> heard of only taking antibiotics for 4 days for a UTI.

> You can take only 3 or 5 days of Sustained release

> Biaxin or Zithromax for sinus or ear or strep, but I

> have never heard of that for a UTI. I also had a

> urinary tract infection recently; (kinda worried me as

> it happened two weeks before surgery and I was scared

> it wouldn't clear and they would cancel the OR, but

> luckily that didn't happen) my docs put me on 10 days

> of Cipro. I was off the Methotrexate and Enbrel for

> about 2 weeks before getting the UTI, but likely my

> immune system was still slightly suppressed. I did

> notice that I got several infections on the Enbrel

> (sinus infection, a cellulitis after getting a spider

> bite on my lower leg, influenza despite having had a

> flu shot, a urinary tract infection about a year ago,

> and this UTI.) but they cleared up nicely with

> antibiotics; since the Enbrel makes me feel better,

> I'm willing to risk a few infections here and there.

>

> If you don't like to drink cranberry juice, you can

> take cranberry capsules or eat dried cranberries that

> you can get at the store. It sounds like an old wives

> tale, but medical research has shown that something

> about the cranberries (the acidity of them perhaps?)

> makes bacteria less able to adhere to the bladder

> mucosa. Also drink plenty of water to flush out your

> system. Hope you feel better soon. And congratulations

> on getting your brother-in-law to help out. That's so

> awesome he would do that for you.

>

> Take care,

>

>

>

>

>

>

> Wanda

>

>

> __________________________________________________

>

[Guest guest]

A year ago I had a massive infection in my bladder and had fevers up to

104. Nothing worked to make it disappear. After 5 rounds of antibiotics,

it finally gave in but my Enbrel stopped working. I had no idea that I

shouldn't take Enbrel while sick. I called my rheumy and made an

appointment to see why the RA was flaring. During this whole time I was

still injecting the Enbrel. By the time I got to see him, it was working

again and the flaring stopped. Now I wonder if I would have gotten better

faster if I had come off the Enbrel during that time.

I would like to change doctors, but here in Canada, it's not an easy thing

to do. I was actually lucky to find a rheumatologist at all. Right now, I

need surgery on my big toe because of RA, and found out it will take about

12 months just to get an appointment to see a specialist surgeon.

Last week I was diagnosed with scoliosis, deteriorating disk disease and

Baastrup's disease (kissing spine) and the pain from those is making life a

little difficult. But, I do believe that spring is on the way and that makes

life worth living.

Smile, be happy, and look for the light at the end of the tunnel.

Hugs,

Katriina

[Guest guest]

That sounds awful, Katriina. It's a good guess that most

rheumatologists would have wanted you off of Enbrel while you had the

infection.

I'm very sorry to hear about your additional diagnoses.

Not an MD

On Sun, Feb 6, 2011 at 8:50 AM, Katriina Alanko <oknala@...> wrote:

> A year ago I had a massive infection in my bladder and had fevers up to

> 104.  Nothing worked to make it disappear.  After 5 rounds of antibiotics,

> it finally gave in but my Enbrel stopped working.  I had no idea that I

> shouldn't take Enbrel while sick.  I called my rheumy and made an

> appointment to see why the RA was flaring.  During this whole time I was

> still injecting the Enbrel.  By the time I got to see him, it was working

> again and the flaring stopped.  Now I wonder if I would have gotten better

> faster if I had come off the Enbrel during that time.

>

> I would like to change doctors, but here in Canada, it's not an easy thing

> to do.  I was actually lucky to find a rheumatologist at all.  Right now, I

> need surgery on my big toe because of RA, and found out it will take about

> 12 months just to get an appointment to see a specialist surgeon.

>

> Last week I was diagnosed with scoliosis, deteriorating disk disease and

> Baastrup's disease (kissing spine) and the pain from those is making life a

> little difficult. But, I do believe that spring is on the way and that makes

> life worth living.

>

> Smile, be happy, and look for the light at the end of the tunnel.

>

> Hugs,

> Katriina