viral infections

[Guest guest]

Hi everyone,

I have been on Enbrel for several years now. In the last few months, I have had

2 bacterial infections and a viral infection. 2 rounds of antibiotics and a

shot of antibiotic. I was off the Enbrel while I was on the antibiotics. Once

it was finally finished, I went back on the Enbrel, had 2 shots and got sick

again! I went to the doctor yesterday and he feels I have some type of viral

infection and wants me off the Enbrel for 2 weeks, go back on it and see if I

get sick again. He took 9 vials of blood to run tests to try to pinpoint what

type infection I have. He mentioned Epstein-Barr among others.

The Enbrel has worked so well for me. And it only takes a short time before my

knees are so painful and swollen that I need a cane to walk.

Has anyone else had this problem? I see my rheumy in 3 weeks and my PC doc says

he will consult with him about all this before my appt.

Phyllis

[Guest guest]

I recently took a three-week vacation from Enbrel. I don't get the

usual infections that much; I have to get strange ones. Sometime last

year I reported here that I had a vaginal Strep B infection that was

like the worst yeast infection I'd ever had. Recently, I had another

vaginal infection that I believe was a combination of yeast and Strep

B. It started over a holiday, so that I couldn't get to a doctor at

the right time. When I finally went, she said it looked fine. Then two

days later it started up again, and she called in a refill of an

antibiotic cream that cleared it up last time. This time it didn't

clear up until I used both kinds of medicines. I made an appointment

with a GYN, but by that time it was well again. It lasted a month in

all. I told the GYN that if it came back, I would try to go at once

before I used any medication, and she agreed that that was a good plan.

I did very well during the three-week Enbrel vacation. My RA didn't

act up at all. My rheumy told me that the RA would come back, which I

knew. My blood work was fine, too, though. CRP and Sed rate were still

in the normal range. But then I started to have a few pains and

resumed the Enbrel. I'm still spreading it out to once a week, though,

instead of twice a week, still with good results.

Sue

On Jul 2, 2010, at 7:24 PM, Phyllis son wrote:

> Hi everyone,

>

> I have been on Enbrel for several years now. In the last few

> months, I have had 2 bacterial infections and a viral infection. 2

> rounds of antibiotics and a shot of antibiotic. I was off the

> Enbrel while I was on the antibiotics. Once it was finally

> finished, I went back on the Enbrel, had 2 shots and got sick

> again! I went to the doctor yesterday and he feels I have some type

> of viral infection and wants me off the Enbrel for 2 weeks, go back

> on it and see if I get sick again. He took 9 vials of blood to run

> tests to try to pinpoint what type infection I have. He mentioned

> Epstein-Barr among others.