Re: Question: soreness the next day after enbrel

[Guest guest]

Hi - congrats on taking the plunge...have been on Enbrel for 5 years now...still

think back to when I started out...so many things to worry about it seemed.

Difficulty with the plunger is 1 of three things.

1. You are pinching the skin a little too hard - imagine trying to fill a tire

that is under heavy load...relax.

2. Your flesh can only absorb so much in a certain period of time.....I take

anywhere from a minute to 2 minutes to inject..relax take it slower..you will

also find that there is less of a lump afterwards the slower you do it, and no

bruising. If you are going to take your time injecting, make sure you are

comfortable, and your hands are stable.

3. A lot of the time I find that when the plunger is hard to press, its because

I am not pressing in a straight line - my thumb is pressing sideways, and it

seems to be much harder.

Its hard to relax when you first get started, but I am sure you will find it

easier every time you do it. How is it working for you?

All the best

Mark

[Guest guest]

Thanks for the quick reply Mark

Its so encouraging to see that people have taken Enbrel for so long. Yes you are

exactly right, I thought of lots of things and worried over them before I

started. But of course the problems aren't so bad as you thought.

Re your answer 1). I have been holding the skin firmly as I stab the needle in,

but then I release the skin, hold the syringe with my left hand near the needle,

and inject with my right hand. So I dont think the plunger will be affected by

my pinching too hard.

Re your answer 2). I haven't had any " lumps " after I inject, no bruising either,

just feels like I have been kicked at the injection site the next day! I can

hardly see where the needle went in the next day, no itching either so far

Re 3) Yes I'll check out if I am pressing the plunger straight. The first 2

shots seemed to go in easier.

Glad I'm not the only one who isn't relaxing while I do it, the nurse told me I

should breathe LOL, I think I am tending to hold my breath.

Now so far, my exhaustion is 95% better, I can drive easier (SIJ pain less, not

gone, but the whole area around the SIJ isnt so sore). Shoulder pain

disappeared, hoping the fingers improve a bit more, but they are improved

already.

No headache the next day after the 3rd injection (as I had for the first two),

so thats good too. I've just felt odd for 1/2 a day after the injection.

I had another thought about the size of the dose. I weigh about 56 kg, so I am

thin. It seems odd to me that someone twice my weight needs the same size

dose??? wonder how that works.