Enbrel has had no effect so far....

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Permalink Reply by Sarah on February 19, 2010 at 9:29am

Hi Arlene, Hows the Enbrel going? I start this week. Hope it's working for you. Im on Methotrexate, we are doing the Enbrel to supplement it. The Methotrexate works pretty good actually.. :)

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Permalink Reply by Arlene Vickrey on February 19, 2010 at 12:52pm

Sarah, I would love to hear what your experience with Methotrexate has been. Funny, you are starting Enbrel to supplement the Methotrexate, but I am starting the Methotrexate to supplement the Enbrel.

I hear that some people experience nausea, dizziness, and diarrhea with the Metho. Have you had these problems?

My doctor is extra careful and she had me take a "test" dose last week and then I am getting a blood test six days after that so she can make sure it didn't effect my liver too much.

She also tells me I can't ever drink alcohol or take any NSAIDs, like Advil or Aleve at all.



Sarah said:

Hi Arlene, Hows the Enbrel going? I start this week. Hope it's working for you. Im on Methotrexate, we are doing the Enbrel to supplement it. The Methotrexate works pretty good actually.. :)

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Permalink Reply by Sarah on February 19, 2010 at 1:13pm

Hi Arlene,
The Metho was scary at first and then got to be not a big deal pretty quickly. I was really tired at first then my body adjusted some and they switched me to a dose 6 days a week and so i was less tired, the doses being smaller but more frequent. i do wake up really hot in the middle of the night periodically, which is from the drug. I did not clear 100 percent on the metho and I have arthritis, and thinking of starting a family and so they wanted me on the Enbrel to prepare for that as you cannot concieve or be pregnant on the Metho. I'll stay on both till at least 3 months before we start trying to get pregnant. All that said my skin looks great compared to how its been. The blood test is normal. I have snuck a few drinks in but it causes extreme dizziness (not to mention liver damage?) so its not even fun to cheat. My doctors here at NYU in NYC did not mention the Advil or Aleeve... Good luck with it, the side effects really were minimal and the results were good. Did you have side effects with the Enbrel?
Arlene Vickrey said:

Sarah, I would love to hear what your experience with Methotrexate has been. Funny, you are starting Enbrel to supplement the Methotrexate, but I am starting the Methotrexate to supplement the Enbrel.

I hear that some people experience nausea, dizziness, and diarrhea with the Metho. Have you had these problems?

My doctor is extra careful and she had me take a "test" dose last week and then I am getting a blood test six days after that so she can make sure it didn't effect my liver too much.

She also tells me I can't ever drink alcohol or take any NSAIDs, like Advil or Aleve at all.



Sarah said:

Hi Arlene, Hows the Enbrel going? I start this week. Hope it's working for you. Im on Methotrexate, we are doing the Enbrel to supplement it. The Methotrexate works pretty good actually.. :)

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Permalink Reply by Bob Van Houten on February 19, 2010 at 2:00pm

I would stay away from methotrexate, my opinion. My results did not out weigh the liver risks and side effects. I have added cyclosporine, from time to time, and had positive results. Also, light treatments work well for me. Using a tanning bronzer with regular tanning bulbs makes a big difference. I have my own light booth, which had UVA bulbs, for Puva treatments. Since starting Enbrel, I have changed the bulbs to regular tanning salon type bulbs. I use it when I flare. I will never be totally clear, but it is all about quality of life. The gulf of mexico, and Fla. sun works great. But those trips are only once a year. Good luck!

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