What is Ankylosing Spondylitis
Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS) is a chronic form of arthritis--it is an inflammatory disease that causes joints, cartilage or other fibrous tissue (such as ligaments and tendons)...
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Enbrel
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Has anybody been prescribed this injection?? If so has it been affective??
Posted on 07/15/09, 08:07 am |
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They put me on Sulfasalazine for now. My insurance will not cover the Enbrel until we have tried other meds! UGH.... My Rheumy said it could take up to 2 months for it to work. Crazy! I wish I could try the Enbrel. I'll just have to wait. Hopefully the sulfasalazine will work! 
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I've tried the sulfasalazine but it sent my liver functions through the roof!!! I have been given pre gabalin/lyrica and this sort of dampens the pain but still isn't exellent. I am also intolerant to large doses and end up with a head ache, the same with indometacin. I'm fed up now so would be quite happy to put up and wait for it to work but was advised that it is also a last resort but I am then being told we've just about tried most things???
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I've been on Enbrel for quite a while now. In my book, the stuff is magic. I do understand that isn't the case for everyone though.
Indomethacin is non-selective COX inhibitor (i.e. suppresses both COX-1 and COX2). This is not a good thing, as you really only want to suppress COX-2 in AS (the hormone involved in the immune response). COX-1 is important to the health of the lining of the stomach and intestines; suppression of COX-1 has been implicated in the occurrence of peptic ulcers. Sulfasalazine suppresses inflammatory response thru different hormones (eicosanoids and inflammatory cytokines). It doesn't seem to be absorbed thru the intestines very well, and is used to treat Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. Both of those are auto-immune disorders of the intestines, so the poor absorption of sulfasalazine isn't a huge concern (the medicine is already where it needs to be). If your doctor has you on it, you should be asking him/her if they suspect Crohn's or ulcerative colitis.
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I forgot to mention: the combination of both indomethicin *and* sulfasalazine should be approached with great caution, as both medicines individually have the potential to injure the health of the intestines, and the combination of the two probably has a greater risk than a simple "adding up" of the risk.
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