Rheumatoid Arthritis Support Group
Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic, inflammatory, multisystem, autoimmune disorder. It is a disabling and painful condition which can lead to substantial loss of mobility due to pain and joint destruction. The disease is also systemic in that it often also affects many extra-articular tissues throughout the body including the skin, blood vessels, heart, lungs, and...
I took my Enbrel last night. I have to be on my 12th dose by now. As many of you know I've been having weekly flares so I bit the bullet and started on a small dose of prednisone again (2.5 mgs every other day). Man has it helped. Not only that but after I took my Enbrel last night I was feeling even better. Clearly Enbrel is working to some degree as it used to take 10 mgs prednisone daily to make me feel this good. The only problem is that even with that low of dose of prednisone I still have various sleep disturbances such as insomnia, falling asleep standing up, doing odd things at night, etc..... I may adjust and for the time being it seems worth it but I was wondering if there is a DMARD that would be as effective as the low dose of prednisone I am on? I would think I don't need to be on a lot but it appears that adding something to Enbrel may be a much better solution than simply switching to Humira as my doctor wants me to do. I never really gave MTX a chance and blamed my fatigue on it which never did go away even after I stopped taking it. MTX will certainly be discussed with my new doctor. I know I can't drink but after living in pain I'd be happy to give up alcohol if my flares subside. If anyone has any comments or suggestions I'd love to hear them. I have an appointment with a new Rheumy on Tuesday. If he's not "the one" I have an appointment with a very highly recommended Rheumy at the end of next month. Living in the Northeast corridor gives me plenty of opportunities to find the doctor who can treat my condition and give me some of my life back!
Greg
Greg
I am mostly a lurker on here but I was diagnosed and started treatment in 10/2013. I started on MTX and then added Humira. The MTX wiped me out for at least 36 to 48 hours until I started the Humira. I take them both on the same day (injectable MTX) and it has taken great care of my fatigue issues. I don't know how but I won't complain. Of course, I have no idea if Enbrel would do the same.
I cannot take oral prenisone (or any oral steroid for that matter) so I went with no steroid treatment at all until 2/2015. I was in a super flare brought on by a marathon trip for work which required a 10 hour drive. Anyway I was miserable and went to my rheumy. They suggested that I have an intramuscular steroid injection. This is not the same as when they inject steroids into the joint but goes into the muscle and provides systemic coverage for inflammation. It was a miracle! I felt better than I had since before diagnosis! The injection lasted me 6 weeks with NO side effects.
At the end of the 6 weeks my symptoms came back with a vengeance. I called the rheumy and asked if I could have another injection. I found out that I could have injections as frequently as every week if needed. The second injection hasn't been quite the miracle the first was but that may be due to my Humira losing effectiveness. However, it still works great and I am 2 weeks out.
I just thought I would share what is working well for me and maybe you can discuss if what works for me might be an option worth trying for you. Of course, we are all so different and treatments work so different for different people who knows.~Lori
For the record I am on 5mg Prednisone daily and 4 tabs of MTX weekly. The MTX was reduced a couple years ago due to rising liver funtion tests.
I still get what I call "Methtrexate Mondays". I take my MTX on Sunday and actually have to plan for a couple 45 minute naps on Monday and sometimes into Tuesday. But I have noticed a difference since the Humira has kicked in - I used to feel like I do on Methotrexate Monday the entire week.
I don't see any side effects from the Prednisone but I'm sure it has something to do with my being up every night every 2 hours but that doesn't bother me enough to stop it. It is however laying havoc with my blood sugar levels.
It will be interesting to hear what the new doc says about this.
I do know that it works - I've been on is for so long I wasn't sure. The last time I was on Humira around the 6 month mark and it was working well I thought I would try and reduce the Prednisone myself by cutting them in half. What a mistake that was! After the second day I had such bad flares it was just unreal - went back to the full dose and all was fine. I have since learned that one can't reduce Prednisone that fast - has to be done ever so slowly - like for me it would be 1 mg at a time for a few weeks then try 1 mg reduction again.
I am now pred free again until the next pneumonia. I am swollen joint wise but not as bad as the first 0.00 pred days last week. better now
and my brain has re-set to no pred.
celebration time.
depot
Now that I am getting more severe symptoms of the dreading aching in my legs and/or arms I don't know if I want to try to reduce the Prednisone right now anyway.
depot