Enbrel? - Immune Disorders Message Board

Shortcake08 · 02-04-2008, 04:15 PM

Has anyone here tried Enbrel? My doctor said it works fast and makes most people feel better after the first 24 hours, but im a little skeptical because its shot, so im just a little worried about it.
My rheumatologist gave me the very board diagnosis of UCTD about six months ago, and since then has been trying me on a number of medications. First I tried a number of non-steriodal anti-inflamatories (which didn't work), then steriods (which didn't work), and now my doctor suggests I either try a stronger non-steriodal ai, which he says can take atleast a month before it starts to kick in (if it does at all), or I can try enbrel.
Personally, im tired of pain, and I just want to feel better as soon as possible, so im leaning towards the enbrel. But I was just wondering first if anyone here had any advice or experience with enbrel? Like, how much does it hurt to inject? Im just interested to hear what people have to say about it.

Wallis86 · 03-04-2008, 09:42 PM

I was on Enbrel for about 2 years and am now on Humira. I have enteropathic arthritis and Ulcerative colitis among other things. You will find that the hardest part of taking a shot is doing it the first time. The first shot I gave myself took me 45 minutes just because I was so nervous. I felt so bad since I had been injecting my type 1 diabetic boyfriend for years already, but I couldn't inject myself. Enbrel really doesn't hurt at all to inject. It's especially painless if you leave it out for like 10 minutes. I've heard most people experience relief from these drugs in about 3 weeks. I'm always the exception and it took about 2 months, but I did experience significant relief from Enbrel. It's worth trying, you can always talk to a doctor and discontinue it. My only minor issues with the drug was that I had an allergy to it which resulted in a raised red welt where I gave the shot, and the expected problems from immune suppression like getting colds frequently.