Has anyone had success with just taking Enbrel alone?
1/18/10 12:29pm
When I was in Enbrel, I didn't take it with methotrexate - I live in Canada and I think there isn't quite as much combination therapy up here as there is in the States. However, I did find that the occasional dose of the steroids kicked it from working well into working really well.
1/15/10 12:25am
Many studies show that Enbrel combined with methotrextate gives the best results. It's that way with most biological meds. But I can't tolerate methotrexate. My doc started me on Enbrel alone. It worked for a few months then tapered off. I'm now on a new biological, Cimzia, and it seems to be working well without being combined with methotrexate. I asked my doc about this and didn't seem too concerned about the combination. But everyone is different.
Andrew
http://livingwithra.wordpress.com/
1/15/10 7:58am
It is also my understanding that it usually combined with something else. After I stopped meth I took nothing else but the enbrel for about six months within 2 I was uncomfortable but still could deal with it. I now take arava and that seems to work great with enbrel. But that does not mean that you cannot try it alone for a while and see how it works but it will take at least 2-3 months to work no matter what you take.
1/15/10 10:24pm
I take Enbrel and Plaquenil, because I had problems with the Methotrexate. It does ok for me, but I wish it could be better. I have heard about Ararva and would like to try that. I would see how the Enbrel alone does for you. If it's still not working, then you could add something else, even if it's not the Methotrexate.
2/14/10 8:46am
Hi Laura,
I just wanted to let you know that I have been on Arava for about 9 months and it has been very helpful with mobility, swelling and fatigued. Now I've added Enbrel which the combo has given me my life back. So you really might give the Arava a try with the Enbrel. This has just been my experience but I know how crappy it is to feel crappy. I really hope you give it a try.
6/27/11 6:31pm
So far almost 6 months I've been on Enbrel alone. I only use my anti-inflammatory whenever I have flare ups. It took a while to get use to do the injections. Sometimes they are very painful and sometimes I hardly feel that I'm being stuck. Sometimes I bleed (just a little) and sometimes I don't.
I follow the instructions except that I do rub the medicine into the leg after I inject it. If I don't it really irritates the skin a day or two if I don't.
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By Suz56— Last Modified: 06/27/11, First Published: 01/14/10
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Thanks for your reply.