I was diagnosed in June of 2008, the rheumatologist started me on 2,000 mg Sulfasalazine, 1,000 mg Naproxyn, and a few months later started me on Methotrexate (in addition to the meds mentioned above). Methotrexate was awful for me, it sucked the life out of me. I was sad, fatigued, and had absolutely no energy while taking Methotrexate. I stopped it and the doctor started me on Enbrel (the sure click pens) almost 5 months ago, in addition to the meds mentioned above.. After about 3 months he took me off of the Sulfasalazine so all I'm taking right now is the weekly Enbrel and the daily Naproxyn. I feel more like my old self than I have in a looooong time. I'm very active again........ I commute 2 hours a day back and forth to work, I attend my son's weekly football games, I work in the yard every weekend, I ride 4 wheelers, we attended a Southern Miss college football game this past Saturday (had to walk a mile and sat in rain the entire second half, I play league tennis year round, and am currently working with the Arthritis Foundation to set up an Arthritis Walk, tennis tournament, and golf tournament in my area. Enbrel gave me my life back and I'm thankful every day that God has blessed me with good insurance, a great doctor, and for my health. There are so many others less fortunate than I and I'm just greatful. I'm not saying that I don't still have bad days because I do. But I can handle the level of pain I have now, well, it's not so much pain as it is discomfort. Yes, that's the word, discomfort. I haven't had any side effects and there's nothing to using the little sure click pen. I kind of wanted to freak out at the idea at first but I promise you it's not bad at all.
I hope this has given you some insight on Enbrel and I'll be glad to answer any questions you may have. I sure hope and pray you find the right meds........and I'm sure you will.
God Bless!!
Thank you so much for your response and encouragement. I see the Rheumy on Monday and hopefully he will put me on Enbrel and I can get my life back again. I have not been able to exercise and I am tired of not feeling well. The latest labs shows that I'm anemic (level 9) probably a combination of not eating meat and also limiting the proteins that I eat since it seems when I eat certain foods I flare up! So frustrating. It's a year this month that I have had RA and I would have hoped that I would feel better by now and have the RA under control. Hopefully Enbrel will be the answer. Thanks for being there! Blessings Rita