I'm on the higher dose of Mrs and have now been put on enbrel after trying several other dmards with no success. I've only been on enbrel two weeks but I'm sure I can feel an improvement. Has anyone else had this happen or can anyone share their experiences with enbrel? Thanks.
Hi Lauraine,
I'm on Benepali which is a bio similar of Enbrel. I have been on it 5 weeks, but I noticed a difference almost immediately. It said 2-12 weeks to work, but it definitely started to work quicker.
This is the first time all year I've not been on steroids and been pain free!
Good luck with yours. I hope this continues for both of us!
Hi Lauraine,
Enbrel came on the market mid nineties. It is a TNF drug. I tok it for 9 years successfully.
No DMARD gives instantaneous results like an opoid does because it takes time to modify a disease...2 weeks, your body is still adjusting. Be patient, remember Rheumatoid needs rest (not to be confused with sleep), warmth, elevation, proper compression to rapidly reduce swelling, ice, range of motion exercises several times per day, and an upbeat attitude.
So back to time, it may take 3 to 6 months to change the direction of your Tumor Necrosis Factor driven rheumatoid. Remember DMARD is disease modifying...
Stay in touch,
kind regards
judith
54 years with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis...I was 11
Hi, my husband has been on humira now for 6 weeks I' not sure
how similar it is to enbrel but our rheumatologist said it takes
90 days really for it to take full effect.My husband has said he
can feel it working for the first 3 to 4 days then itseems to fade.
Hope you have great success with your new treatment
Hi,
Both Enbrel and Humira are TNF biologics...if one ceases to be effective, the other one probably will not work either.
Kind regards,
judith
Hi and thank you for your response. I think the reason I was sort of shocked by this almost immediate reaction to enbrel was because previously I had tried Humira and this can take weeks to have any effect. It actually had no effect for me hence being put on the enbrel which I am glad to say does seem to be working for me!
I'm glad it's working for you too. And no side effects either. Bonus. Injection day tomorrow. Looking forward to it. No prednisolone either somy weight is steadily coming back down. Happy days. Thanks again for your reply.
Lauraine.
Hi Judith. Thank you for your reply. Wow. Had enbrel been going that long? Tomorrow (tues) will be my 4th week. I am definitely feeling a difference. An improvement. No side effects. Injection is relatively painless and no irritation of the needle site.
I had been on a few different dmards including Humira. Nothing worked. I can honestly say I was getting very upset but hopefully this is the one. I havnt needed to take hardly any pain relief over the past week.
Thank you again for taking time to reply to me.
Lauraine.
Hello. Thank you for taking the time to reply to me.
I too have tried Humira but sadly that difnt work for me.
I believe they are similar or so I have been told by someone else.
It's week 4 now and I am definitely feeling an improvement.
Thanks again for your kind reply.
All the best to your husband on his medication.
Lauraine.
WoooooooHooooooo!!!!!!!
Hi Lauraine,glad your feeling an improvement.My husband is still
working through not feeling well.He feels right now kind of blah
with so many medications running through him,he said it makes
him feel sick.I know finding the right "cocktail" of meds is a trial
and error thing but it is draining when you have tried and tried and
still feel pain along with high inflammation markers, it makes you
wonder how long a body can endure before it wears completely
out 
Take care
I know that feeling. Have at times thought about homeopathic route as it makes me feel sick just thinking about the chemicals and tixins in all these remedies but then I just think no doctor knows best.
I think sometimes the nausea and fatigue are better than the pain . But it's a lesser of two evils. I will carry on with the enbrel as up to now I have had no bad side effects.
I read on here about disease modifying takes time but I've been suffering for 17 years now. 6 of those years undiagnosed but 11 years ago diagnosed and put on methtrexate and ever since been trying a few different dmards including humira.
I'm only on week 4 and I have seen results. Relations have pointed out my hands look less swollen and puffy and they are less painful. So I am hoping that after such a good start things will get better.
I hope your husband finds something to work soon. I read somewhere on here earlier that humira started to work for someone after 12 months!!
Lauraine, it does sound like the injection is working.Stay
positive and smile when you see even small improvements.
Your family sounds very supportive.I know how it feels to
go so long undiagnosed.I went 10 years just for my fibro
to be confirmed.I am also on a dmards for ??? still working
on other inflammatory symptoms and now my osteoarthritis
is running a muck..Ugh!! We just have to keep going and find
a way to enjoy life as best we can.
Hi Tory. Only just seen your reply as hotmail have put Patient into my junk for some reason.
Yes any improvement no matter how small is good . I'm sticking to the weekly injections although I dread injecting ha ha. But I do actually count down the days as I see more improvement the days following the injection.
I've recently stopped prednisolone and been put on naproxen instead and they seem to be helping too. Things would be great had it not been for the common cold I picked up a couple of weeks ago. And you know how it is.. it got a hold of me but hey there's worse out there then me.
But thanks again for your help and advice. Take care .
Emberel inj. weekly alongside 25mg Metho helped me for about 3 years but became ineffective earlier this year. Now having ?Roacterma inj weekly and the disease is nearly inactive. Just waiting for 2nd hip replacement. I hope you get relief soon. Stick with it until the Rheum finds a treatment that works for you. Best wishes, Elspeth
Hi lauraine,not a problem and your welcome.Take care :0)
Hi Lauraine
I have decided to leave Patient in the junk because it is so much easier having it separate from my other email...chuckle chuckle...I am responding from my junk...too funny
Sorry if this is a really old post but it just popped up in my notices....
Enbrel was my first med after 5 yrs on Mtx. Improvement was almost immediate, about two weeks. I worried it was in my head but my activity the previous week would have had me paying for it with cramped, painful hands and wrists. And I've been helped by it the last year and half.
I remember it well and feel so fortunate that I am responsive to it still.
I'm thankful everyday that it works and that I can afford it with my insurance even though it's going up.
Good luck to you!
Em
Hello and thanks for your response . That's exactly how I felt. I just thought no this is in my head. Surely I'm not going to see any improvement this quickly but I did. And reading yours and other responses maybe it is a quicker acting dmard than all the others.
I'm continuing to feel the benefits so happy days. And of course being in the UK we have the NHS so I get it on prescription .
Thanks again for your reply and I wish you well.
Thank you. I hope all goes well with your 2nd hip replacement. Week 6 for enbrel and swelling on my hands going down and more use in them. I feel like I'm witnessing a miracle!! I'm thanking him upstairs but I probably should be thanking my rheumy team ha ha. Anyway thanks for reply. Good wishes to you.
I am so glad you are getting a result. Sounds like you have got a good Rheum team. When I came back to Reading to live I was so happy to get my Rheum team. So much more up to date than the previous hospital. I hope you keep improving. Best wishes, Elspeth