Kickas.org Forums Treatments, Drugs and Alternatives AS Pharmacy Question- which biologic to start with?

Good informatiom Michele. Thanks for sharing your experience.

Great to have you on here- Welcome to Kickas! Sorry you are dealing with this AS but awesome to meet you!

Anna

I was on Enbrel for 1-1/2 years with amazing, and rather quick, results - nearly eliminated my spinal pain & helped enormously with the fatigue. It started running out of steam so I switched to Humira.

It took MUCH longer for Humira to start working - almost sending me into near panic thinking it wasn't going to work at all & any progress I had made with Enbrel would be lost.

It did finally start working and has seemed to work more consistently for me than Enbrel did. But I also take 2 DMARDS - Sulfasalazine & Plaquenil, and an anti-inflammatory, Sulindac.

So I really think in my case it's the whole "cocktail" that probably works since eliminating any part of it seems to always create problems for me.

Good luck with whatever treatment you choose.

Hi Janet!

It is good to hear that Enbrel worked quickly for you. I can see how the lag time on the Humira had you worried. I am really happy that you have a cocktail that is working for you - I am hoping for similar results.

Thank you for the morale boost!

Anna

I thought I would add info for anyone interested-

I started Enbrel on Monday 10/26.
I am currently using the autoinject pen and had no pain and no injection site reaction. I do have a latex allergy/sensitivity and even with that no reaction at this point.
My doctor also bumped up my amount of Sulfasalazine to 3000mg a day.
I am also taking Aleve twice a day and Tramadol 3 times a day.
I am doing to Low Starch Diet and walking the dogs several times a day for exercise.
I do the laying on floor (20 minutes on front, 20 minutes on back) every day. This has been painful but it has eliminated the arm numbness I was experiencing every night. I now only have this occur if I do not do the floor laying.

I have had a significant change in my level of fatigue in just these first few day of Enbrel- it is much decreased as has my overall achy pain.

Just wanted to add this in case anyone is doing research on starting anti TNF meds. Thanks to all of you who had suggestions and tips for me- it is greatly appreciated!

Anna

That's great to hear about your fatigue level - that was one of the fastest and biggest benefits I noticed with Enbrel.

Wishing you continued success!!!

YEA!..Im so glad it is working for you.

Lisa

Thanks Lisa, I am too!

Just an update for anyone researching the TNF's- I am still getting a fatigue lift from the Enbrel. 3rd shot tomorrow night.

I have some fusion in my neck and last few vertebra before the pelvis ( there will be tests later to see how much, still waiting on Arizona medicaid type insurance to be approved) - anyway I think because of damage to other spots I am having sharp pain when the inflamation decreases. When the Enbrel starts to wear off, right now about Wednesday (3 days after the shot) the inflamation seems to come back and I go back to what I had before (fatigue, all over achy/tendonitis/intense pain is spine/neck).

I know it takes sometime to get up to speed on these type of meds so I am grateful for the relief I do feel. I am posting this in hope that if someone else goes on antiTNF meds they can have an idea of how it did for atleast one more person. I, for one, got so much from reading everyones posts on their experiences on these and other meds. Everyone is not the same but it helps to know how diverse the effects can be.

Take care!

Anna

Glad it's working out for you. My own experiences with Enbrel have been good, been on it 6 months so far. I do my shot on Thursdays. For the first 4 months or so, I'd be great for 5 or 6 days, but by Wednesday I'd be stiff and hurting again. It would usually take about a day for the shot to kick in as well, so I'd be hurting on Thursday too. And I was happy with feeling good 5 days out of 7. Better than 0 for 7. But during the past couple months, I've enjoyed much steadier effectiveness of the Enbrel, and don't have the "wearing off" anymore. I feel pretty much the same (good) all 7 days of the week. So I think it took several months to fully ramp up in my system and for me to get the full effects. From what I've read, that is not uncommon. The point is, although it is wearing off a few days after the shot, there is a chance that the effectiveness will improve.

Thanks Paul!
Gosh that is great news- I certainly am hoping for continued improvement. Thank you for taking the time to post!

Anna

Great to hear the Enbrel is working for you Anna, and great to hear feedback from other users, please do keep up the updates!!!
cheers
Sham