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Hi I'm a 57 yr.old women.I had been misdiagnosed for 53 of those yrs.Dr's thought I had IBD or Colitis,since yrs. went on it took it's tole,& after 3 straight yrs. of multiple hospitalizations,surgery's tons of medications they finaly said I have Crohns disease. I had tried too many to mention but a ton of drugs for 3 yrs. that failed to help or put me in remission. 21 months ago I started Remicade every 8 weeks. After 5 monthut for me on it I finaly felt like I was human again, could drive,had energy,was having a life back. The infusions where I have them there are not just people like me that have crohns disease but a lot of RA patients too.But in my situation after 1 yr. had to go to every 6 weeks & double the dose from 250 to 500mg. Now after 21 months the remicade is stoping to work for me,my body is forming antibody's against the drug which can happen.So the next drug will be Cimzia. It would have been Humira,but my Dr. said probably Cimzia. I can only tell you that when the Remicade was working for me & my condition I felt 99.99% great & almost normal again. As long as your Dr. monitors you & does blood work like every couple months they can tell how things are going. You do have to be very viligant in washing your hands a lot, try to stay awar from people who may be sick,I'm a huggy kind of person but at church now I try not to because you are at a great risk of devoloping infections.And it may look weird but when I go on vacation 2x a yr. & have to fly I wear a mask. Ok I understand being afraid of what you have read abiut side effects I did too I still continue to educate myself about my disease & the drugs all the time, you have to be your own advocate!! I have learned this myself.And after going so many years wondering what the heck was wrong with me, & the 24/7 pain I also went through for 3 yrs. straight all I can say was in those first few few months ( again almost 4& 1/2 months of starting the Remicade) when I did start the Remicade it took me 2 weeks where all of a sudden I realized I was not in pain anymore,like a light bulb went off & realized I had more energy. And most of the RA patients I met in the infusion suite said that remicade was the Only thing that was helping them finally. We have different diseases you & I but I am only trying to let you know my experiance,not it may not happen to you that Remicade may stop working it's only becasue of my crohns disease that this can happen. So I am also a bit nervous about now having to switch to another drug since I was so happy when the Remicade was working for me almost 2 yrs. But what I have learned is this yes inform your self about your disease,& it's fine to read everything you can about the drugs,but don't dwell too much on all the what if's? I used to do that in the beginning. As time when on I learned to take each day & when you are feeling great cherish those days rejoice in them,& don't keep worring on the what if this & that happens by taking this drug, if it shows something Dr's will know or your body will tell you. Trust your self.And more when a drug does work for you again can't state enough just enjoy those days & moments that you feel great. I hope this helps you some. Ashley

I've been on ENBREL for about 4 years now. yes there are risks, but the Dr is right that the mexthotrexate will not do it alone. It has side effects also. It is a drug I cannot take due to the side effects. I have not had any side effects, and hopefully will not. However, the benefits outweigh the other for me. Humeria was good, but remicade I had an very bad reaction to. Work with your Dr.

I have included below the site that I found side effects on for all of these.

If you do not want to take these medications because of the side effects you should talk to your doctor and tell him that way he can try to find a medication that will do the same thing for you without so many side effects.

Brand names * Enbrel®

IMPORTANT WARNING:

Etanercept injection may decrease your ability to fight infection and increase the risk that you will get a serious or life-threatening infection including sepsis (infection that affects the entire body). Tell your doctor if you often get any type of infection or if you have or think you may have any type of infection now. This includes minor infections (such as open cuts or sores), infections that come and go (such as cold sores) and chronic infections that do not go away. Also tell your doctor if you have diabetes or any condition that affects your immune system or if you are taking medications that slow the activity of the immune system such as abatacept (Orencia), anakinra (Kineret), azathioprine (Imuran) cancer chemotherapy medications, cyclophosphamide (Cytoxan), cyclosporine (Neoral, Sandimmune), oral corticosteroids, 6-mercaptopurine (Purinethol), methotrexate (Rheumatrex), sirolimus (Rapamune), sulfasalazine (Azulfidine), and tacrolimus (Prograf). If you experience any of the following symptoms during or shortly after your treatment with etanercept, call your doctor immediately: sore throat; cough; fever; extreme tiredness; flu-like symptoms; warm, red, or painful skin; or other signs of infection.

Using etanercept injection increases the risk that you will develop tuberculosis (TB; a serious lung infection), especially if you are already infected with tuberculosis but do not have any symptoms of the disease. Tell your doctor if you have or have ever had TB, if you have lived in a country where TB is common, or if you have been around someone who has TB. Your doctor will perform a skin test to see if you have an inactive TB infection. If necessary, your doctor will give you medication to treat this infection before you start using etanercept. Your doctor will monitor you for signs of TB during your treatment even if you did not have an inactive infection before you began to use etanercept.

Your doctor or pharmacist will give you the manufacturer's patient information sheet (Medication Guide) when you begin treatment with etanercept injection and each time you refill your prescription. Read the information carefully and ask your doctor or pharmacist if you have any questions. You can also visit the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) website (http://www.fda.gov/cder) or the manufacturer's website to obtain the Medication Guide.

Talk to your doctor about the risks of using etanercept injection.

Why is this medication prescribed?

Etanercept is used to relieve the symptoms of certain autoimmune disorders (conditions in which the immune system attacks healthy parts of the body and causes pain, swelling, and damage) including:

* rheumatoid arthritis (condition in which the body attacks its own joints, causing pain, swelling, and loss of function) alone or in combination with methotrexate (Rheumatrex®, Trexall®)

* psoriatic arthritis (condition that causes joint pain and swelling and scales on the skin)

* juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA; swelling of the lining of the joints that begins in children younger than 16 years of age)

* ankylosing spondylitis (a condition in which the body attacks the joints of the spine and other areas causing pain and joint damage),

* chronic plaque psoriasis (a skin disease in which red, scaly patches form on some areas of the body)

Etanercept is in a class of medications called tumor-necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors. It works by blocking the activity of TNF, a substance in the body that causes inflammation

How should this medicine be used?

Etanercept injection comes as a solution (liquid) in a prefilled syringe, an automatic injection device, and as a powder to be mixed with a provided liquid. Etanercept is injected subcutaneously (under the skin). It is usually injected once or twice a week. Follow the directions on your prescription label carefully, and ask your doctor or pharmacist to explain any part you do not understand. Use etanercept exactly as directed. Do not use more or less of it or use it more often than prescribed by your doctor.

If you are using etanercept injection to treat chronic plaque psoriasis, your doctor may start you on a high dose of medication and decrease your dose after 3 months when your condition is controlled.

You will receive your first dose of etanercept injection in a doctor's office. After that, you can inject the medication yourself at home or have a friend or relative perform the injections. Ask your doctor or pharmacist to show you or the person who will be performing the injections how to inject etanercept. Read the written instructions that come with etanercept before you inject the medication.

You can inject etanercept in the front of your thighs, the outer part of your upper arms, or your stomach, except your navel and the area two inches around it. To reduce the chances of soreness or redness, use a different site for eac