[jukebox3]

HI,
I HAVE RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS. I HAVE TAKEN HUMIRA, AND ENBREL, AND THEY DIDN'T DO THE TRICK. MY SED RATE KEEPS RISING. MY DR NOW WANTS TO PUT ME ON REMICADE INFUSIONS. I'M SCARED, CUZ I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT IT, NOR HAVE I TALKED TO ANYONE ABOUT IT. ANY INPUT WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED.

[ShannoMSC]

Hey Juke

I have Ankylosing Spondilitis & Sacroiilis, which at the moment is fusing my 2 si joints & the bottom part of my vertebrae..

My first Biologics experience was on Remicade, which i had to go to hospital to get a 400mg infusion every few weeks. My memory of it was that it worked quite well, the main thing i notice was occasionaly i would get very sharp stabbing pains around the kidney area. upon checking my bloods my kidneys were fine.

I had the opportunity to jump onto Enbrel (as it is self injecting, not as much trouble as having to goto hospital to get it) which worked ok for a while, though i am now on Humira, which is doing f**k all for the joint fusion

So in conclusion, it worked quite well for me, AS is more similar to RA because of its destructivness, so it should work for you, different things work or different people though - if Enbrel & humira have failed, get on it, it may be the one for you!

Take care

Shanno

[Robert_325]

Originally Posted by jukebox3

HI,
I HAVE RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS. I HAVE TAKEN HUMIRA, AND ENBREL, AND THEY DIDN'T DO THE TRICK. MY SED RATE KEEPS RISING. MY DR NOW WANTS TO PUT ME ON REMICADE INFUSIONS. I'M SCARED, CUZ I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT IT, NOR HAVE I TALKED TO ANYONE ABOUT IT. ANY INPUT WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED.

I have the utmost respect for the rheumatologist that has helped me over the years. They are very knowdelgeable drs as a whole. But remember they are still just "practicing" medicine. Autoimmune diseases are tough to diagnose and even tougher to treat effectively.

I also have RA, along with secondary Raynaud's and anitphospholipid syndrome which causes the body to produce blood clots. My sed rate has been on and completely off the charts for years. I've battled autoimmune problems for half my life at least.

The three medications you mentioned are all "similar" to one another. Sometimes one will help with your symptoms and another won't. Doesn't make a lot of sense but that's just the way it is. Did you have any problems with either Humira or Enbrel? What kind of problems did you experience other than the high sed rate? Remember none of these meds do anything to fix the problem all they do is help with the symptoms if they are working effectively.

I wouldn't be any more apprehensive about Remicade than the others. You can click on each of the highlighed drug names in your post. It will take you to an information page on each drug that explains the similarities, differences and some of the most serious potential side effects. Hope that helps. God bless.