I am just curious as to how long people have been on biologic drugs alone when they feel they are ineffective and need to switch to another biologic. Just curious about the time frames. I realize they can vary from person to person.
Hi Laura -- Thanks for your reply. I have been on Enbrel alone for about 7 months and am feeling great. Before the Enbrel they tried me on the methotrexate which I totally could not tolerate. I had horrible nausea and was unable to eat. I note from this Support Site a lot of people state the biologic they are put on seems to work for about a year -- I don't think I have seen any longer -- and then something like methotrexate needs to be added or they are switched to another biologic. I really don't want to do the methotrexate again. Just saying (typing) the words brings back bad memories. I am so afraid the Enbrel is going to stop working on me. By the way, Laura, what treatment are you on now? Has anyone had any experience with Xeljanz?
Laura E D said:
Hmmm...after a little over a year on anti-tnf alone the effect began to wane. At this point mtx was added to the mix to potentially extend the usable life of that particular biologic. Stopped treatment just shy of two years.
I unfortunately had to change biologics because of an additional autoimmune issue Enbrel did not address, though it was going strong at 9 months, and Humira is also going strong at 6 months. I’ve read a few stories here and on other forums in the past about 4 - 10 year success periods, and I guess those guys are more likely to be off living their lives, and less likely to be posting here.
In the IBD area, it’s apparently common (according to my GI) for people to go 10 years in remission with Humira and no MTX, so it should certainly be possible for us.
Wow, Jen. You sure are encouraging. Thanks for the info. I was lucky in that my PsA was caught so early. My rheumatologist was right on top of things, started me on Enbrel right away and follows up with me at 3-month intervals. You sure made my day with that last post. Thanks, again.
Jen said:
I unfortunately had to change biologics because of an additional autoimmune issue Enbrel did not address, though it was going strong at 9 months, and Humira is also going strong at 6 months. I've read a few stories here and on other forums in the past about 4 - 10 year success periods, and I guess those guys are more likely to be off living their lives, and less likely to be posting here.
In the IBD area, it's apparently common (according to my GI) for people to go 10 years in remission with Humira and no MTX, so it should certainly be possible for us.
Great to hear, that gives me a little glow 