Ok, so I just had my 17th injection of Enbrel on Friday. I have to say I've done quite well. Many people at the office have been sick but not me :) just the odd tickle in my throat. Nothing serious.
But....today I noticed my throat felt a little odd. Turns out it's only on the right side but I think from checking my neck that my glands are swollen. Not sore but there seems to be one side that is larger than the other. Does this make any sense ?
Looks like I should make an appointment to see my GP. I hope he can see me tomorrow. I don't want to leave it too long just in case. I'm really not sure if I should be concerned or not. I'm guessing it shouldn't be concerning as long as I see my doc about it.
I held mine off from Friday since I woke up with a cold. I'll probably give myself the shot tomorrow. You may want to ask your rheumy for hard and fast rules about this for yourself. My rheumy told me to hold off in cases like this, even though I wasn't running a fever.
I felt like I was fighting something off for several weeks. Finally, about 12 days ago I came down with a mild sore throat and a really nasty cough and tight chest. I didn't have a fever or body aches, so wasn't sure if I should be concerned. I took my Enbrel shot Sunday the 9th, but by the next day I was worried and talked to the online nurse about it. She told me I should never take the Enbrel if I'm sick with even just a cold, so she got me really worried. I messaged my Dr who wanted me to come in, but I ended up cancelling that. I debated about taking my Enbrel yesterday, but decided to go ahead and take it because my psoriasis was itching and some joints were more sore and I didn't want PsA symptoms to get worse if I delayed the shot. Today, finally I'm coughing a lot less and my sore throat is gone. Anyway, when I cancelled my Dr appointment she said to make an appointment and delay my shot if my symptoms got worse.
I went to see my GP today. He's not too concerned at this point but definitely agrees I should skip my injection this week. It's been really cold here too so I've opted to stay home a couple days and make sure I kick this thing. The doc says it's a virus and to come back if it gets worse.
I didn't want to seem paranoid but didn't want to ignore it at this point. Ignore and work through an illness is what I would usually do but I think I'll play it safe from now on.
I'm hoping after being on Enbrel for a few months now that missing one injection won't affect me too much.
Dini, are you on methotrexate, too? My rheumatologist had me stop both my biologic and the MTX until I have finished the round of antibiotics I was prescribed for a cuticle infection. I get the not wanting to seem paranoid thing- making the doctor's appointment for my finger felt so silly! I waited several days to call, even when I'd noticed the infection was not improving as it should, because I felt ridiculous calling about something that usually would just take three days of bandaids and epsom salt soaks.
Right, but if the infection was bad enough to warrant antibiotics, then it makes good sense to stop the meds temporarily. I tend to get cuticle infections anyway, so if I pick at all, I automatically bandaid w/ antibiotic ointment for a few days.
rosen said:
Dini, are you on methotrexate, too? My rheumatologist had me stop both my biologic and the MTX until I have finished the round of antibiotics I was prescribed for a cuticle infection. I get the not wanting to seem paranoid thing- making the doctor's appointment for my finger felt so silly! I waited several days to call, even when I'd noticed the infection was not improving as it should, because I felt ridiculous calling about something that usually would just take three days of bandaids and epsom salt soaks.
I was commiserating on the business of feeling paranoid about legitimate concerns that would have been silly things to call a doctor over in an otherwise health person- I definitely realize it was necessary to take a break from the medications that change/suppress my immune system, and wish I'd called when I first observed the bandaids and antibiotic ointment and soaks weren't helping- instead of waiting until it seemed bad enough to warrant a call.
Stoney said:
Right, but if the infection was bad enough to warrant antibiotics, then it makes good sense to stop the meds temporarily. I tend to get cuticle infections anyway, so if I pick at all, I automatically bandaid w/ antibiotic ointment for a few days.
rosen said:
Dini, are you on methotrexate, too? My rheumatologist had me stop both my biologic and the MTX until I have finished the round of antibiotics I was prescribed for a cuticle infection. I get the not wanting to seem paranoid thing- making the doctor's appointment for my finger felt so silly! I waited several days to call, even when I'd noticed the infection was not improving as it should, because I felt ridiculous calling about something that usually would just take three days of bandaids and epsom salt soaks.
Hi Rosen, I'm not on mtx. Too many side effects for me. I am still taking plaquenil though.
You know what I mean right ?...I have to take small symptoms more seriously now since I'm on the biologic. It's difficult because I'm not used to doing that. Maybe the sniffles, sneezing and little bit of random cough I started to get a couple weeks ago I should have taken more seriously ? At the same time, I don't want to be neurotic either.
I'm guessing if I have more than one symptom, I should presume it's a cold and either skip my injection or call the help line for some advice.
At this point my GP said it's my thyroid that is swollen. The doc didn't give me any antibiotics. If it doesn't get better or gets worse I'll be going back. I see my rheumy in a few weeks and will speak to him about it also.