Be very careful with this, I had been told the pain I had been getting was costochondritis , I had been to hospital several times with it so the last time I decided not to bother but the pain was getting worse and worse so I went to hospital was left lying on a gurney in a corridor for 3 hours ( they had taken bloods) Then a doctor came running over to me saying I was actually having a heart attack where I was rushed into an ambulance and taken to a specialist hospital where I was taken in straight away and had a stent put into my artery so be warned DONT ignore chest pains
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True Dat. Exactly the same experience although it was in the olden days. They kept me overnight just to be certain. Needless to say my wife who was in her morning teachers meeting was a mess when her Principal pulled her and drove her to the hospital to meet the ambulance driving me across town. No stents as it was A-fib. I ignored it a few years ago and threw a clot which lead to a stroke that I am still rehabbing.
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Wow! That’s crazy that missed it like that. I tell people that being overly cautious with chest pain is always the better choice.
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Just shows you how things could turn out
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TJ, I was planning on cancelling my Wednesday MRI/MRA appointment, but you’ve convinced me not to. I only hope it turns out negative for aneurysms and/or any other problem. The link you sent was very informative, although most of it over my head. There was a segment about icepick headaches. When I had told my doctor I had them, she did mention prescribing Indomethacin, but I said the pains, even though frequent, were so short-lived they were bearable without meds. Now that they’re really infrequent I’m hoping they eventually just stop altogether. I really don’t want to know if I have aneurysms because then I’d be given a choice of whether to have them fixed or not. And if you know me, you know I’m scared to death of that—especially with a surgeon going into the arteries in my head!!! It was one thing getting a stent. For some reason that didn’t scare me at all. Ugh…
Thank you, though, for providing me with your insight and educated encouragement. I appreciate it very much!
That is so sad! But, there you go—it is really hard to know with chest pain! My cardiologist has told me a few times to not be concerned with chest pain unless it’s exactly like the pain I had with the real clot. But, every time I have chest pain I think, what if it IS my heart but it’s different??? I tell myself I won’t go in next time unless I collapse and have to go in on a gurney. But, that’s not a smart decision! You can’t be too cautious with this stuff, I guess, but it’s embarrassing and seems like a waste of time and money going in to find out it’s nothing!
OMG, Gill! Well, thank the lord this doctor finally took care of you!
You are SO FUNNY! Please don’t! You have enough to deal with already to add that to the list! Anyway, I have a few years up on you—seems my age isn’t on my side anymore. 
A bad case doc will usually go the dose-pak route for me.
I thought I should let y’all know how my MRIs and MRA turned out. I’m glad I went ahead with them, even though I did have to pay quite a chunk out of pocket. 
If anyone reads and wants to share their knowledge, that’d be great—I don’t understand a lot of it.
MRI Brain W/WO contrast: everything normal 
except “scattered T2/FLAIR hyper intense lesions in the supratentorial white matter, most numerous in the right frontal lobe and measuring to a maximum of 8 mm in diameter”.
Conclusion: 1. No acute intracranial pathology or evidence of mass.
2. Supratentorial white matter hyperintensities are nonspecific, but likely represent foci of chronic microvascular ischemic change.
3. Right maxillary sinus mucosal thickening/retention cysts.
MRA: Conclusion: Unremarkable brain MRA. No vascular occlusion, stenosis or evidence of aneurysm in the anterior or posterior circulation. 
Neck MRI: Conclusion: Multilevel disc and facet degeneration in the cervical spine with specific findings as follows:
- Mild to moderate disc degeneration at each level from C2-3 through C7-T1 with disc bulging.
- Spinal canal stenosis moderate at C6-7 and mild at C5-6. Mild left central cord flattening at C5-6, without abnormal cord signal.
- Uncinate spurs and degenerative facets combine to cause foraminal narrowing at multiple levels as described, with impingement of the exiting right C3, left C6 and bilateral C7 roots.
- Degenerative facet athropathy advanced right at C2-3 and moderate right at C7-T1 with active inflammatory changes at both of these levels.
- There is no evidence of fracture, infection or tumor. (Hooray—that’s the only good news!)
“As compared to MRI from 2012, progression of disc height loss and foraminal narrowing at C5-6 and C6-7. Progression of facet arthropathy with new active inflammatory changes as described above. New ankylosis of the left C4-5 facet joint.”
Well for the most part, 85% of women over age 60 will get similar results although the changes since 2012 are concerning. It would be nice to know when the progression occurred (Before or After Enbrel) The white matter changes could be for any number of reasons reaction to biologics being one of them though you would need more going on than just that.
TJ
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I started Enbrel in 2014. From 2012 to 2014 things (my PsA symptoms) were rapidly getting worse. I remember I had neuropathy in the bottoms of my feet really bad around 2012, and I was doing P.T. for my neck and lower back. The midfoot pain started about 8 months after I began taking Enbrel (March of 2015) and over the past 5 years has worsened to where at times it can be extremely painful (almost impossible) to walk. It definitely has progressed despite the Enbrel, but oddly I still think Enbrel is working. My worst PsA symptoms were tendinitis in a lot of places and horrible stiffness. Those symptoms might be present at times now, but they were relentless before I started Enbrel. Sometimes I think I have some sort of devotion to Enbrel for how it saved my life 5-1/2’years ago—old flames die hard, you know?
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Your observations are prolly very accurate and love affair appropriate. Enbrel is very effective for axial symptoms (spine etc) but for peripheral symptoms (feet etc) not so much. Its why most of us use a DMARD (MTX etc) in addition to a biologic…
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I don’t think it would be good for me to take a DMARD alongside the Enbrel as I’ve got chronic leukopenia (low white cells). I’d probably set myself up for catching some bad illnesses. I’m hoping injections will be helpful.
Thanks for your consideration—I’m glad you understand my love affair with Enbrel! 
This always makes me ponder. I think the same is true for Humira and its biosimilars?
Recent MRI showed my spine & sacroiliac joints are in pretty good shape. Of course it could well be that Humira / Imraldi have protected them and that will be my default, I’m sticking with the biologic.
But really it’s my peripherals that give me grief so obviously I wish the biologics were as good in that respect as apparently they are for spines. Though as it happens it’s only the biologic that has made a difference to my peripheral thingys, DMARDs alone weren’t up to the job at all.
Sometimes it seems as if almost nothing will protect hands and feet as well as we’d like … again, impossible to evaluate as things could be even worse without the drugs. Come to think of it, some of the more extreme images of hands and feet affected by long-term inflammatory arthritis have disappeared from the internet in recent years. I think that degree of damage is becoming rarer due to the ‘new’ tranche of drugs.
Anyway @Grandma_J, you have good reason to 
Enbrel!
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That why we have doctors and one more reason to self advocate and demand (maybe too strong a word) answers BTW with MTX leukopenia is often counteracted with folic acid dosages… It worked for me. I’d certainly have a discussion with your provider…
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I weigh the benefits against the risks. For me, I feel less is better. It’s quite the gamble, isn’t it? I was so sure Enbrel would be a disappointment and I’d get sicker from taking it, but that was not the case at all! I just don’t like adding more medicines to the mix. I’m on an anticoagulant, a couple blood pressure meds, aspirin and a cholesterol med. I have a very touchy stomach and other “physical irritations” to put up with. I know that isn’t a lot to most people, but it is to me.
I don’t want to upset the apple cart, so to speak.
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I’m so with you on that @Grandma_J. The less number of different meds I can take and still do well/OK with, the better.
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