Enbrel: How long till improvements started (if at all)

wish there was a way to do polls here..

but I am about to start (today) on my Enbrel. And while I don't want to set my self up with any false expectations, but I am forever the curious type, and I do have high hopes of regaining some of my life back after four months of arthritic hell.. so how long after you started on Enbrel, before you started noticing improvement.. and maybe a guess at the level of improvement..

so something like 2 months / 20% improvement

and if your so inclined, maybe a more extensive history like

1 month / 10%

3 months / 40%

9 months / 75%

thanks friends

For me I have been on it for six weeks and have seen about 20% improvement. I still have some trouble spots, wrist, right knee and left ankle. Rhumey, which I saw Thursday, upped my methodextrate and will see me in six weeks. We agreed though not to change and meds while the holiday times are approaching. Hope that helps

I probably only have 30% improvement after being on it for a year. I think I reached 20% by 6 months. But I probably had this for 30 years or more before it was diagnosed. Perhaps since birth, my feet were crooked when born! I am presently 55 yo. I have tried Simponi, Humiria both with and without methotrexate. Presently I am on Enbrel and methotrexate, Celebrex and occasional Vicodin. Hope this helps and doesn't skew the figures from other PsA patients.

thanks for the feedback michael. no worries about skewing the figures.. hehe.. it's totally non scientific and subjective data and I have been online for 20+ years and know how skewed up (grin) any research based on cyber polls are. but then again, you are the real folks, on the front lines so to speak, and that has value in my book..

michael in vermont said:

I probably only have 30% improvement after being on it for a year. I think I reached 20% by 6 months. But I probably had this for 30 years or more before it was diagnosed. Perhaps since birth, my feet were crooked when born! I am presently 55 yo. I have tried Simponi, Humiria both with and without methotrexate. Presently I am on Enbrel and methotrexate, Celebrex and occasional Vicodin. Hope this helps and doesn't skew the figures from other PsA patients.

Thank you for your kindness. I am fully disabled from work but I think it is a fairly aggressive type- my spine, hands and feet. I went to Rheumatology on my own though my primary had noticed I seemed to have a lot of tendonitis and swollen joints which i had always explained by what I did for a living, Triage nurse on computers and phone, and hobbies which were all fine motor. But it got me to thinking as I am a nurse and had psoriasis. i first saw Rheumatology in 2006 with my self diagnosis og PsA. I was reassured by them it was not. My step son was killed in Iraq in 2007 and as a result I did not see any physicians in 2007. I 2008 I again took myself to Rheumatology and said, "I know you don't think this is PsA but I still do and this is why....." To which I was told, "of course this is PsA why aren't you on a TNF?" Go figure. I think I was not swollen in 2006 when my appointment finally came about but was quite swollen in 2008, perhaps due to the stress of my step son. Anyway I wish you well with your informal poll. i am excited to see the results and am sending you hugs and prayers for a speedy resolution of your flare.

At the last visit to my Rheumy, she told me that I was at my 12 injection and that is about the peak out time on average. She told me that however far Enbrel has taken me to this point, then that should be about as much improvement that I should expect. My last visit was about 2 months ago, and I think she is right. I have maintained the same degree of relief from pain for the last two months. Actually, I think the relief has gone down slightly. I now have some swelling in my hands that I didn't have a few months ago.