So I have tried 3 months of Sulfasalazine with no benefit or improvement what so ever. My Rheumatologist finally put me on 20 mg Methotrexate on April 28 (5 weeks completed now). I have not seen any benefit yet and have acutally been getting progressively worse, although I know it is still early on. My Rheumy at the last visit did say that after 3 months of the MTX she would likely add a Biologic, either Enbrel or Humira, gave me some information on both and told me to "read up on them", which I have done, but I am just wondering if there are any specific studies that have shown whether Enbrel or Humira is more effective in treating joint pain, disfigurement, swelling, etc in PsA? I have not been able to locate anything myself, however given the state of my swollen hands lately, my computer time has been somewhat limited. Is anyone able to help me out with this?
When I was offered a bio it was Remicade or humira. The bio nurse said that enbrel does not work as well for agressive PsA. My sister is on Enbrel for her skin . It keeps her skin from erupting badly. She still has P maybe 30% without enbrel she is at 80 or 90%. Her Derm and GP are waiting for her to say ok Stelara. They are going to skip the humira completely because her GP's wife has the similar problems as my sister and GP wife has cleared on Stelara. So now that you are confused completely I would go for Humira :) along with MTX. It is a proven combo and it is working for me. Someone else is going tell you Enbrel though LOL
That would be me 2trees...... But for rather different reasons. Humira is VERY effective for iriditis, if you don't have iriditis, its nice to keep the Humira in reserve until you do. Sometimes the bios fail over time, no reason to burn the Enbrel up first.. If its your first injectable, Enbrel is nice if you have some needle phobia. It hurts less, and has less frequent site reactions. Also you can draw your own I HATE auto pens.
They hurt more., because they pretty much shoot straight down. You can't back aspirate to make sure you haven't hit a little blood vessel, so you can get a bruise and/or the meds absorb too fast so you don't get full benefit. But then I have don't have problem shooting myself as have been doing injectable ateroids for a while now.. (MUCH BIGGER NEEDLE)
no way Lamb Auto injectors do not hurt. I warm mine up for 15 minutes and hold in my hand for 5 then into the tummy. If you inject into your legs it hurts. 90 degree angle into the tummy and no worries. I have had maybe a couple of bruises no bigger than a nickel with humira . MTX on the other hand has left me with plenty on my legs. The needle in autoinjector is abotu 5/8 inch.
As for the rheum's choice , enbrel was not included or an option
Now thats funny..... Tried once in my stomach and decided NEVER again. Never a problem with my leg. My first scrip was with the auto injector two bruises and one bleeder, went to pure injectable and loved it.
Although I have to admit I don't do it quite right... I can't pinch the skin the way the videos show so I just hold it taunt. That skin pinching thing (for me) is just like the pharmacy putting child proof caps on my Dicloflonec.... What the H are they thinking???????
warm it up Scott :) My BFF stabs herself in the leg. No way will she put a needle into her stomach. After 4 weeks of fraxiparin shots that have to go into the stomach (thats 2weeks each time for my knee surgeries) I got used to it.
Fraxiparin is to keep blood clots from forming and used post TKR.
As for child proof lids I can't get them off but I bet my 2 year old grandson could :)
Warm it up…good I’m on the right track. I’m having a bunch of Sussex chickens imported from England. I’ll have them take turns sitting on my auto-pens before administering them. That should be perfect. :). (Just kidding!).
Enbrel, Humira, & Remicade target tumor necrosis factor alpha as a way of modulating immune response.
However, each biologic has a unique molecule & each persons body chemistry is unique. So how effectively TNF-a bonds with a particular biologic drug molecule differs by person.
Many keys may fit the lock but which one turns the tumblers…
One study on PsA suggests that nearly 70% of patients receiving anti-TNF-a biologics responded to the first drug they were prescribed. 20% of patients had to ‘shop around’. The study is somewhat ambiguous as to what defines a good response … at least when read by a laymen such as me.
As far as I can see, there is no good way to predict which drug will be better.
Enbrel is typically weekly dosing, while humira is every other week, so less frequent injections would make humira a practical choice barring other considerations.
You certaninly have a firm grasp on this subject for a 'layman'! Thanks for the good info.
I am 6 weeks into Enbrel, the fact that I do not have to travel for it is a tremendous advantage to me, hopefully it will be of significant relief and I will not need to go the infusion route, but nice to know it is there if I do need it.