Hi everyone, I haven't posted in a while. I am getting my first shipment of Enbrel today 12-12-12. I got approved through the Encourage Foundation. They are covering my Enbrel 100%!! It only took me two months to get it approved. Anyway I am on Methotrexate 25mgs every Friday, Prednisone 10-20mgs a day. And now will start Enbrel 50mgs weekly. I am also on other meds like Insinopril, Zofran, Tramadol, Flexiril. Every day. i was wondering what to expect with Enbrel? I am getting the prefilled syringes and not teh sureclick. should I take this 24 hours before...or after MEthotrexate On same day as MTX? Also I am awaiting my first Visit with a Rheumy. My PCP did a ton of tests on me. My CRP is still really high. Every time I get lesions under control a new spot pops up. I also Lost a lot of my hair on MTX and ended up shaving it. I was AMAZEd at the lesions I had on my scalp! My hair is growing back. I am having a lot of fun with Wigs, hats and scarves. I do have a very small support system and I did horrible this semester in School because of being in and out of hospital. I ended up with a Mallory-Weiss tear and gastrointestinal bleeding from vomiting so much from the MTX hence the reason I am now on Zofran. I Also ended up with Leukocytosis with out any sign of infection. But I have been running phantom fevers between 99.0 and 100.7 and no explaination as to why. I ended up getting a transfusion of platelets as mine were low possibly due to the tear from throwing up. Also my doctor has noticed that my Oxygen sats have been staying low between 95 and 92% but xrays are clear. I do not smoke. I did go out with some friends for a birthday and had a couple drinks, but did not over do it. My doctor stated that my liver looks great. The only concern was sugar in urine but my Fasting glucose test was perfect. So he is worried about my kidneys although all my labs are pretty good. I would like to know about spacing the Enbrel and what to expect with the injectiosn and side effects. I am hoping to get off the prednisone. However every time I have tried to wean down the prednisone I end up in a huge break out. Seems I cannot get clear no matter what. So that is why I needto start Enbrel. I am happy to finally get it covered. The ENcourage Foundation has been awesome to me. I am hoping that I can do better this semter in Sc hool. I think Starting MTX in the middle of the semester was a bad idea. i now have 5 weeks until Spring Semester and hope to be able to figure out the side effects by then. The MTX I take on Friday because it makes me so tired for a couple days. Thanks for any and all Suggestions!!!
Hi Starshined, I would think the wisest course of action would be to ask a pharmacist, here in the UK we can ask this service free of charge.
Good luck on your treatment…I hope you get some relief 