Hands swelling...is it the Enbrel

General
1

Since I have been on Enbrel for almost 5 months, I have noticed that my hands swell. Not a lot, but enough to make them stiff and troubling. This seems to be worse than before since I have been on Enbrel.

I can’t take NSAIDs, so that is out.

Has anyone else noticed swelling in the hands after starting Enbrel?

I was on 5mg Prednisone a day, but I have taken myself off that because of the terrible lower back pain it cause me. I paying for that now with my knees and legs hurting, but I was missing work due to the back pain.

1 Like
2

I would talk to your doctor and possibly the Enbrel support. Is it possible that it’s an allergic reaction?

3

I have plenty of allergies, it doesn’t feel like that. Feels more like fluid.

4

When you say hand swelling, you’re talking about the back of your hands? That can be from the tendons.

5

Mostly my fingers. They are more stiff and puffy than swollen. They ache and I can’t make a fist completly.

6

I’m like that and I don’t take a biologic. I saw it just a progression of the disease. It comes and goes for me and I’ve got used to it.

7

Yep, have to agree with Poo there. You have said before that Enbrel isn’t really working for you, and you’ve recently (ish) stopped steroids, so the most likely culprit is the disease, but make sure you mention it at your next appointment, and I really hope you get some relief soon.

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8

I’d mention it at your next appointment, tamac. Although, if the Enbrel is controlling a lot of other symptoms, then maybe your hands are that other 25%. I don’t think the biologics tend to be 100% effective.
I’m lucky, my hands were puffy and fingers always felt like they were being crushed, and Enbrel totally fixed that. But, it hasn’t stopped the psoriasis on my legs. Nothing seems to stop that! But, at least psoriasis isn’t painful!!!

9

My hands are all puffy and they ache and it’s all disease related. Tendons in my fingers feel ‘crunchy’ because they’re inflamed.

10

The hand swelling you describe (thick, painful fingers, not making a fist) is a normal part of my PsA now - so it sounds like disease progression to me. I’m on Humira for 3 months now, which has reduced the problem to a much more functional level, but it’s still there. I know my biologic has a potential side effect of making PsA symptoms worse - perhaps Enbrel does too? Then going off of it and trying another might help. Hopefully talking to your doc will help.

11

I am on Humira and my hands started swelling last year. I talked to my doctors and they are confused about it, thinking it is sodium or something, but I haven’t brought it up to my rheumatologist yet. Maybe it is from progression of the disease. It doesn’t happen often, but when it does, my whole hand gets puffy, fingers and all, and it is hard to open and close them.

12

Seeing Doc Tuesday, we are going to discuss continuing the Enbrel since I have been in it 7 months. I know it is doing some good because I wouldn’t be able to move without it, but I am having a lot of pain in a knee that has been operated on 4 times.

I’m starting to have pain in my hands and feet that comes and goes. I don’t have the sausage fingers, but my hands feel like they are full of fluid. They are starting to react slowly making typing a difficult.

I was on my feet and walking all last week at a convention and now I have terrible bone pain around my knee. The pain is terrible and I am either going to scream or cry. Not even my low dose of 5 mg Oxycodone isn’t helping so I have stopped taking it.

Doc will probably want to put back on prednisone, but I’ll only agree to a dosepak. The low does pred makes my low back hurt terribly and it put 30 pounds on me.

My visit to my hypnotist has helped the pain and he made me a great self-hypnosis CD, but even that isn’t stopping this knee pain.