Repeated infections on Enbrel

General
1

I’m feeling despondent tonight. I started Enbrel in January this year, after 2.5 years on Humira. Since then I’ve had pneumonia twice (once in each lung), bronchitis 4 times, several sinus infections, two ear infections, and a UTI (which was probably my own fault -must remember to drink things other than coffee during the day!).

Enbrel is great for my joints - my SI joints and lower spine are under control, my thumbs aren’t constantly swollen (like they were on Humira), my feet feel good - and pretty good for my fatigue.

So that’s fantastic for my PsA, but I’m sick ALL THE TIME it seems like. I try to remind myself how I couldn’t even walk in the months before I was diagnosed, so if the drugs that gave me my life back also make me sick, so be it, but that’s not working so well right now.

Oh and I have asthma, so every freaking lung infection turns into needing prednisone and nebulized albuterol to breathe.

I started this week on antibiotics for bronchitis, started feeling better, then came down with the flu. (And yes, I got my flu shot. And both pneumococcal vaccines.)

I was at least just diagnosed with hypogammaglobulinemia and my insurance approved subcutaneous injections of immunoglobulin to boost my immune system so I’m hoping that helps without screwing up all the autoimmune stuff - but for now I’m sick and starting to get some painful joints from skipping my enbrel injections while I heal from this latest round of sickness.

So - long post to say hey, life sucks. Which you’re all well aware of. I’ll let you know how the antibody infusions go though - maybe this time next year I won’t have been nearly so sick.

2

Have you had the pneumonia vaccine?

While enbrel probably opened you up to pneumonia to a certain degree, your asthma is doing you no favors. I have asthma as well. I had pneumonia in both lungs, all four lobes, and missed 63 days of high school over it. I then went into chronic bronchitis for the next 10 years, had it every 90 days or so like clockwork. I totally get the circus of prednisone and nebulized albuterol! I would say you need to talk to your doctor about getting on a steriod inhaler of some sort (advair comes to mind). At the end of the day, pneumonia is no joke for people with asthma and can created life-altering illness very quickly.

Hang in there and do please deal with the pneumonia as a very, very serious illness. It can linger and reocurr quickly in people with asthma.

azurelle

3

I have had the pneumonia vaccines - started with the pneumovax and didn’t get much of an immune response, followed by the prevnar23 which did trigger some antibody production - just not as much as it should have.

I’m also on a daily steroid, with a different one for days my peak flow is low.

I definitely have seen the consequences of pneumonia on my lungs - since the latest bout in August I haven’t even been able to walk quickly without getting winded.