For those of you on successful biologic treatments, what does it feel like? How do you feel? Besides flares, what discomforts or pain to you experience?
I am not sure the Stelara is working for me. I just had my 4th injection. Seems to stop working after 5 to 6 weeks. The fatigue comes back, trouble sleeping, joint pain, swollen fingers and toes, facial rashes, etc. I am a busy person. I hate siting still but I try to limit my activities, via the Spoon Theory. I have had one flare do to stress.
I am also due to have a colonoscopy this week to check for IBS or Crohn's.
Thanks everyone in advance. I thinking I might need a different biologic.
When the biologics work _perfectly_ then I feel great. But I've only had that feeling last for a very short while. When the biologic is working well I generally feel good--many more good days than bad ones. The winter is worse on my joints than the summer so my biologic dose is increased in the winter. On biologics I feel a thousand times better than I did when I was recently diagnosed and just starting on DMARDs. On biologics I can work full-time and exercise and have a pretty full and rich life.
Look for Stellara in the PsA site search box (top right) as there are lots of discussions right now about how well it works, flares while on Stellara, and whether to switch to a different medication.
I found when I started on Enbrel it only took a few weeks for me to notice some improvement. It was likely about 2 months until I found significant improvement. The swelling of my fingers for the most part went away. Yes, I still have times when a certain area that the PsA is affecting will flare and might be sore up to a few days. Then it typically goes away but may come back a couple weeks later. The flares on biologics for me are nothing compared to what I'm used to. It also took a while for my fatigue to improve. I believe I have been on Enbrel for 19 weeks. The doctor told me to expect improvement after 3 months so maybe you will need to give it a little longer before they try another biologic.
I hope you feel better soon. If you're dealing with IBS or crohn's then you've got a lot on your plate. Maybe that is adding to your fatigue.
Amielynn, it doesn't sound as if Stelara is working. IDK anything about Stelara, all I know is the ad on TV with the beautiful model and how it has helped her psoriasis.
If you have lots of damage and osteo arthritis, you're going to have pain. Maybe that residual pain is making you tired and under the weather. My rheumy told me I have lots of osteo...there are always pains in several places. I have spine problems and pain from that, too. But the fatigue and depression left me really quickly--and most of my psoriasis--after I started Enbrel and it hasn't returned--that's 5 months now minus those symptoms that were really overwhelming and what caused me to seek medical treatment.
I sure hope there is something better for you. You know your own body. If it doesn't feel as well as you had hoped, there must be another option. Is Stelara the first biologic you tried? I'm sure your rheumy would want you to be doing better by now. Good luck!
Thanks everyone. I have an appointment coming up soon. I'll see what he says.
I have had xrays and so far, they show no damage. My knees are the biggest pain source, so I am going to ask for xrays of those next. The winter does make things worse. But I currently feel like I did before Stelara. So what's the point? I feel really well the first 4 weeks after injection. Then it tapers off.