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Hello, I'm a 36 year old woman who has just been told that I am in the early stages of "some kind of" arthritic autoimmune disease. This all began earlier this summer when I started suffering from episcleritis/keratitis mainly in my left eye. I was put on steroid drops, which cleared it up right away. Then after a week of being off them, it came back, so I was put on again. Once again, cleared up right away, and then came back very mildly, so I stayed off the steroid and it's barely noticeable right now. In the meantime, the eye doc kept saying, "are you sure you don't have an autoimmune disease." I kept telling him, as far as I knew, no! So I happened to mention this all to my regular G.P. and he ran some blood work. No RF factor, no ANA, but an 83 for my sed rate. That was enough for him to send me to a rheumatologist. I saw him briefly and he looked me over, mainly checking how far I could bend over and whether or not I had strength in my hands. Didn't really look at joints. He ordered bloodwork also. I did tell him that I experience soreness and stiffness in my feet/ankles, knees, hands, wrists, elbows and shoulders, but no swelling or redness. The HL-27 (not sure if that's correct) came back negative, but the sed rate was still around 37, the C-reaction was elevated, and it showed anemia. So at that point, he said, he was certain I was beginning something, especially with the eye symptoms happening over the summer. He told me that I don't have arthritis yet, it's arthralgia. He wants me to start Enbrel ASAP. Now to my question. Is this reasonable to start me on a med like Enbrel without any actual joint swelling? I keep thinking that the eye thing was/is just some sort of viral problem that's taking a while to go away. That's what the eye doctor was guessing all those months, yet, he did keep asking me about autoimmune stuff. I'm just really uncomfortable taking the med, when I feel like this is just a big guess. My insurance will not cover a second opinion, so I'm kind of desperate for any opinions before I feel "scared into" taking the Enbrel. Thanks so much for any thoughts on this!
Being nervous about starting a drug like Enbrel when this is a very new diagnosis is very understandable. I think it depends on the physician, and since I'm not a physician I won't second guess your doctor. Some are very conservative and would want to start you on an anti-inflammatory like Celebrex first. Others, like your physician, prefer to be more aggresive in treatment to try to stop the progression of the disease before you do advance to swelling, damage, etc. That said, not everyone gets noticeable swelling or hot, red joints. That's what's tricky about RA.
If you're still concerned, talk to him some more about Enbrel or starting with something else. I have heard good things about Enbrel, while like all medications, it has cons and side effects. And everyone reacts differently to each medication.
You might also want to find out if your insurance company covers Enbrel and the other TNF-inhibitors as a first line treatment. I take Humira and the doctor had to get authorization for it by showing my insurance company that I had tried at least two other medications that were unsuccessful, like naproxen, placquenil, methotrexate, etc.
Hello. My name's Keisha.I'm 22 and was diagnosed with Polyarticular Rheumatoid Arthritis and Raynaud's Phenomenon when I was 16. Also was diagnosed with Pleurisy last year. Also have Keratosis Pilaris, Infertility and suffer from some other things such as allergies and migraines. I have been on Methotrexate, Prednisone, Enbrel, Humira, Remicade, Ibuprofen, Aleve, Hydrocodone (Vicodin), Tylenol and many many others. Also in meanwhile, I developed many infections such as bladder infections,UTIs,etc. And had to take medications for those. Also, ended up getting migraines from Prednisone and had small nagging headaches with some of the others. Now, Enbrel for me was not good. Everyone's different, but my first injection made me 98 times worse. The pain from RA was so unbearable that I couldn't get out of bed, couldn't straighten my own legs out, couldn't move or walk,etc. All I did was cry and scream..my husband had to straighten my legs out for me!! BUT, this does not mean it will happen to you! I also know someone with Ankylosing Spondylitis who takes Enbrel and it works great for him! So it all depends on you and your body. Also, they do try to get you on strong treatment to try and stop the progression before it's so far into to the 'disease'. As for you being worried, I know most of what you're feeling right now is just "the unknown" because you probably don't know what's to come and what's going to happen through all this. BUT, one piece of advice that I believe through and through. I live by it!! If you have any intuition, deep down, gut doubts about anything at all, trust yourself no matter what 'anyone' says. I'm NOT saying don't listen to your doctor, but if you get one of 'those' feelings, PLEASE PLEASE try to seek more advice, do research, ask around to anyone and everyone about what you're told and do that until you find the answers you need!! Other than that I'm not sure what else to tell you right now. Just be very careful on weighing the benefits and the consequences of taking certain medications. I don't know if I'm suppose to say this, but it's not like it's much of a secret. But, believe me...there are consequences to some of these medications and the more progressed your illness, the more serious the medications! Good luck! You're in my thoughts and prayers! Sorry this is so long! If you need anything at all, feel free to contact me anytime for anything! Wishing you well! P.S. I do have something more to tell you, but it needs to be private. So, if you'd like to give me your email, that'd be great!
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