You have to weigh the odds. Is your hatred of needles more important than the possible benefits of Enbrel? It only stings for a minute. Make sure you take it out of the fridge 10-20 minutes before you inject. How much pain are you in? Can you live comfortably the way you are?As Pamela said we have all "read the stuff" and only you can decide whether the risk is worth it. You need to get hard facts as to how many people end up with MS versus the number of people on Enbrel. Call their support line and see if they can answer your questions.  I tried Humira but got hives and UTI's, I then went to Enbrel and also got UTI's so now I am going on Remicade which is by infusion. I'd prefer the Injection Pen any day over IV's but I am willing to give it a try if it will help. I also have Crohns in addition to AS and the Remicade will help both.

It is normal to be anxious!  I definately use the pen because I am chicken.  And it stings, but not as bad as some shots I have had.  Morphine for one is very painful!  Ironic, isn't it?  Try meditation before you do it, or have someone else give you your first shot.  A nurse at your doctors office would probably do that for you, and it will be less scary the first time.  After that, it is a breeze.

Bon, I had my first Humira shot a week ago, using the pen.  It wasn't as bad as it could have been, and I had it in the stomach (which hurts a lot less than the leg).  My wonderful husband actually administered the shot for me, mainly because I was scared.  Have you got someone that could maybe help you with the injection?  I don't think you can actually develop MS from the biologics.  My mother actually has primary progressive MS and if she thought there was even the smallest chance of me 'acquiring' it, she would have begged me not to start treatment!  What country are you in? Here in Australia, when you start on a biologic (in most cases) we are given a welcome pack with self-injecting literature and I was even given a dvd showing how to administer which my husband and I watched together.

Please give Enbrel a fair try.  There isn't one of us on Biologics that loves needles or hasn't read the 'stuff', but they literally can improve your life beyond all the other worries.  Good luck!

You're lucky enough to be able to afford it. I feel so miserable because it costs too much for me. I can only dream of any real meds for my AS, i can barely afford my pain killers. Please take it and i will pray for you.

I hate needles but felt like this was a good thing to try. My husband is a sweetheart and gives them to me.  I use the pen and it does sting.......  A LOT!!!!!  But I am feeling better and have more energy that I am glad I tried it.  I could not give myself the injiection.  I would totally freak out.  We do it in the leg since the stomach sounds so bad.    I am also that person that always is sick in the winter so that concerns me a lot.  I am hopeing that I do not get sick this year but I am already starting the coughing bit so maybe not as bad.  I do tell anyone that comes around me that if you are sick STAY AWAY.  If they want to know why I tell them I take a med that decreases my imune system. I also work in a grocery store but I rarely deal with the public so I can say this to the people I come near and I wash my hands so much someone asked if I was OCD!

I'm the same, I hate needles, when I was first put on enbrel my wife had to inject me, but since then I have been given the pen, and its no where near as bad. Yes its still a needle but in your mind its not, I was nervas useing the pen the first few times but now I do it with out think about it.

I use the Enbrel pen does it sting yep about like getting the flu shot! I dont like needles so I use the pen it is over so quickly I give it in my thigh, just have a hang up about sticking it in my stomach :) just me! It has made a huge difference in my life will be two years in July I have been taking Enbrel!

On the one hand, nobody can force you to take Enbrel.  On the other hand, this medication has helped many people, including some of my friends.  The medication does have some risk of side effects, and in fact, all medications pose a risk of side effects.  There's no way to know before you try Enbrel if you will get a side effect or not, so this is a choice you need to make for yourself.  There is some good news, that the problem you are concerned about is not actual MS, and that it does appear to get better by discontinuing the drug; see article at link:  www.roadback.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/studies.display/displa

There is no indication, whatsoever, that you can develop MS from biologic medications.  If you have MS, you should not take it because it exacerbates the symptoms.  The best interpretation of the research suggests that people who have autoimmune diseases already have an increased chance of developing cancers, specifically lymphomas.  Since the medications were only tested on people with autoimmune diseases, they found an elevated number of people with lymphomas.  The medication makes it hard, even dangerous to treat a person with a cancer, so it should not be taken by anyone who's developed any of the indicators that they might have lymphoma.  If you are absent of any of the conditions that are contraindicated, you might find significant relief from the medication.

I felt the same way Pamela, had all the worries too, it will be ok, the pen I think is better then the needle and IV.  I hope it works for you.  Good luck to you