I was on enbrel for a few years and had to come off it a year ago for various reasons, I am getting my first new lot delivered on Friday and I cannot wait!! I was able to get on Enbrel as NSAID;s are no good for me, and other painkillers did not touch the pain, it  made a huge difference fairly quickly. You have to weigh up the plus and minus points and decide what is best for you, and some people are better with one than the other, but you can only know that bu trying. ASs soon as I was in a position to get back on I was keen to get back on as soon as possible, as I told my rheumy (and he agreed) I am slowly falling to bits stage by stage as pre enbrel, no painkillers toouch it, and I am getting worse and worse. I managed great with enbrel and basic painkillers, but you can try various combos till you find the one that suits you. I hope it all turns out great for you

It sure does!  I was able to stop taking all additional meds once the TNF started kicking in.  Just remember it will take a bit of time for them to kick in.

I have found relief from taking Humira along with Methotrexate.   I still get an occasional flare up but it's not as bad as it used to be.  Check with the Humira drug company, I think they might have an assistance program to help offset the costs that insurance doesn't pick up.  Good luck!

My son Bruce is 9 years old and has Juvenile Spondylitis.  He was started on Methotrextate for 18 weeks and had to quit the med do to "fog", kind of like an Attention problem.  It helped somewhat but not enough. We stopped the TX and the fog went away:)  We started Enbrel and it took 8 weeks to start working.  He went backwards during those 8 weeks, then his back started to bother him as well as his SI joints.  We started Enbrel at .5 and then Dr. Increased it to .80 and changed his NSAID to Pirixacam. The next shot was 2 days away and the pain went away almost immediately. You have to find the right combo of drugs and stay with it.  He didnt swell much before the Enbrel, but has a little more swelling in the knees and his right side of back, but he has no pain and no joint contractures.  The shots for Enbrel are 2 times a week and the Humira are 2 times a month or however the Dr. Decides.  I will say from adults to kids the Humira burns bad.  Bruce takes the shots well with no burning, but everyone is different but we are happy b/c he has no pain and one small flare that lasted for 4 days.  He is on the 14 th week of shots.  ALl I can say is to stick with whatever you get for at last 12 weeks, it really can take that long to see improvement and dose may need adjusting. Bruces Dr. Gave him the max he felt comfortable with and BAM it worked.  When looking at Juv. Spondylitis this is what he needs to be on, the only other drug is a sulfa drug that is supposed to help if he can tolerate it, but we are waiting b/c hes doing so well. Hope this helps.

Humira or Enbrel (TNF Inhibitors) are the best that are available right now. Yes, you will find that they should take a lot of the pain away. It could happen within the first couple of shots, but will more likely take up to a month or so to really feel the full effects. Be patient.

As for will you be able to come off of your other medications. Well, that depends on your doctor and what meds you are on. I personally am on Humira, but I also take an NSAID (Indomethacin)

Best of luck to you, that you get some relief.

If you have good enough insurance for it, do it. In the first few weeks I had a major decline in overall pain and inflammation. My feet and other joints were killing me too, and it all subsided.

It isn't a total solution. I still take advil a lot, and on cold or rainy nights, I am still debilitated, but it makes life for me so much more tolerable.

The only bad part about feeling better is that I started having an appetite again. Promptly put on about 20 pounds.

Enbrel has given me about a 30% decrease in pain, and I have only taken about 10 shots!  Supposedly, the longer you take it, the better it works.  Good luck!  I hope you've got good insurance.

I take Humira bi-weekly and mtx weekly.  I notice around day 10 I am much more sore and 2 days after the shot I am better.  The Doc wants to put me on shots every 10 days.  The methotrexate seems to be helping but it really knocks the wind out of me.  BTW.......my last Humira price tag was higher this month.  It was $1956.00 USD but it is now $2289.00 USD for two shots.  Anybody else notice an increase?  I do not pay a dime but thought it was a big jump.

The best thing i have ever done for my A.S. Is found herbalife.  Find someone in your area that sells it and try the combo of Schizandra, Herbalifeline, Xtra-cal, Joint Support and Tang Kuei.  I got off pain pills and anti-inflammatories after 15 years because of those five herbal supplements.

Humira made such a big difference that a coworker thought I was cured. Unfortunately, like all other drugs, the efficacy fades after a few years. Humira is the only drug specifically tested for AS, though the others can be just as effective or even better for some users.

Yes! When I was on Enbrel and it was working, it worked great. Winter is usually the hardest for me and I went skiing the year I was on Enbrel. I felt that great. I finally had a taste of what it felt like to be "normal". Sadly, Enbrel didn't keep working and it gave me other problems that necessitated that I stop. But it was so great for a while.

My quality of life has significantly improved since I started taking Enbrel.  I tried Humira first and didn't see any improvement, so then switched to Enbrel and it was magical.

One day I found myself tackling chores around the house which I had not had energy for in *years*, and without pain!  Okay not completely without pain, but without the worst of the pain.

I highly recommend giving one of the TNF blockers a try.   I was still a bit skeptical about my condition - I am HLA-B27 negative, and my diagnosis is Undifferentiated Spondyloarthropathy.   Then I took Enbrel and BAM.  I feel better than I have in years!  I'm a believer in the U.S. Diagnosis now, that's for darn sure.

If you have the option then definitely give one of them a try.   Good luck to you!

I am 80% better since starting HUMIRA 3 years ago.  I still have pain but not nearly as much as I use too.  I highly recommend it.

Hi Christine - For me there was no down side.  If you have the possibility of feeling better, like so many of us do on these medications then I'd seriously look at going on them.  I started with Humira, went to Enbrel and now I'm on Remicade and feel mostly good except for if I flare, overdue, or the weather is moving in - that's sounds like a lot but really it has been a blessing for me to be better.  Good luck with your decision - I wish you more pain free days!  Best, Jenna