Enbrel

October 16, 1999

Enbrel is a biologic and would be digested if taken any other way than

injection.

Sorry!

October 24, 1999

How often do you have to inject yourself? once a week

as well?

--- CTNATIVE@... wrote:

> Attention those interested in Enbrel use. First of

> all- the question about

> Sed rate- sometimes it is called

> ESR on the lab report.

>

> The Enbrel is injected by you after you follow

> instructions on mixing it up

> fresh at home - twice a week. It is a biologic and

> extremely temperature

> sensitive- so you need to keep it in the fridge.

> You inject it straight in

> to minimize the site reaction- in other words- not

> on an angle. Many people

> have reported an improvement of dramatic proportion

> s after just a shot or

> two! If it doesn't work at all after a month, my

> rheumatologist at Columbia

> has found that it won't work period. Virtually no

> side effects compared to

> other drugs. Some people on it call themselves

> Enbrelmaniacs they love it so

> much!

>

------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Please visit our new web page at:

> http://www.wpunj.edu/icip/pa

>

<HR>

<html>

>

November 3, 1999

Hi Jana,

Elliot has been taking Enbrel and I find that it is best to renew it when I

have two dose left. It takes our pharmacy 3 days to get it. Also re:

insurance- does yours cover the full amount of the drug? Our plan does after

$1000 but I had done some research and was surprised to see the varied costs

in several local pharmacies. It ranged from $950 to $1300 for a month

supply. My pharmacy actually matched the lowest cost.

Rena

November 4, 1999

Hi Rena,

I picked up our first Enbrel RX yesterday. The actual cost would have

been $990.59, I paid $15.00. As far as I can tell, it will be a $15 co-pay

each month, which is great news. I will take your advise and refill

with 2 doses left.

I gave Robbie his 1st shot yesterday at the Rheum. office.... he has been

calling me a " loser " ever since because it took me 2 tries to get the

needle in. I am sure we will improve with time.

I do have a couple of questions. The 1st is dosage. He is getting 25mg

x2 a week. In reading, I saw that children usually get .4mg per kg of

weight, which would be far less then the 25mg. I called the Seattle

Ped. Rheum. this morning. She said she wants him to have the 25mg.

Anyone have any information on this? The 2nd question is how far

do I have to put the needle in? I put it all the way in yesterday,

which ended up in a muscle. Can I just put it part way in?

Thanks, Jana

November 4, 1999

In a message dated 11/4/99 12:12:49 PM Pacific Standard Time, JanaB41@...

writes:

<< The 2nd question is how far

do I have to put the needle in? I put it all the way in yesterday,

which ended up in a muscle. Can I just put it part way in? >>

Enbrel is supposed to be a <thinks of how to spell this> sub-cutaneous

injection, instead of an intra-muscular like the methotrexate. Something

along those lines. You shouldn't have to slide the needle ALL the way in,

just far enough to get it under the skin. If it's not in far enough the

medication will form a bubble. I don't think that's anything to panic about,

but it's a little disturbing to see. <g>

cheers

Jenni

November 4, 1999

Hi Jana,

I see that Charlie posted some old messages but to review- the correct dose

is .4mg per kilo. Perhaps more of the doctors are playing with that. Elliot

who weighs 35 lbs. is taking 12.5 mg ( which is double the dose) there has

been nothing to report home about. When doing clinical trials they randomly

assign a dose; I'm sure that as more patients are using enbrel new correct

dosages will form.

As Jenni explained the injection is subcutaneous. You can get that by

keeping the needle at a 45 degree angle. Another thing which we found helpful

was using a regular monojet insulin syringe. The syringe supplied is made so

that someone with arthritis pain or deformity of the hands could manipulate

the syringe easily. The insulin syringe has a thinner needle and it goes in

easier. Hope this was helpful.

Rena

November 8, 1999

Charlie,

Thanks for this information. It is very helpful! Jana

November 8, 1999

Thanks, Rena. Yes, this helps. I won't worry too much about the dose.

injected him again yesterday, better then the first time, but I'm sure

the needle replacement will help. Thanks, Jana

November 12, 1999

lisbeth,

i don't personally know anyone who takes enbrel, but my rheumy is known as an

expert in serious RA and he has alot of experience with enbrel and is

absolutely delighted with the results. It does appear, from speaking with

him, that it has given many of his pts their lives back.

Hope this helps.

November 30, 1999

a,

It is so tempting to try these meds because of all the hype. My gp wanted

me to take Celebrex after reading Liz's post today. In the long haul AP

will get us there. It is just a longer journey. One after one all these

miracle drugs have proven to lose their effectiveness, then they try the

next one. The drug companies must be happy if not the poor souls who spend

a fortune on these.

Bev

rheumatic Enbrel

> From: a Peden <paula.peden@...>

>

> I have a little further info from our local AP support meeting last

> night that I thought some of you might be interested in. One of the new

> ladies reported that she has been part of the Enbrel trials and has been

> taking it for 2-1/2 years. She said that at first, she thought it was a

> miracle drug because it provided such incredible relief. She said that

> as time went on, however, it gradually lost its effectiveness to the

> point where now she's not getting great relief from it any more. Her

> conclusion was that it seems to operate like many other DMARDs, provides

> initial relief but that relief erodes over time. So, she came to our

> meeting because she wants to find out about AP and try that. I don't

> know about everyone else but every time I hear one of these stories, it

> strengthens my resolve that traditional DMARDs, even the new ones, just

> are not the wonder drugs that some rheums try to tell us they are.

> Hugs,

> a Peden

>

> >

November 30, 1999

a,

I tried to edit the post below and it shows how great I am at it. It

sounds like my gp is trying to kill me cuz he told me to take Celebrex after

reading Liz's post. LOL I took too much off that line. I meant to say,

" My gp wanted me to take it and I'm glad I didn't after reading Liz's post " .

Hugs

Bev

Re: rheumatic Enbrel

> From: " Briarwood " <briarwood@...>

>

> a,

> It is so tempting to try these meds because of all the hype. My gp

wanted

> me to take Celebrex after reading Liz's post today. In the long haul AP

> will get us there. It is just a longer journey. One after one all

these

> miracle drugs have proven to lose their effectiveness, then they try the

> next one. The drug companies must be happy if not the poor souls who

spend

> a fortune on these.

>

> Bev

November 30, 1999

Bev,

Sort of figured that's the direction you were headed, it's still hard to

prove that the doctors are actually trying to kill us. :}

Between Liz and Mark's posts today highlighting that some of the new

drugs aren't living up to their publicity, I'm feeling a greater sense

of well-being that I don't jump on a new bandwagon until it's been

around awhile and all the risks and benefits are known. After all, with

the speed that some of these drugs are now being brought to the market,

it's not surprising that many of the long term consequences are not

coming out until the general public is already using them. I recently

heard a Canadian medical show on the radio where both the host doctor

and the guest rheumatologist stated that Celebrex was a profound

disappointment, with the extra drawback that it doesn't even offer the

cardiac benefits that the old nsaids do.

Hugs,

a Peden

Briarwood wrote:

>

> a,

> I tried to edit the post below and it shows how great I am at it. It

> sounds like my gp is trying to kill me cuz he told me to take Celebrex after

> reading Liz's post. LOL I took too much off that line. I meant to say,

> " My gp wanted me to take it and I'm glad I didn't after reading Liz's post " .

> Hugs

> Bev

>

November 30, 1999

a,

But you only spoke to one - I think one could get a better idea by tuning in

to alt.support.arthritis and seeing how the folks there are doing with

Enbrel. That might broaden the perspective. I personally haven't kept up

with its effectiveness, because the cost puts it out of my reach, even if I

did like it. I would agree that some of the newer drugs certainly present a

risk having not been on the market for long and I would be hesitant to take

them unless I was in some pretty dire straits. That said, it is hard to

turn aside from a drug like Remicade that shows promise to actually heal

bones once they've eroded. But as I understand it, it shares the same

problem of Enbrel - eliminating the protein that helps us protect ourselves

against infection. If you're not progressing downhill rapidly, it might pay

to wait a bit.

Everyone's really right in these situations - I don't think anyone is wrong

to make a personal decision. Everyone's case is so different and our bodies

respond so differently. This whole idea of " I'm right and you're wrong "

seems to pervade a lot of the discussion in health support groups and that's

sad, if you ask me. And I think it produces incredible amounts of stress,

which are beneficial to no one.

So I think a that you're right for your decisions and I think is

right for the way he feels and I think everyone else is right for how they

feel about the issues. I say - let's just get on with getting healthy and

keep supporting each other no matter what we decide to do. Hell, I even

think Joe's right for fighting those aliens he has swimming around in his

body - or was that amoebas? ) LOL

Here's to HEALTH BABY!

Mark

rheumatic Enbrel

> From: a Peden <paula.peden@...>

>

> I think you've misinterpreted what I meant. If you feel you want or

> need to try some of the new drugs coming out, then that is completely

> your choice and if they work for you, then I say great. I just think

> it's important we all know the risks we may be facing along with the

> potential benefits so we can clearly decide whether we want to face

> those risks. If you then decide to proceed, then I would be the last

> person to criticize your choice, just as I would expect to be respected

> for my choice not to take them. And while it is difficult to wait for a

> potentially good drug to be approved, it is a fact that many of the new

> " miracle " drugs have been put on a fast track for approval, with many

> side effects not being fully revealed until later. I know my own doctor

> was very concerned about how quickly Celebrex was approved and said he

> would not prescribe it until it had been on the market for a year

> because he wanted to see the true picture of how it performed. I think

> the latest reports verify his prudence, however, again, if you want to

> try it and its benefits outweigh the negatives for you, then great. I

> feel the same about Enbrel. It was something I was also initially

> interested in myself but was disappointed to learn that it, too, seems

> to have a short lifespan of effectiveness according to first hand

> results from someone who is participating in the trials and I felt an

> obligation to pass this along to the group. I'm sure you would agree

> that it's best to be informed about all the pros and cons when deciding

> what treatment to take. I did point out that the trial subject I spoke

> to said Enbrel worked great at first for her, the results just didn't

> last terribly long.

> a Peden

>

> " W. Matzelle " wrote:

> >

> > All:

> >

> > It's funny many of us need something to complain about: either the

> > drugs are taking to long to be approved or they are being approved to

> > quickly.

> >

> > Enbrel and other new drugs are attempts to help us, but they are

> > expensive because there is much time, work and effort that goes into

> > the development of these drugs. Seems like common sense to me...It's

> > scary that many are choosing to discount anything that might help

> > because it's coming from sources they deem to be suspect. Many

> > disease have been cured, and my hope is that RA will bee one of them-

> >

> > Also, if I can get 2 years of freedom from the pain of RA, I'll take

> > it; both for the benefit of feeling like a human being and a the lack

> > of wear and tear on my joints. By the way there is no reason you

> > can't take AP along with Enbrel from what I understand...Just my

> > opinion, as we didn't shut doors to the possibility of AP helping, we

> > shouldn't shut the door on the possibility of new drugs being

> > developed that can do the same.

> >

>

December 19, 1999

You might want to take a look at alt.support.arthritis or misc.health.arthritis,

two Usenet newsgroups on the Internet. I know there are a number of people on

Enbrel there, who could answer some of your questions. If you're not sure how

to use newsgroups (there's usually a button in your email reader for

newsgroups), go to www.deja.com and enter the word Enbrel. You'll get a bunch

of listings, many of which will probably be from those newsgroups. For what

it's worth, I'm on minocycline and methotrexate and except for some lingering

stiffness in my hands (I have RA), my symptoms dramatically improved. However,

every single person is different, so my experience may not be your experience

(my disclaimer

Hope this is of some use!

Mark

http://Mark_Holmes.tripod.com

RA 4/98 AP 7/98

Minocycline (Lederle generic) 100mg 2x/day Daily;Methotrexate (15mg/once

weekly); folic acid (1 mg/day); Lodine 400mg 3x/day;Zone Diet;;Fish Oil(9

caps/day);acidopholus;Calcium;Multi-Vit

ICQ 18123139

AOL IM - ATHiker95

rheumatic Enbrel

Hi,

My daughter went to the rheumatologist Friday & they didn't think the

methotrexate was doing enough to keep the inflammation down & they want to

possibly put her on Enbrel. She is not on AP, but will be willing to discuss

trying minocin. She has psoriasis & ankylosing spondilitis. They haven't used

Enbrel on her type of arthritis & think it would work good, but have to try &

get the insurance to approve it. They are concerned she may get joint damage

before they can get the inflammation under control. Has anyone else used this

super expensive drug? Has is helped? I could use some advice. It will be the

middle of Jan before she can get an appt with the head doctor as he would have

to approve it. If it would keep her from getting joint damage we would just have

to bear the cost somehow.

Debbie McMillan

McMillan's Miniatures

Conroe, TX

http://www.mcmillansminiatures.com

email: deb-mc@...

December 20, 1999

A related thought....methotrexate has a greatly increased risk of liver

damage in those with Psoriatic Arthritis! (More than RA or other).

The ankylosing spondilitis is just another sero-negative arthritis, so she

probably has " Psoriatic Arthritis " .

PsA is slow to respond to AP, but worth the try! Less side - effects than

the major DMARDs or COX-2 inhibitors.

-Mike-

rheumatic Enbrel

Hi,

My daughter went to the rheumatologist Friday & they didn't think the

methotrexate was doing enough to keep the inflammation down & they want to

possibly put her on Enbrel. She is not on AP, but will be willing to discuss

trying minocin. She has psoriasis & ankylosing spondilitis. They haven't

used Enbrel on her type of arthritis & think it would work good, but have to

try & get the insurance to approve it. They are concerned she may get joint

damage before they can get the inflammation under control. Has anyone else

used this super expensive drug? Has is helped? I could use some advice. It

will be the middle of Jan before she can get an appt with the head doctor as

he would have to approve it. If it would keep her from getting joint damage

we would just have to bear the cost somehow.

Debbie McMillan

McMillan's Miniatures

Conroe, TX

http://www.mcmillansminiatures.com <http://www.mcmillansminiatures.com>

email: deb-mc@... <mailto:deb-mc@...>

December 21, 1999

Do you have numbers of people out of total patient population that are

having problems? You are correct that it is not recommended for those who

have had septicemia or are prone to infections. However, that is not your

average person. How many people out of how many without those problems are

falling prey to infections or sepsis? I would be curious to know - Enbrel

and Remicade both have that potential problem, but I'm not sure how many

people are really being affected, outside of those with the problems you

mentioned. Remicade has been shown to be particularly effective in combo

with methotrexate in people with refractory arthritis, so I'm not sure it's

good to totally condemn these drugs, only because they are not right for a

certain subset of people.

Mark

(always wanna know the numbers - and gotta give my buddy a hard time! -

Merry Christmas!

rheumatic RA and hormones, RA factor, Enbrel

>

> Enbrel can and is causing the super infections that were warned against.

If you have

> ever had septicemia or are prone to infections it could be very dangerous.

January 5, 2000

The flare you are experiencing is most likely due to the trauma of the

surgeries you went through. I've had the same experience, but

eventually I went through surgery with no flareup.

This just means you need to double up your efforts - hang in there.

Look at diet and detoxification.

Ethel

shirleyhi@... wrote:

>

> Happy New Year, everyone. I am rejoining you after being out of the group

> for a long time. I had foot surgery and back surgery in the last few months.

> I have recently been having a very bad flareup of the RA, and I no longer feel

> like the minocin therapy is helping me. As a last resort I have decided to

start

> Enbrel shots, and had my first one yesterday. I would like to know if anyone

> else has tried Enbrel, and what the results were. Is anyone else discouraged

> about minocin therapy? I have had RA for six years. I was feeling so well a

> few months ago I thought I was in remission, so this latest flare has been

ter-

> ribly discouraging. Let me hear from you.

> Shirley Hillard

>

> ---------------------------

February 23, 2000

Hi Georgina,

I don't remember our exact conversation but I had questioned Elliot's

previous Dr. re: enbrel and cancer as you had mentioned once before what your

Dr. had said. Elliots Dr. had said there was no increased cancers related to

the taking of enbrel in the studies but as it was a new drug the companies

put this in their literature more for disclaimer purposes. Many of the

patients taking these drugs are immunosuppressed and are at greater risks of

getting other problems.

Rena

February 23, 2000

Hi Rena,

See, it's strange that she would say something like that, without being

able to back it up. I think she said she heard about it from a speaker

at a conference in San Francisco but I haven't seen anything published

about it yet. I'm not sure what exactly they put in their literature.

I've read it before but forget. I think I'll go check their website and

read it again and see if there's anything pertinent. And I'll ask her

about it again tomorrow, when we see her.

I do understand that some of the people who may be candidates for it may

have a greater risk for other health complications. One of the women I

know (with Still's Disease) who was one of the first to use it right

after it got approval had to discontinue it. Not too long ago I got a

message from her saying that she has a new doctor and he suggested she

try it again. I don't really understand where she says that Enbrel

treats the symptoms, not the signs. Any ideas? I'll paste in the

relevant enbrel stuff, below.

Take care,

Georgina

" ...In spite of my other Rheumy having an entire Enbrel lab in a part of

his office, this doctor has worked with Enbrel even longer! He explained

to me why I was needlessly taken off Enbrel. As an RN, I felt a bit,

well, stupid! Enbrel is now being used for patients with Systemic

Vasculitis. I wasn't told that. He feels Systemic Vasculitis is my

primary problem with SD being secondary. Interesting. Previously, my

ESR began to

elevate so I began to flare. My Rheumy took me off Enbrel saying

" Obviously it isn't working now. No more. " This Rheumy says he doesn't

care about my ESR. (?) Then it dawns on me. (!) Enbrel doesn't stop

the progression of the disease. It treats the symptoms, not the signs.

{{{{Revelation}}}} I KNEW that. I wanted to kick myself for not

questioning it. This guy was able to get a year's Enbrel approved

within a month! Talk about action. My insurance changed prescription

programs, too. I still have to pay for Enbrel upfront, that's okay.

But my co-pay is no longer $300 and doesn't take 3 months (and

therefore, $3,300 debt) to get one month paid back. My co-pay is now

$110 and I'm paid back prior to the next month's refill! Wowza! It's

great. I had a hard time getting back on it. You can't inject with an

infection, as I'm sure you must know. I had pneumonia, bronchial

pneumonia, a couple of sinus infections, and a few bouts of

conjunctivitis. Recovery was slow, but it was nice to stay out of the

hospital. I've had 5 injections now. It took 7-8 injections last time,

and I'm feeling a bit better. My ESR is 7. My husband says he doesn't

believe it, but my doctor says it's nerve pain that is causing me so

much pain. Tests usually aren't wrong... "

February 23, 2000

Okay, I got this news release from the Immunex site. It does mention

that there were 9 reported cases of cancer, while they had expected 10

based on the numbers of people in the trial. It doesn't say anything

more about that, except that the projections came from the National

Cancer Institute SEER database. That's out of 641 people (83 people

being treated with enbrel for 30 months, 480 being treated for 12 months

and 78 being treated for 3 months). So it doesn't sound like that big of

a deal. As far as the JRA studies, this one is still pointing to the

first trial that looked at 69 children with active polyarticular JRA.

~Georgina

ENBREL® (etanercept) Long-Term Clinical Trial Data Presented at the

American College of Rheumatology Meeting

BOSTON, Nov. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Data from patients receiving ENBREL®

(etanercept) for as long as 41 months were presented at the 63rd

National Scientific Meeting of the American College of Rheumatology

(ACR) today.

The FDA approved ENBREL on November 2, 1998 to treat moderately to

severely active rheumatoid arthritis in patients who have an inadequate

response to one or more disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs).

The FDA included children and teen-agers (age 4-17 years) in the ENBREL

label when it granted the drug a new indication on May 28, 1999 for the

treatment of moderately to severely active polyarticular-course juvenile

rheumatoid arthritis patients who have had an inadequate response to one

or more DMARDs.

Study participants were treated with 25 mg of ENBREL twice weekly and

continue to be followed in an ongoing study being conducted in the

United States and Canada. Patients described in this presentation had

moderate to severely active RA and had failed at least one DMARD. The

data presented have not been reviewed by the Food and Drug

Administration.

Response to ENBREL was sustained over time. Of patients treated for 12

months (n=480), 72, 47 and 21 percent achieved 20, 50 and 70 percent

reductions in ACR response criteria, respectively. Of patients treated

for 30 months (n=83), 80, 60 and 33 percent achieved 20, 50 and 70

percent reductions in ACR response criteria, respectively. In controlled

trials, of patients treated for 3 months (n=78), 62, 41 and 15 percent

achieved 20, 50 and 70 percent reductions in ACR response criteria,

respectively.

No significant differences in rate or type of adverse event were seen

when patients continued to receive ENBREL over time. Infections occurred

at a rate of 1.55 per patient year compared to 1.82 in controlled

clinical trials. Headache occurred at a rate of 0.27 per patient year

compared to 0.68 in controlled trials. Serious infections occurred at a

rate of 0.050 per patient year compared to 0.043 per patient year in

controlled trials. There were nine reports of cancer, similar to the

expected number (10.7) calculated from the NCI SEER database. None of

the patients has developed a new autoimmune rheumatic disease.

IN POSTMARKETING USE, SERIOUS INFECTIONS AND SEPSIS, INCLUDING

FATALITIES, HAVE BEEN REPORTED. MANY OF THESE EVENTS OCCURRED IN

PATIENTS PREDISPOSED TO INFECTIONS, SUCH AS THOSE WITH ADVANCED OR

POORLY CONTROLLED DIABETES. DISCONTINUE ENBREL IN PATIENTS WITH SERIOUS

INFECTIONS OR SEPSIS. DO NOT START ENBREL IN THE PRESENCE OF SEPSIS,

INFECTION (INCLUDING CHRONIC OR LOCALIZED), OR ALLERGY TO ENBREL OR ITS

COMPONENTS. USE CAUTION IN PATIENTS PREDISPOSED TO INFECTION. The most

frequent adverse events in adult clinical trials in rheumatoid arthritis

(n=349) were injection site reactions (ISR) 37%, infections (35%) and

headache (17%). Malignancies were rare (<1%). Only the rate of ISR was

higher than placebo.

In a JRA study (n=69), infections (62%), headache (19%), abdominal pain

(19%), vomiting (13%) and nausea (9%) occurred more frequently than in

adults. The types of infections reported in JRA patients were generally

mild and consistent with those commonly seen in outpatient pediatric

populations. Serious adverse reactions reported rarely were varicella

(3%), gastroenteritis (3%), depression/personality disorder (1%),

cutaneous ulcer (1%), and esophagitis/gastritis (1%).

Immunex (Nasdaq: IMNX) is the manufacturer of ENBREL. Immunex and

Wyeth-Ayerst Laboratories market ENBREL in North America. Other

Wyeth-Ayerst affiliates will market ENBREL outside of North America.

Additional information about ENBREL, including full prescribing

information, can be found on the company-sponsored website at

(www.enbrel.com) or by calling toll-free 888-4ENBREL (888-436-2735).

Immunex is a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to developing immune

system science to protect human health. The company's products offer

hope to patients with cancer, inflammatory and infectious diseases.

American Home Products Corporation's Wyeth-Ayerst division is a major

research-oriented pharmaceutical company with leading products in the

areas of women's health care, cardiovascular disease therapies, central

nervous system drugs, anti-inflammatory agents, vaccines and generic

pharmaceuticals. American Home Products owns a majority interest in

Immunex. AHP is one of the world's largest research-based pharmaceutical

and health care products companies. It is a leader in the discovery,

development, manufacturing and marketing of prescription drugs and

over-the-counter medications. It is also a leader in vaccines,

biotechnology, agricultural products and animal health care.

This release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and

uncertainties, including risks associated with clinical development,

regulatory approvals, patent litigation, product commercialization and

other risks described from time to time in the SEC reports filed by

Immunex, including the most recently filed 10-K and 10-Q. For more

information, please refer to www.immunex.com.

April 5, 2000

Hi ,

In my case my doctor filled out the paper work for my insurance company

saying that I am " sero negative " for RA. Your doctor can get approval

from your insurance company if he knows what to tell them. In your

case , it was that the MTX wasn't working for you. Enbrel hasn't

been ok'd yet for PA patients, but should be soon. It's been a great

drug for me.

Vicki

April 5, 2000

Enbrel is not approved for pa...the ins. co.'s

companies do not like to pay the cost---until fda

approval

May 10, 2000

Ilena,

the potential good news in the near future is

that Immunex(maker of enbrel) is in front of the FDA

for approval of the drug for pa patients. Hopefully

that approval will come before year end and your

insurance problems will be a thing of the past. Maybe

your rhumy can list your condition as RA for purposes

of getting better insurance coverage on enbrel

now..Jay

May 10, 2000

Hi, Ilena:

The clinical trial I'm taking part in is to create the same " opportunity "

for PA folks as for the RA folks. It is not blessed by the FDA for PA yet,

and these trials, plus whatever other hoops medications must jump through is

part of the reason that I'm among the lucky 12 who are getting either Enbrel

or a placebo for 6 months. I have been told that our group will " roll over "

into a longitudinal (sp?!) study and Enbrel will be provided without cost as

a result of our contributing our bodies for 6 months to help out in the

process. I couldn't touch the cost otherwise, either.

Maggie

May 10, 2000

Welcome to the group Ilena. You have come to the right place for support and information. I've been a member only a short while and I have learned so much from all these wonderful people. I honestly don't know what I'd do without them now. It is comforting to know that others know what you are talking about.

Again, welcome to the group,

Donna

Medi588520@... wrote:

Hello. I am new to this group and I saw a thread on Enbrel. I have been using Enbrel for 1 month with great success. Prior to beginning Enbrel, I had 2 Remicade infusions which brought all symptoms under control very quickly. I am using the Enbrel for maintenance. The problem is the expense. My insurance company will not pay as it is only FDA approved for RA at the moment. I am in the middle of an appeal.Ilena------------------------------------------------------------------------Remember four years of good friends, bad clothes, explosive chemistryexperiments.1/4051/3/_/494167/_/957967520/------------------------------------------------------------------------Please visit our new web page at:http://www.wpunj.edu/icip/paWe are currently discussing new chat times. moderates a chat on arthritis atwww.about.com on Thursday evenings, so check thatout in the meantime! E mail at RA@... for details.

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Enbrel

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