A Great Day / Remission and Enbrel

December 17, 2002

Dear Group....What a great day. I saw my RD today and he recommended I stop

using the Enbrel I have been injecting for over a year and a half. For the past

couple of months I have reduced my dose from 2 injections a week to just one

injection every two weeks. I am now going to take an injection every 3 weeks

for a few more injections and stop. My RD says I am in remission. This is

wonderful since at one time he said I had the most aggressive and fast moving

case of PA he had ever seen in anyone's hands. I do have some joint damage.

This all happened before I went on Enbrel. I have 1 fused and 1 unstable joint

in my right index finger. All of the other joints resolved themselves. I was

one of the lucky ones that had an immediate effect with my first Enbrel

injection.

For those of you that are unfamiliar with my post, I was a life long guitarist

who had lost the use of my hands. I have had to modify my technique and am not

quit as deft as I was but at least I am still able to play. I no longer take

any pain medications. I was taking Klonopin but have switched to Nuerontin

which seems to work very well. I will always have a legacy from the PA. Those

joints, some residual stiffness, but considering I was suicidal 2 years ago it

is quite an exceptional Christmas present. I only wish I would have started

Enbrel sooner and avoided the joint damage altogether. I started it of label

before it was approved for PA as it was. Seriously, anyone early in the

disease should consider treating it aggressively with a TNF drug in the

beginning. I have no doubt that Enbrel is at least as safe as MTX and doesn't

ruin your liver or make you throw your guts up. RGDS Ronnie E.

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