Enbrel vs. Humira

[Guest guest]

I took Enbrel and it changed my life. I felt like I'd never had PA. I

did not walk...I ran. But I kept getting infections. Off Enbrel. On

Enbrel. Off. On. But AS DIRECTED BY MY DOCTOR. I pray to God that

your husband is not playing with the dosage of this drug on his own.

Kathy said it...it shocks the immune system. This post really caused

me great alarm. I hope that your husband is not on heart medications

because if he decided to toy with THOSE dosages he won't get an

infection...he will just die. That is harsh to say but it just

floored me that he would stop taking it when he felt better. The

Enbrel is probably what made him feel better. My doctors beleive that

the fact that I had to get on and off of Enbrel is the cause of the

mini stroke I had in September. I'm only 45. I am just starting to

feel human again from this. As far as the differenced between the

Humira and Enbrel...Enbrel is made from hamster ovaries and the

protein used to make Humira is a human protein. There are plenty of

people in the group who have done well on one and not the other. My

doctor will be trying me on Orencia when I get approved for Medicaid.

I cannot work now so I need help. Honey....you've got to stop this

guy from hurting himself. This is very serious. I don't want to scare

you but honestly...you should be afraid of what he is doing. Love Betz

>

> Hi all. Have a question regarding the differences/ pros/ cons of

> Enbrel vs. Humira. My husband has PA and has been taking Enbrel.

He

> has backed off on his doseage, in fact he has gone months without an

> injection (which I don't know if that's good to do that or not),

once

> he starts to feel the PA affecting him, he'll start taking the

Enbrel

> again. He does seem to be prone to getting sick when he's back on

the

> Enbrel (weakened immune system). Right now he's come down with

> Bronchitis (he's not taking Enbrel right now since he's sick). At

the

> doctor's today, he had a perscription for Humira written up to try

> that. Isn't Humira similar to Enbrel in how it affects the immune

> system? Just looking for some input/ advice between these drugs.

> Thank you,

> Trace

>

> [Editor's Note: Trace, first, it must be recognized that PA is an

omnipresent, progressive disease which means that it is there even

when we don't feel its symptoms and it is spreading even if we don't

realize its steady march through our body. As a result, starting,

stopping and starting Enbrel means that Enbrel is not able to do what

it does best - stemming the progression of the disease - because it

is not being taken in a consistent manner that would enable it to do

just that. Second, Enbrel is a serious medication. It is extremely

traumatic to the body's immune system to be on Enbrel, off Enbrel and

then on Enbrel again. I don't know why your husband would want to do

this to himself. There are studies that have shown that starting and

stopping and then re-starting Enbrel (and some of our other

medications) may result in our bodies no longer responding to the

medication in ways we would wish. Enbrel is NOT meant to be taken to

fight the symptoms of the disease (it is meant to fight the

progression) so waiting to take it until you feel symptoms is not

helpful at all. Enbrel and Humira are both in the same class of

drugs known as biologics that are TNF blockers which means they do

similar things. HOWEVER, and this is a critical point, they have two

very different chemical compositions and as a result, it is does not

necessarily follow that because Enbrel has affected an individual

this way, Humira will do the same. They are not the same drug and an

individual may do poorly on one and wonderfully on another, poorly on

both, great on both, better on one than on the other, etc. The only

way to find out how your husband will react to Humira rather than

Enbrel is for him to try it. However, for Humira (or Enbrel, or MTX,

or Arava, or sulfasalazine) to work as intended it HAS to be taken on

a regular basis. Some medications can be taken only when symptoms

are present such as pain killers and anti inflammatories, but

biologics MUST be taken whether symptoms are present or not. Does

your husband's rheumatologist know that your husband has not been

taking his Enbrel as prescribed? He should be told because unless he

knows, the rheumy cannot really evaluate how your husband does on

these very important medications. Lastly, some of us are more prone

to infections when we take these medications so it is important that

your husband follow simple things that we learn in elementary school

about washing his hands more often, etc., in order to help reduce the

possibility of getting an infection in the first place. Kathy F.]

>

[Guest guest]

I was on humira but it did not work for me . I am not sure but if you have a

heart problem I don't think your supposed to take humira . I have been on

enbrel since 1999 and I can't imagine going back to the pain I had before enbrel

cathy from ma

[Guest guest]

My son takes Enbrel, and he has seen a little improvement. It's hard

to tell if it has helped with inflamation, because his inflamation was

so severe he was hospitalized. It took several infusions to get him

walking. However, a recent MRI revealed that in spite of having had

big sacs of fluid in the hip joints, he has no damage. That's what's

important to us about the Enbrel, preventing joint damage. I

understand this drug can be very costly if you don't have excellent

insurance, but we're hoping that it prevents Cameron from needing

joints replaced in his adult years. Why would anyone not want that

prevention from joint deterioration? By going on and off Enbrel, he's

forfeiting one of the most important benefits of the drug. Please get

his doctor involved, because he/she may prefer he not take it at all

than take it like he has been.

Gael

[Guest guest]

Has anyone tried both? What is the difference to using Humira vs. Enbrel? Is it

just your doctors preference? I have been on Enbrel for 5 weeks now and still

have pain and stiffness but my sores have almost gone away! I guess I was

looking for immediate relief. Just wondering! Thanks In WI

[Guest guest]

I have been on both and Enbrel only helped with the inflammation in my blood,

the pain was the exact same. Almost as soon as they started me on Humira, I

noticed a reduction in pain. The Humira shot hurts a little more going in than

Enbrel, and I have a little more site reaction, but it helps for me. And my

insurance covers it.

" Kelsey " <k2thelc@...>