Diary of a wimp on Enbrel!

[ellieh]

Ok then, here goes. I'll try not to waffle but you probably all know by now briefness is not one of my virtues   
So, having had this Enbrel in the fridge for nearly a week and not manageing to find the guts to do it myself even though I had been doing MTX injections up until 2 weeks ago with no problem, I went to the nurse yesterday and got her to do it  I was sooo scared it's embarrassing, I'm a right wimp about meds, first night I took MTX I lay awake all night waiting to die. Pathetic but true. Anyway, I was a nervous wreck yesterday, ended up being sick with nerves beforehand and all, partly due to far to much information on side-effects and stuff, sometimes I think it would be better not to know these things at first.
Result: the jab is no more painful than the MTX ones I'd been doing, the amount of liquid in the syringe is the same for 50mg of Enbrel as it was for 10mg MTX. It really is all of 10 seconds discomfort. Mind you when I have to do it myself on Monday with my shaky hands it may be a different story  I have no site reaction yet, in fact I can't even find where it went in, slight itch in that sort of area but that is probably due to the flare I'm having from stopping the MTX, major problem trying to find any clear bits on my spare tyre to inject. I felt pretty cr@p all afternoon, headache and nauseous, but I am prone to headaches and nerves always affect my stomach anyway so can't blame the drug really. Had an early night. 3am my daughter woke up screaming, had a nightmare about me having an injection and dying apparently, she knows about the injections but nothing else, how the hell do kids pick up on your feelings and fears no matter how hard you try to hide them?
So, not much sleep but I feel ok today really, bit tired and my stomach still feels a bit unsettled but nothing horrendous. Still itching and aching but we can't ask for miracles straight away.
So, next step another 50mg on Monday (which I have to be brave and do myself), pray I don't have any sort of allergic reaction to it or anything  then maybe after that I'll be able to calm down a bit 

[John Boy]

ellieh

you do make me laugh 

well done jb

[Pieman]

Hiya ellie

well done and i hope Enbrel brings you complete remission..fingers and toes crossed for you
Good luck with the diary and will be following how you get on with this..you can be the guinea pig before i commence later in the month!

Have you thought about taking before / after pics? would be nice to see visable changes over time...especially if you have a body like
elle "the body" mcpherson (don't worry..you can leave your face off the pics to preserve your anonymity) also a good reference point for you to compare over time...similar to what i did with ldn etc...

how often do you have the jabs? how long before you get reviewed?
buena suerte !!!
pie

[ellieh]

Hiya ellie

well done and i hope Enbrel brings you complete remission..fingers and toes crossed for you
Good luck with the diary and will be following how you get on with this..you can be the guinea pig before i commence later in the month!

Have you thought about taking before / after pics? would be nice to see visable changes over time...especially if you have a body like
elle "the body" mcpherson (don't worry..you can leave your face off the pics to preserve your anonymity) also a good reference point for you to compare over time...similar to what i did with ldn etc...

how often do you have the jabs? how long before you get reviewed?
buena suerte !!!
pie

Gracias guapo   Not sure what my husband would think of me being your guinea pig mind you    
PMSL, more like 'hell macdonut'!!   Think the camera would break, plus I've haven't got a wide-lens (thankyou MTX   ) I haven't allowed a photo of myself to be taken for at least 4 years, used to spend about 3 hours photoshopping all the p out of every photo before it was allowed out so I gave up in the end.
Seriously though, the derm did suggest I did take some for myself to compare before/after, they don't have the means to do it themselves. I'll think about it  
Funny thing is though, I don't consider my skin to be bad at the moment, the MTX didn't clear me but it did keep it all well under control, there aren't any big plaques except on my scalp, just a generalised freckling of guttate which is what allows me to have a little voice in my head saying 'why are you poisoning yourself when you may not need it?' Trouble is then the other little voice says 'remember when you last went erythrodermic and wanted to die?' Bit like a cartoon where I have a little angel on one shoulder and a little devil on the other, each talking in one ear.
They're a bit backward I think over here in prescribing this stuff (nurse told me yesterday I was only the 3rd person in this hospital's catchment area to be prescribed it   ), I'm to have 50mg twice a week for 12 weeks, then bloods and see the derm, if it's doing well enough then I'll be allowed another 12 weeks on one 50mg jab a week. In the meantime if I have any problems or anything I have to go to my gp who is swatting up now on Enbrel as he had never even heard of it  
So this means 6 months will take me up to August, then I can hit the beach and hopefully be p-free until at least the end of September   What they haven't told me is what happens after that, if I have to rest x months and then take it again or what. All will be revealed in time.

[babyblue]

Ellie,

Glad you've decided to keep the diary, it's invaluable for peeps like me who may need such treatments in the future and will know what to expect.  Its such a learning curve when on new treatments, watching for reactions, etc.  And you obviously are much better informed than your GP., you're teaching him a thing or two !   

Hope you have no negative side effects and begin to see results pretty soon, that way it won't be so difficult to continue. Looking forward to reading your diary ... and take piccies as Pie says, but keep them for yourself so that you can compare ... I've never taken a pic of my P.  I know what it looks like, it's not like it ever leaves me for too long, sadly !   :'(

Wishing you the very best of luck ..
Hugs
 
BB

[Jamie..]

Best of Luck Ellie. Hope it works for you

[ellieh]

Thanks for the good lucks folks 
Just done jab 2, all on my own! Stings a bit but all of 10 seconds. For anyone who has had sub-cutaneous MTX I would say actually this is easier to do, the needle seems a bit smaller than the ones I used for the MTX, had to push a bit harder to get it in but less painful than the other ones, plus the cap is so easy to get off, I've always had trouble getting the caps off the MTX but these are much easier, possibly because it's all one piece. Also the syringe is longer and slimmer so I managed to do it one handed while hanging on to a nice pinch of flab with the other hand  All in all I'm pleased with the injection process compared to the MTX, all I need now is for the results to match!
Generally ok since the last one, had a bit of a headache and felt tired plus slightly sore throat but nothing unusual for me so can't really blame the Enbrel, no visible effect on the p really after just one jab BUT no new bits as far as I can see, don't know whether it's the Enbrel calming the rebound flare already or if the flare was just not as bad as I expected.
I will let you know how things go today, LOL I'm so scared of an allergic reaction or something I've even got my Mum coming round to keep me company later 
Think once I live through today I will start doing the injections at night like I did the others, then if I do feel tired or whatever I'll be going to bed and sleeping through the worst of it anyway 

[babyblue]

Well Done Ellie !!  You're becoming quite an expert as injections become easier !      Good idea to have Mum coming round later .... new meds can cause side effects or reactions that are unpleasant, but having already had your first jab last week with no noticeable reaction, its unlikely to happen now.  But it's best to be careful and watchful in early days.

Take it easy today, have an pamperin' Ellie day 

Fingers crossed you see results soon

Hugs
 
BB

[ellieh]

Well you'll all be pleased to know I'm still alive and feel fine 
So far so good, roll on thursday, jab 3. Meant to be going away to a hotel with a heated pool on the 26th so looking for results mega-fast if I have to get in a swimsuit!

[ellieh]

I'm still here 
PMSL, I truly thought by now I would be in hospital with some terrible allergic reaction,  in fact I don't even have a headache after yesterday's dose which is very very strange for me, I always have a headache (or so my husband claims!)
Down side is though I have had no site reaction as such from either the one the nurse did or the one I've done, I do have 2 new dots of p where the needles went in, something I was expecting on MTX jabs and never got.