Goodbye Enbrel, Hello Humira

Enbrel and I have parted ways after I developed a fairly severe site-injection reaction. Oddly enough, I didn't have a reaction in the beginning when most people get them, but started getting it around month 5. My Rheumatologist had me start taking Benadryl and Zantac on shot day (in addition to the Claritin I already took daily). That worked for a couple of weeks but then I had to start taking them the day before, day of, AND the day after my injection. So for 3 days of every week I was a very drowsy/loopy lady :-). The last shot I injected ended up with a 5" diameter injection site reaction and the beginning of swelling in my hands and feet. As you can imagine, my Rheumy said I was done with Enbrel.

So Humira and I have been dating for the past 8 weeks. So far, we are starting off slow, but I am hopeful it could lead to something more. So far no site-injection reactions! Please keep your fingers crossed that it starts working soon AND I don't have an allergic reaction to it!

New Medication

Well, it is that time again to try a new medication, but this time I will be injecting myself! I will be starting Enbrel next week and am keeping my fingers crossed it will help. I went to the Rheumatologist yesterday and had labs done, chest x-ray, TB test, Pneumonia vaccination, and a little class on how to inject myself. My immune system will be lowered so I am going to have to be careful not to catch any infections, easier said than done with three children under the age of 6. Please let this medication work!