Tailbone Flare

Who knew RA could attack your tailbone?!?! I surely did not. Yesterday I noticed some soreness in my tailbone and that it was uncomfortable to sit upright. This morning, one of my ribs joined the party and my tailbone hurt so badly that it even hurts to walk.

I am now two weeks into Enbrel and have not felt any effects. In fact, I feel worse. It may be because of the week and a half I went without any treatment (except methotrexate) due to switching from Humira to Enbrel. My mother went undiagnosed for years after RA hit her and when she finally settled on a treatment, it was Enbrel. She still takes it now. She is not in remission, not pain free, but she does live a pretty normal life. I can only hope Enbrel will do the same for me.

Both my internist and my rheumy have said that because RA hit me so hard so fast, that they have reason to think I will be able to reach remission. This sounds counterintuitive to me, but perhaps there is some research study out there proving just that. Here's hoping!

Humira Bites the Dust

Well, it's official! I have failed Humira. After 3 months of treatment, I have seen a small improvement in my inflammation markers and have felt a small increase in energy, but my disease activity remains high and my pain levels are still uncontrolled. Rheumy says if it was going to help me, it would have already.

So what's next? Rheumy had two options for me: Remicade and Enbrel. At first, I pushed for Remicade because I like the idea of being able to use loading doses to build it up in my system faster. He explained that this didn't necessarily mean it would be a more aggressive form of treatment, however, and that the two were comparable in his mind. As I'm currently driving 2 hours one way to see him, he wants me to try Enbrel first in hopes that I will be able to manage this more conveniently. So I'll do what he asks and pray that Enbrel is the one for me.