"Puckertoe"

They told me my psoriasis would go away with Remicade.  It helped the RA/OA
but Scalpicin (otc) works better than the Rx's for me.  Jan O'

I also have PA, but my psoriasis is fairly mild. I've been on Enbrel for
just over a year and am thankful each Tuesday when I inject. I've had to
stop once due to an illness and it only took a couple of weeks before the PA
really started to kick back in.
Good Luck
Joe

Dear Puckertoe,
Does your BCLD know that you are taking Enbrel?   I can only speak from
personal experience and I don't think I'm an expert, but, I have been
in your shoes with both PA and HepC. I've taken both Enbrel and Humira
but as soon as my LFT's started to soar
and my liver started down the cirrohsis path, I was immediately taken
off that type of drug.  The doc's 'fessed up and told me that this
entire class of drugs can cause hepatic necrosis (death of the liver)
in some individuals.  I have completed 48 week Hep C treatment and went
undetecteable at week 12.  Today I go in for my 6 month post blood
draw...
I think I may have slayed that ugly dragon for good.....HOWEVER, my
gastro & BCLD
will still not let me go back to those immunosuppressants because they
can eat up your liver, especially a weak one.   I would try to get more
info from your doc's.  Be careful.
Boston Jean
PS.  Enbrel can also cause hair loss:-(

I'm now on Enbrel only for my PA.  My Ps has never been widespread enough to
jusstify systemic meds for it, but being clear has been a delightful side
effect of going on DMARDs for my PA!

A brief DMARD/Ps history for me - some folks clear on methotrexate(mtx) alone
for Ps.  I didn't.  When I was on mtx only for my PA my Ps did not clear, but
it did respond much more readily to topicals than it ever had before.

Then I was on mtx & Arava for my PA because we didn't have insurance enough
to cover Enbrel at the time.  That combo completely cleared me for the first
time in 30 years!  I hadn't realized what a strain keeping up with it was as
it was just a part of life, but it was such a relief!

About 14 months ago we finally had excellent insurance and switched me off
arava and onto Enbrel, keeping the mtx going.  I stayed blessedly clear but a
couple of viruses forced me off those for about a month each and I could feel
the Ps starting to kick in again by the time I was back on all meds.

I had to quit mtx back in Feb. due to some suspicious labs.  Then I lost
Enbrel for almost 3 weeks around a liver biopsy.  Ps started kicking up
again.  As soon as I went back on Enbrel I cleared, except for the genital
Ps.  I've finally had to resort to some coal tar to get that clear again, but
I'm hopeful it will stay that way once I have it clear.

I know what a hassle it all is.  Some folks with Ps but not PA have been able
to take breaks from Enbrel and stay clear up to a year between Enbrel
courses.  There is hope!