Hi Urbana,,,   Welcome to ASA....   Methx. and Enbrel are very different
types of medicine that do different things to control a persons immune
system.   I toom Methx for 7,8 years to control my Ra.   I had to get up to
and above 15mg a week before it did me any good.   Before Methx., my
condition got so bad that I was in a bed all the time and had to have help
to go to the bathroom or take a bath much less work and support my wife and
4 kids.
     A person needs to take folic acid when they use Methx. because it
blocks a persons ability to get enough folic acid from the food a person
eats.  A person can take up to 5 mg of folic acid a day and many people do.
You can buy it over the counter or with a prescription.   If Methx works
will for you, there may not be a need for you to take Enbrel or Remicade
which are very expensive.
I had to also take prednisone at 5mg or 10mg a day during that period of
time but you and your RD can work out what works for you and what you can
afford.
    I can tell you that Enbrel (which is a anti-tnf drug) has allowed me to
stop all other medicine to control my RA but does not work that well for
everyone...  There is soooo much that a person can do to help themselves
while having inflam.arth. and most of it is talked about here in the
newsgroup all the time.   So,,, take part,,, talk to others,,,, find out
what has worked for them and might work for you.

Harv

mtx suppresses the immune system as a whole, Enbrel blocks the action of
TNF-1 (I think) which is a specific segment of the immune system's infection
fighting process that results in the symptoms of RA.

Defintely tell your RD what your situation is with Enbrel. The pt. assistance
program for Enbrel requires NO insurance so you wouldn't qualify for that but
docs sometiems have tricks up their sleeves to help patients out with meds.  
There is also the possibility of trying some other milder DMARDs if you
haven't already been through them (plaquenil, sulfasalazine).  These aren't
as effective for as many patients, but they do work for some.  My docs did a
lot of working with me in different ways until we could afford Enbrel.

Oh - and if you won an appeal to get Enbrel, your docs might be able to help
ou out with samples of other meds so you can afford the co-pay on the Enbrel.
I've been there too.....