Hi, just wanted to post a long-due update.  A few months ago I was
posting questions about Enbrel and sinusitis, mentioned that I was being
treated for a sinus infection and had a weird and unpleasant cough.
    We discovered that the cough was coming from nodules or lesions in my
left lung.  I did a web search for MTX side effects and found that a rare side
effect was lesions in the lungs.  NOT good!  But when I gave the RD the lung CT
scan report, she immediately took me off the MTX.  I haven't had that cough
since then, and hopefully my lungs will clear up.  I'm doing twice-a-year CT
scans to keep an eye on them and make sure they aren't actually cancer.  (I
don't smoke, so I'm optimistic.)
    I also worked with a really awesome ENT, ended up having endoscopic
sinus surgery to clean the infection out of my sinuses.  It went very well
except for being difficult to intubate.  The sore throat after surgery was
worse than the sinus pressure/pain.  My sinuses have been clean for a little
over a month now.
    So I finally get to start my Enbrel RX.  I'm going to do my first shot
tonight.   I noticed the comments here in the last couple days about how
putting into your tummy doesn't hurt.  Do you think that's because you're
injecting it into the fat layer, as oppoosed to putting into muscle in your
thighs?  I'm not saying you guys are fat, just that's the way my body is, so I
was kind of wondering about that.  I do know that if something is injected into
fat, it will take the longest time to be absorbed into your body, so I was
thinking that I wouldn't do it into my tummy.  What do you guys think?
    Also, I haven't been taking any RX-strength NSAIDs since the surgery.  
I am getting by (barely) on Advil.  When I stopped the Relafen for surgery, I
discovered that it was working so well for me that it was also masking the
sinus pressure/pain I had - which is how I went so long without realizing I had
a sinus infection.  Based on that idea, I was thinking that  I should try to
get by while I start the Enbrel so that I can see if it's effective for me.  I
know when I was taking the MTX, I never felt any improvement, but the Relafen
made me feel just fine so it's possible I just didn't notice.  I think in order
to give the Enbrel a totally fair shake, I should just take it and nothing else
for a few weeks.  Wish me luck!

- Sharon
"Gravity...  is a harsh mistress!"