Hi Marilyn,    Welcome to ASA.    With an RD's prescription,   Yes, Medicare
pays for some of the cost of Remicade and in the future some of Enbrel/
Humira. Your insurance will need to pick up some of the cost of Remicade and
while I receiving the infusions, there was always some expense that my
insurance did not cover but I have a friend that his insurance covers all of
what Medicare does not cover.   Soooo, its up to your insurance and
mediocre.

For me,,, yes,,,, except for the joints that have already gone too far with
damage.   It works very fast for me but for most folks it is a little slower
to work.   Its the next day for me but some people show improvement at about
3 months of steady once or twice a week shots.

No  not correct.   It is not injected in the pain areas.

I am trying to figure out what is the best solution for my mother who has
been in pain for 25

Enbrel/Humira are about $1400 dollars a month before insurance and Remicade
is about a third more expensive than those.

Has a Rheumatologist confirmed that your mother has inflam.arth.???

Harv

I don't know how that works but I believe one  has to check with their
own insurance carrier.

I was on remicade for five years and had very good results, but then
had reactions so had to stop. I tried arava which made my RA worse,
and then switched to enbrel. The enbrel has been great.

I don't know of anyone who has injected the enbrel into the painful
areas. Instead you give the injection, as any other, into the hip,
thigh, or tummy area. Typically people inject 25 mgs twice each week,
however there is also now a 50 mg dose that is given once a week.
The efficacy of the two methods is pretty comparable. Some people may
be able to get away with less; but standard dosing is as I have
mentioned.
I am trying to figure

What does her Rheumatologist say? He would be the one that would best
be able to determine the course of treatment for her. Has she been on
remicade? Has it stopped working?

This is the first I have heard about enbrel. As a matter of fact I

I am curious about that. I had not heard that Paula Abdul had RA.
Because enbrel works at the celular level to supress the TNF, it would
typically not be given unless it were for an immune system disorder
like RA.

Can anyone else out there tell me about these meds? My mother does

Please check for information from the manufacturer.
http://www.enbrel.com/index2.jsp

And here is some additional information from a favorite
rheumatologist:

http://www.arthritis.co.za/enbrel.html
    Rose   @}>->--
    Being educated means that rather than fearing the unknown, one seeks to understand it. RB

    Please remove "Ima" to reply.

First question and this is critical.  Does your mother have osteo
arthritis or Rheumatoid Arthritis or on of the other autoimmune (immune
system caused arthritis) such as Ankylosis Spondylitis (which attacks
the spine)?  This is an important question because Enbrel (correct
spelling) is only good for arthritis caused by the immune system.
Remicade is similar to Enbrel but it is a little stronger, for some
people, and medicare will pay for it but only if the person has
autoimmune arthritis. Ask your Doctor if you are unclear about her
diagnosis.  It is very important that you are clear on which arthritis
she has since there are about 170 different types, and not all drugs
work for each type.  Immune system arthritis is caused by your immune
system which is confused and attacking the joints instead of a germ, be
sure to ask your Dr so you understand the difference. -- MZ

Paula Abdul takes Enbrel for RSD, which is immune system related.

Read this article:
http://arthritis.about.com/od/rsd/a/rsd.htm

You need to pinpoint the type of arthritis because ther term
"arthritis" is extremely confusing and covers many different
conditions.  The FDA has not approved Enbrel for RSD, so medicare will
not pay for it, and it is extremely expensive about $1,000 per month.
-- MZ

Visit my website:
http://www.mzuschlag.com

i take remiced every 8 weeks in IV For 3 hours.
its hard dew to the cemo pills to.
i take every sunday night 8 pills drains u.
but stops the pain and i can walk more and move more then i did 6 months
ago.

angela