Not me,,,, I know you are nervous about the shot but try not to make up
problems to worry about.  It only makes things worse.

Very nervous.

Not me.

This is the reason you want to take Enbrel.

My hands

Your answering the question yourself but you are not listening.

I use it to keep from having those things.

That makes you semi---normal.   I am going to say that you will look back on
this time and wonder what you thought was the problem.

Harv

Hi Becky,

I've used Enbrel for over 4 years now (can't remember whether it's 4 or 5)
and I do have a chronic sinus stuffiness, but luckily haven't had the
infections that go with it.

Enbrel worked wonders on my fatigue within just a short time, like 2 weeks.
Not everyone gets a quick result, though. It may take a couple of months to
get the full effect.

I hope it works miracles for you.

Kelly C.

Becky, I recently told my husband that 10 years ago I could not have imagined
being so *happy* to give myself a weekly shot! I had to wait 3.5 years to get
health insurance good enough to afford Enbrel.  It has not been a miracle for
me, but it has helped enormously.  I was functioning before Enbrel, but not
very well.  I did not look bad, though my RDs knew there was joint swelling
there that never went down pre-Enbrel.

Enbrel really is not bad.  The modern, silicone coated needles slip in very
smoothly so sticking yourself is not traumatic.  The Enbrel itself may sting
going in, but when it does all you have to do is stop for a few seconds until
the stinging subsides, then go on.  It stings less, the warmer it is when you
inject.

I've had no trouble whatsoever with an increase in my sinus problems and no
flulike symptoms from the Enbrel at all.  The opnly way Enbrel has affected
my sinuses has been by giving me the energy to do some gardening and all that
digging in the dirt kicked up the allergies!  But on the flip side, I also
can clean house more often which helps my sinuses.

And what the Enbrel helped me with the most is my energy level.  That has
improved a great deal.  Don't go into this with fear and dread, go into it
with excitement that this marvelous new medication is available to you and be
filled with hope that it will help you as it has helped so many of us.

Becky,
I was very nervous too when I started the Enbrel.  I have been shooting
up with Enbrel and MTX now for a few months or longer.  I have always
been a little squeemish about shots but have learned that icing the area
before I stick myself helps greatly.  Now, as for the results.  I never
realized what terrible pain I was in the last few years until I started
the Enbrel.  The swelling in my finger joints has gone down, my energy
level is up, and the only bad pain I have left has been in a couple of
finger joints.  I am typing this at about 70 WPM with hardly any pain.  
My doc injected my worst finger joint a couple of months ago with a
cortisone and it shrank to about half its original size and has remained
unswollen.  I am hoping he will do the one remaining next time I see
him.  The Enbrel/MTX combo has worked really well for me.  More
importantly, my doc says that staying on the combination will pay
dividends many years from now because it arrests the further
deterioration of my joints.  I too never imagined that I would look
forward to giving myself shots but I actually do because I know it is
keeping that pain at bay.  The only reaction I get is a bit of fatigue
right after taking the shots which sometimes lasts for about 12 hours.  
Then I am back up to speed again.  I also take over the counter folic
acid two or three times a day.  I just get it from the vitamin section.  
I get the 800 mcd ones.  The MTX is an advesary to folic acid in your
system.  I am lucky because the tip of my tongue is a perfect indicator.  
When my folic acid gets low I get a tiny sore place there.  I pop an
extra folic acid tablet or two and it goes away.  Try not to be too
aprehensive about it although that is natural.  I admit that I still get
a little nervous about the shots but I am getting better at it all the
time.  I can do the MTX shot in a second now.  The Enbrel one takes me a
bit longer because I have to ice the area to make it painless.  Yes, it
will sting a little going in but that stops quickly enough.  Be sure you
warm the syringe to room temperature or body temperature and that will
make it pretty painless.  Most of the problems I had with it were in my
head because I was very aprehensive like you.  Just know that is normal
and go ahead.  You will get more comfortable with it over time.  I hope
this helps.

Becky:

Do not worry. Poke the dang needle in your dang body and feel a dang
lot better. The biggest problem, in my experience, with RA sufferers
(myself included) is reluctance to pipe up when we're feeling lousy and
shrinking from pounding the crap out of this disease whenever we can.

Treat it aggressively! That's the state-of-the-art consensus, these
days. Use whatever you can, whenever you can, as often and as much as
you can afford and your insurance company allows.

As for sticking yourself with a needle--you're not sticking yourself in
your eye and you're not giving yourself an IV. Depending on where you
poke, you can feel a little pain or just about none at all. You'll
figure it out. If Enbrel is for you--and it might not be--you will be
so, so very glad you got started. The fatigue will diminish. The
swelling will go down. The aches will abate. Most important. . .MOST
important, you'll be preventing additional joint damage.

Again, Enbrel and you may be a good combination. Or Humira and you. Or
Remicade. JUST DO IT!

Hey Becky, don't worry about the shots, in the end they are almost
addictive ;-)
For me, most ideal is 5mg prednisolon per day and Enbrel 25mg every
forth day.
I am very side-effect prone, but I think other people are mostly okay on
Enbrel twice a week.
I am off it now for a while due to side-effects because I upped the dose
to the usual twice a week shots, to lower the prednisolon to 2,5 mg per day.
I now have to wait for a bit until I'm all okay again, and then I'll
start on Enbrel again.
After almost 5 weeks without Enbrel and trying to cope on just 5mg pred
per day I must say I was kind of okay for the first couple of weeks, but
since a week or so I can feel the difference, and it's not nice.

Hopefully in about 10 days I can start taking Enbrel again.
You'll have to find out what works for you.
I may even try the 50mg shots, already have the prescr.

Good luck and hope it will really work for you!

Nikki