Enbrel Injection, Week Two
Okay, I think I can handle a weekly Enbrel injection after all. I did my second one last night, and this time I let the syringe sit out for about twenty minutes to get to room temperature before injecting it. Last week I let it sit out for only about ten minutes, so it was still rather cold when I injected it. Anyway, this time it didn't burn nearly as much going in. It was still uncomfortable, but not nearly as much so as last week.
On the down side, I'm experiencing some side effects that never happened when I was on the twice-weekly dosage a couple of years ago. Last Saturday I woke up with a throbbing headache and felt nauseous and dizzy, but didn't connect it to the Enbrel since I wasn't expecting any side effects. Today, the same thing happened, so I read up on the list of potential side effects, and it does include headache, nausea, and dizziness. My guess is that I'm experiencing these side effects now but didn't before because it's now a 50 mg injection all at once, whereas it used to be 25 mg injections two days apart. I'm hoping that once I've been back on it for awhile, the side effects will stop occurring or will at least be less severe. In any event, it will be worth it if the Enbrel controls the RA enough that I can stop taking the methotrexate.
On the down side, I'm experiencing some side effects that never happened when I was on the twice-weekly dosage a couple of years ago. Last Saturday I woke up with a throbbing headache and felt nauseous and dizzy, but didn't connect it to the Enbrel since I wasn't expecting any side effects. Today, the same thing happened, so I read up on the list of potential side effects, and it does include headache, nausea, and dizziness. My guess is that I'm experiencing these side effects now but didn't before because it's now a 50 mg injection all at once, whereas it used to be 25 mg injections two days apart. I'm hoping that once I've been back on it for awhile, the side effects will stop occurring or will at least be less severe. In any event, it will be worth it if the Enbrel controls the RA enough that I can stop taking the methotrexate.
posted by Catherine at 11:38 PM
3 Comments:
I hate side effects. When I started on the oxicodine family, I got the itchies so bad that I had to take Benedryl with it. Luckily, they stopped after 3 days.
Do you think that your side effects will stop once your body gets use to the new dosage?
Ooooo, I hate the itchies! I get the itchies from the Enbrel, too, but only around the injection site, and only for a few hours after the injection, so I can deal with it.
Yeah, I'm hoping that the side effects will be temporary and will vanish or at least become less severe as I get used to taking this dose every week.
I have these Lidoderm patches that are used for local pain, but the first time I tried it I got the itches really bad. I hope that it was the oxicodine family side effects, so I can use the patches.
Of course, I'm limited to 3 patches at any one time, and since my pain is random it's going to be interesting to see how they work. Maybe I should just put one on my head. 8)
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