End of Month

When I first started taking Enbrel about 7 years ago, I took it every week for a month or two, then I tapered off until I felt pain again.  My doctor said to take it as needed, but to make sure to take it when I felt the pain.   He said there is a lot of damage that happens in my connective tissue when I am in pain and it is fighting each other.  

Now knowing this I do a shot when I first feel the pain coming on, which right now is only about 29 or 30 days apart.  When I first stopped taking it, I went a whole year before I needed another shot.

I feel like I eat healthy, and I strive to live a healthy life.  When I was doing Cross-fit 6 days a week for over a year, I did not find the times between shots get farther away from each other.  I ate a Paleo diet for most of that year about 80% which is pretty good.  

My friend told me about Miracle II Neutralizer that took her pain away and she no longer suffers from pain.  I tried it for a month and it does work!  The only problem was I was not consistent enough.  You have to drink about 4 cap fulls a day in water or whatever, it doesn't taste.  Sometimes I would feel a little pain, and then would drink more and it would help.  The bottles cost about $7 for about 20 oz of this stuff.  I used it for a month and decided I was spending more on this Miracle II stuff than I now was for the medicine.  I went back to the shot monthly.  If I did not have the Enbrel Support where I pay $10 a month, then I would do this other as a good alternative.

FREE!

My friend's husband has RA and takes Enbrel as well.  She told me this year about Enbrel Support.  Basically, it has nothing to do with your income.  After your insurance pays there portion, then Enbrel Support kicks in and pays the rest!

I called and took their little survey and lone and behold, I got it FREE for about 6 months!  I was elated to here that  my medication was not triple my car payment.

No I can be pain free and not worry about racking up our credit cards.  It is amazing how fast a not expected expense of $600 adds up over the months.

Thank you Enbrel Support for being there when I needed you most, not to mention the amazing drug!

After this 6 months there is a charge monthly for each pack of 4 shots, but I think it is only $10 which I can afford.

I love being out of pain, and being "normal".  Thinking back to how bad it is still makes me tear up, so apparently I'm not over it yet.  I certainly should be over it!  I don't suffer from pain anymore unless I am not fast enough to do a shot, but then it is so minimal considering what it was.  So thanks again to Enbrel Support for helping us financially and physically.

My Beginning Symptoms of Reiter's

Twelve years ago I had been happily married for 7 years, and did not have kids yet.  I was working and going to school full time.  We had a great life, I believe some people call it DINK (double income no kids).  We traveled and played often.

I started having what  I called hip pain, but now I know it was connective tissue pain.  I limped when ever moving, and hurt really bad.  I figured it was due to working out, or that I had put some kind of strain on it.

I started seeing chiropractors, and doctors, and any natural healer I could find.  No one seemed to find anything wrong with me.  I had blood tests, x-rays, cortisone shots, and whatever else they threw at me.

This went on for 2 years before I got pregnant.  Once pregnant for about 12 weeks, the pain was gone! I hadn't linked the two, but I was just happy to be pain free.  I had a great pregnancy, no sickness, no pain, no problems.  I did request from my doctor to let me take progesterone during my first trimester.  I had had three miscarriages prior and was told that this might help.  I took it and held onto the baby without any problem.

After by baby was born, I breast fed for about 8 weeks and gave up due to everything I ate caused her to SCREAM.  I never went on a all vegetable diet, but I know pretty much every time she nursed about 10 minutes later I paid for it.  Anyhow, about 12 weeks after she was born all my pain came back.  I thought it was because I had quit breast feeding, and I was sure that on my next kid I would keep nursing as long as possible to keep the pain gone.

I started my journey for a cure again, and got no where.  I lived on VIOXX which in my head was a miracle drug.  Anything that took the pain away was great.  Soon it was off the market and I had to result to Ibuprofen (which hardly worked) and what ever drugs the doctors thought would help.  I had muscle relaxers for sleeping because my back would tighten up so bad I would toss and turn, and cry nightly.  I had Loratab and helped me sleep a little.  Sleeping was miserable for me, I would sleep in our recliner often, or take hot bathes in the middle of the night and just cry and cry due to all  my pain.  I couldn't find anything that worked.

WOW just thinking back is making me cry.  All the pain I went through and nothing to fix it.  I contemplated shooting my self many, many, many times.  I thought about taking lots and lots of pills, but worried they would just make me sick and not work.  The only thing that kept me from killing myself was my sweet little baby, my mom and family, and husband who was so good with  me but knew he couldn't help.  My baby didn't deserve for me to be so selfish.  what would she do without a mom.  How selfish could I be to take that away from her.  Here I sit crying, just thinking back on how bad it was.