My thoughts on Enbrel

In my last post I discussed how  Enbrel is used  to treat JIA and other inflammatory conditions. In this post I'm going to express how I feel about taking Enbrel for the first time.

When I first got the news that I had to start taking Enbrel, I kind of freaked out because it is administered through a shot. Dr. O told me there were several types of the shot and asked me which one I would like to try. I decided on the Enbrel SureClick auto injector which looks kind of like an epi-pen. To me this sounded like the most fool-proof method, and I won't even have to see the needle! Click here to watch a demo on how to use the Enbrel SureClick auto injector. After watching the demo I felt slightly more comfortable with injecting myself.

My doctor told me that the first time I have to give myself the injection, Enbrel will send a nurse to my house to make sure I'm doing it correctly.  This will give me some peace of mind. Although I'm still waiting for the paper work to go through for my insurance to approve that I can take Enbrel, I can't help but think about how scary it's going to be the first time.

So, what exactly is Enbrel?

Yesterday I went to see my rheumatoligist, Dr.O for a check up. Last time I saw Dr. O, I didn't get good news and this time wasn't any different. She said there was still inflammation in my right wrist and ankle which is not a good sign. After discussing several treatment options Dr. O, my mom, and I decided on Enbrel.

Enbrel is an anti-tumor necrosis factor drug or anti-TNF for short. TNF is a substance that your body naturally produces. For people without an inflammatory condition excess TNF is blocked naturally but, for patients with an inflammatory condition such as JIA  excess TNF can lead to more inflammation or even joint damage. Enbrel, or any anti-TNF drug, will reduce the ammount of TNF the body produces.

What not to say to someone with JIA

What not to say to someone with JIA

• Those drugs are too dangerous

Yes, I know the drugs are dangerous but not as dangerous as what will happen to my joints if I don't take them.

• My grandmother has that

Your grandmother probably has Osteoarthritis which I talked about in an earlier post and it is completely different from JIA.

• You need to exercise more

If I can hardly walk up the stairs, how the heck do you expect me to exercise?!

• Aren't you feeling better yet?

JIA is a chronic disease, meaning it will never really go away.

• But you look fine

I've talked about this in a number of previous posts so there's no need to elaborate.

• You take too much medicine

The medicine is obviously prescribed by my doctor for a reason. Do you think I enjoy taking 5 pills a day?

• It's all in your head

Tell that to the MRI's that show joint damage and inflammation.

• You're too young to have arthritis

I have it, so I'm obviously not too young.

Types of arthritis

I know on this blog I talk mostly about JIA and my journey with it but there are many forms of arthritis, infact, there are over 100 different types of arthritis! Arthritis is a general term used to describe joint inflammation. Rheumatoid, Osteoarthritis, Gout, Lyme's Disease, Lupus, and Psoriatic Arthritis are just a few. Osteoarthrhtis and rheumatoid arthritis are the two most common types of arthritis.

The most common type of arthritis is Osteoarthritis which is due to the wear and tear of joints and most commonly happens with age. When people hear the word "arthritis" they are typically thinking of Osteoarthritis. This type of arthritis is most commonly found in people over the age of 65.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease just like JIA. In fact, JIA used to be called juvenile rheumatoid arthrhtis (JRA). The reason they changed the name of JRA to JIA is because JRA sounds like a minature form of RA when infact it is much more complicated than RA. The word idiopathic means of unknown origin and was chosen because no one knows what exactly causes JIA.

Wake up, survive, back to sleep

The past couple days have been hell. When I wake up in the morning, I feel like I've been hit by a truck. Every joint in my body aches and nothing I do can make it go away. I'm having a flare, and a bad one. I actually had to leave school early yesterday because I was in so much pain. Upon arriving at my house, I took a pain killer and immediately fell asleep. One of the side effects of JIA is fatigue, and lately I just can't seem to get enough sleep. When I finally fall asleep I have trouble staying asleep because every time shift positions pain wakes me up.

It's crazy because I've been doing so well arthritis-wise the past year or so. Due to the fact that I was feeling so pain-free this flare is hitting me like a ton or bricks. It's hard to go from hardly any pain at all to excruciating pain.

What does arthritis look like?

After reading my blog I'm sure you all know by now that people of all ages are affected by arthritis. But some of you may be wondering what exactly arthritis looks like. Arthritis is known as an invisible illness which means you can't tell that someone has it just by looking at them. This is true for most people, but for some the joints can become incredibly swollen and disfigured, especially during a flare.

Above are pictures of joints disfigured from arthritis. These are not my pictures, they were taken from google.com.

Just like having blonde hair

The other day a group of my friends were at the one guy's camp helping him get fire wood for a party he's having this coming weekend. I told them I couldn't help load the wood onto his truck because I was having a flare and my wrists were in a lot of pain. One of my friends, actually I consider her one of my best friends, made the comment that "having arthritis was like having blonde hair because neither of them really affect your capability". I was so angry and hurt by this comment I just stood there silent. I can't believe that this is what people really think of this horrible disease. Just because I don't look sick, doesn't mean that I'm not in pain. 

People wonder why I never talk about my arthritis and this is exactly the reason that I don't. They don't understand because I don't appear to be physically ill so my pain must not be real. Just because you can't see something doesn't mean that it doesn't exist.