Enbrel Working Great, but New Year Means New Deductible

Enbrel Working Great, but New Year Means New Deductible
from Lorna C.

Dear Ed, Thought I better check in with you. Have been on the Enbrel for 7 months at month end. No ill side effects. The only side effect that I have is NO P. I have a little in my scalp but it doesn't require sitting in a chair for four hours every night picking at it. Just a few shots of Kenalog spray once a month handles the scalp P. What a relief this has been. I can't express in words how much I have been enjoying my new skin, my new life without P. This is better than a Peanut butter sandwich with a banana on it, and I do like those very much. Have had three this week. Secret to the sandwich is Miracle Whip™.

Had a little bout with a cold for a month. Was really hard to shake, but fought and won that battle. Went to the MD for some Biaxin XL. I take extra ester-C, and multi-vitamins. I didn't take the Enbrel for two weeks, had one small spot crop up, but conquered that.

Have you been hearing the stir about Curcumin and Stat3? Curcumin comes from the spice Tumeric. Wondering if maybe I should start trying this, then wean off the Enbrel. I sure would hate to ruin a good thing, but need another $900 to start my Enbrel next month. New year, new out of pocket deductible. Guess I can charge it, and pay for all the Enbrel after I die, or let my daughter pay for it with the insurance money. Not a very good thought. Check out the Curcumin, will check back in with you later.

Not Flakin’ right now, and LOVIN’ it! -Lorna C.

*****

Ed’s Response: Good for you, Lorna. You appear to be living the “Enbrel promise,” which is always nice to hear. You are also running into “the dark side” of the new biologics (not just Enbrel), which is the high cost that — even with insurance — can mean tough deductibles or co-pays. Just a notion: If you’re getting Enbrel through a specialty pharmacy by express delivery, you might want to talk to them about paying the deductible in installments. They understand the problem and might just be willing to help.

Stat3 is a protein found naturally in the skin that was recently discovered to be “involved” in the development of psoriasis lesions. Click here for the National Psoriasis Foundation write-up on it.

I’ve spent a little time looking for a “stir about Curcumin” on the web, but other than lots of iterations of the basic information about this herb extract — it’s useful in treating cancer, Hepatitis C, etc. — I didn’t find anything specific to P. What am I missing? -Ed

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