Planning Switch from Enbrel to Amevive
from Kathy F.

Hi Ed.  I have been visiting your website for some time now, however I have been a reader not a participant.

Like most of the visitors, I have used all the medications and creams. I must say that Neoral (cyclosporine) was the best medication I ever used; however, my blood pressure became too high and I had to stop using it.

I am currently using Enbrel — twice a week injections. Like most things it worked for a few months and  now I am relapsing.

I am considering switching to Amevive.  My doctor states that I must stop taking Enbrel for thirty days prior to switching. After reading the information here today, I am sure that I will switch. Thanks for the website it has truly made a difference in my life, as I am not sure I would have ever believed that there were people like me out there.   

Sincerely, Kathy F. (44 years old, 14 years with psoriasis)

*****

Ed’s Response:  You’re very welcome, Kathy; and thanks for writing.  You and I will have to continue to compare notes.  Cyclosporine has also been, hands down, my most effective medicine for skin P.  Regrettably, it doesn’t do much for the P-arthritis.  Also, I was forced to end my longest stint on cyclosporine because of elevated blood pressure.  (By the way, there is a generic cyclosporine by Eon Labs now available that costs considerably less than Neoral, which is manufactured by Novartis.)

Sorry to hear your Enbrel experience was almost as disappointing as mine.  I’m keeping my fingers crossed for both of us as we move on to Amevive. 

I hadn’t heard that it was necessary to stop taking Enbrel for 30 days prior to starting Amevive.  One of the things I really dislike doing is stopping any P drug “cold turkey.”  It almost always ignites a rebound flare — which, if P-arthritis is involved, can be debilitating.

At the end of my Enbrel debacle my skin was in such bad shape I insisted on returning to cyclosporine for at least six months before starting Amevive.  I knew a six month stint on the cyclo would probably clear me while being short enough to avoid the elevated blood pressure problem.  So far that’s all happened.  I have one more month to go on cyclo then, in January, I’ll probably start Amevive.

Here’s wishing us both the best.  -Ed

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