DrugLib.com — Drug Information Portal

Rx drug information, pharmaceutical research, clinical trials, news, and more

Enbrel (Etanercept) - Reviews, Ratings, Comments by Patients

 
 



Share your experience: submit a drug review

Below are Enbrel (Etanercept) reviews, ratings, comments submitted by patients and caregivers. Based on a total of 14 ratings/reviews, Enbrel has an overall score of 8.43. The effectiveness score is 9.57 and the side effect score is 8.14. The scores are on ten point scale: 10 - best, 1 - worst. This information is not vetted and should not be cosidered as clinical evidence.
 

Enbrel review by 33 year old female patient

  Rating
Overall rating:  
Effectiveness:   Highly Effective
Side effects:   Moderate Side Effects
  
Treatment Info
Condition / reason:   psoriatic arthritis
Dosage & duration:   50 mg injections taken once a week for the period of one year (still taking at present)
Other conditions:   migraines, interstitial cystitis, psoriasis, depression
Other drugs taken:   hydrocodone, gabapentin, piroxicam, fluoxetine, imitrex, birth control
  
Reported Results
Benefits:   An almost complete cessation of pain in any arthritic place where there was not already significant joint damage. More flexibility, more function, less exhaustion. The difference was huge and still is.
Side effects:   Strange bruising (almost orange brown in color). I bruised much more easily at first, but that effect gradually faded after about nine months. I catch a lot more colds and flus, and seem to have more stomach-aches. Instead of one major flu/cold a year, I get sore throats every month or two, and several flu/cold attacks a year.
Comments:   I take the pre-prepared 50 mg. injection once a week subcutaneously, usually either stomach, or loose skin beneath left tricep.

 

Enbrel review by 58 year old female patient

  Rating
Overall rating:  
Effectiveness:   Highly Effective
Side effects:   No Side Effects
  
Treatment Info
Condition / reason:   rheumatiod arthritis
Dosage & duration:   2 standard injections per week (dosage frequency: 2 times per week) for the period of 6 y ears
Other conditions:   none
Other drugs taken:   Arava 10 mg. per day
  
Reported Results
Benefits:   Major decrease in joint pain , major increase in mobility. Everything else improved as well; my energy, ability to do everyday small tasks, my state of mind, and sleeping. I had always been a very active person. After starting the Enbrel, I could jog again, ride horses, bike, play tennis, etc.
Side effects:   Occassionally, a slight itch at the injection site. The manufacturer also warns about more susecptibility to infections.
Comments:   Self injection twice per week

 

Enbrel review by 43 year old female patient

  Rating
Overall rating:  
Effectiveness:   Highly Effective
Side effects:   Mild Side Effects
  
Treatment Info
Condition / reason:   Rheumatoid Arthritis
Dosage & duration:   50 mg taken once a week for the period of 1 1/2 years
Other conditions:   Thyroid cancer
Other drugs taken:   Zoloft, Synthroid,
  
Reported Results
Benefits:   Reduces the swelling of joints and pain associated with Rheumatoid Arthritis. RA seems to be in remission, but if I dont use a shot for 3 weeks, I start getting flare ups. I also was able to discontinue methotrexate. I havent had a real flare up for over a year.
Side effects:   Itchiness at injection site.
Comments:   Auto injection into alternating thigh every 7 days.

 

Enbrel review by 29 year old female patient

  Rating
Overall rating:  
Effectiveness:   Highly Effective
Side effects:   Mild Side Effects
  
Treatment Info
Condition / reason:   Ankylosing Spondylitis
Dosage & duration:   50mg / week taken weekly for the period of ongoing (3 months so far)
Other conditions:   None
Other drugs taken:   Was taking DMARDs (Etoricoxib, Diclofenac Sodium)
  
Reported Results
Benefits:   Little improvement for first week or so but then incredible turnaround. Went from regularly not being able to walk properly due to inflamed sacroiliac joints and general back pain and flu-like aches across whole body most days to a new woman! After 3 months have noticed the last couple of weeks some of the aches and pains starting to come back slightly towards end of the week but overall extremely positive.
Side effects:   Discomfort at injection side, seen little increased infection (i.e colds, flu etc) however only been taking for 3 months so far
Comments:   Enbrel weekly - self injected subcutaneously, 50mg

 

Enbrel review by 29 year old female patient

  Rating
Overall rating:  
Effectiveness:   Highly Effective
Side effects:   No Side Effects
  
Treatment Info
Condition / reason:   Rheumatoid Arthritis
Dosage & duration:   50 mg injections taken once a week for the period of On my ninth week now
Other conditions:   None
Other drugs taken:   None
  
Reported Results
Benefits:   Only two days after my first injection my life started changing radically! Reduced joint swellings. Increased mobility. Sleeping much better. And I feel better for every day!
Side effects:   No side effects so far.. Only a slight itch around the injection-site from time to time.
Comments:   I take one 50 mg pre-filled syringe every monday.

 

Enbrel review by 46 year old female patient

  Rating
Overall rating:  
Effectiveness:   Considerably Effective
Side effects:   No Side Effects
  
Treatment Info
Condition / reason:   Psoriasis
Dosage & duration:   3x's daily (dosage frequency: 3 x's daily) for the period of 6 months
Other conditions:   none
Other drugs taken:   none
  
Reported Results
Benefits:   getting rid of plaque and the redness and itchiness and the ugly sight of it. being able to wear short sleeve shirts in the summer
Side effects:   there were none basically. maybe a little soreness but it's like that anyway. it's only when applied and only for a moment
Comments:   just the application

 

Enbrel review by 47 year old male patient

  Rating
Overall rating:  
Effectiveness:   Considerably Effective
Side effects:   Extremely Severe Side Effects
  
Treatment Info
Condition / reason:   RA
Dosage & duration:   50mg taken once for the period of Once
Other conditions:   None
Other drugs taken:   Methotrexate
  
Reported Results
Benefits:   Reduced swelling and pain after about two days. Then on the third day, started to get stomach cramps that settled into lower right abdomen. Initial injection on Monday night, cramps by Thursday noon, emergency room Thursday night, appendix removed Saturday morning.
Side effects:   By fourth day, diagnosed with appendicitis - nice trip to the emergency room for removal of appendix 4 days after injection. Stopped drug now. Apparently, this is a reported, low level side effect. http://www.druglib.com/druginfo/enbrel/side-effects/ Other infrequent serious adverse events observed in RA, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, or plaque psoriasis clinical trials are listed by body system below: Digestive:cholecystitis, pancreatitis, gastrointestinal hemorrhage, appendicitis
Comments:   50mg pen injection. Of course did not continue with Enbrel treatment.

 

Enbrel review by 54 year old female patient

  Rating
Overall rating:  
Effectiveness:   Highly Effective
Side effects:   No Side Effects
  
Treatment Info
Condition / reason:   Rhuematoid Arthritis
Dosage & duration:   50 mg/week taken 1 shot/week for the period of 5 years
Other conditions:   None
Other drugs taken:   None
  
Reported Results
Benefits:   When I began treatment with Enbrel I had moderately severe rhuematoid arthritis with numerous inflamed joints and deformaties in small joints of hands and feet. I have been in remission for more than 2 years - no swollen joints, no progression of or new deformities and no morning fatigue.
Side effects:   None. There was a change in productdelivery to a weekly prefilled syringe. The preservative causes a stinging sensation at the injection site.
Comments:   Weekly subcutaneous injection.

 

Enbrel review by 61 year old female patient

  Rating
Overall rating:  
Effectiveness:   Highly Effective
Side effects:   Moderate Side Effects
  
Treatment Info
Condition / reason:   rheumatoid arthritis
Dosage & duration:   50mg taken 2 x weekly for the period of 12 weeks
Other conditions:   asthma,diabetes 2,psoriasis
Other drugs taken:   synthroid,lipitor,effexor,nexium,metformin,lisinopril,
  
Reported Results
Benefits:   The psoriasis cleared up a great deal on my hands and scalp, back and feet. The pain level was dramatically decreased and I was able to cut back a lot on the antiflamatory drugs I had to take when I had a bad flareup. I was able to sleep deeper and longer.
Side effects:   I had two one week stays in the hospital with cellulitis and staff. The enbrel lowered my resistance to infection and I was advised to stop the injections. I had bad bruises that lasted for several months. I had a lot of stomach trouble and I started wrinkling on my face and neck. I lost a great deal of hair on my head ,eyebrows, and lashes.
Comments:   The cost was was $2000.00 for twelve weeks of enbrel, plus I had to have blood work every month and see the rheumatologist every month. I took two injections at home every week. If I got a cold or fever I had to suspend the injections until I was well or risk serious infections. The risk of cancer was also very high and that was why I eventually stopped . I am already in a high risk group because of both parents and two siblings who have had and died of different cancers.

 

Enbrel review by 42 year old male patient

  Rating
Overall rating:  
Effectiveness:   Highly Effective
Side effects:   No Side Effects
  
Treatment Info
Condition / reason:   Ankylosing Spondylitis
Dosage & duration:   25 mg taken twice a week for the period of Have been taking for two months
Other conditions:   None
Other drugs taken:   Methotrexate
  
Reported Results
Benefits:   My worst symptom was in my feet. It was painful to walk, and therefore I walked slowly even when I used shoes with good support (Birkenstocks), especially going down stairs. There was some pain or discomfort in my lower back. These were my symptoms when I was on methotrexate alone. When I started Enbrel, I felt the effects within hours. Within the same day I could walk decently with much less pain. Within the next few days and weeks, I'm practically back to normal. In my second month, I think I started to feel a tapering off of its effects, which doctors warned me about and I read about: I felt a faint shadow of the foot pains I used to experience but I can still move normally.
Side effects:   None that I can tell
Comments:   I inject myself twice a week in the stomach area, which is a feat because until this happened, I was scared to death of getting injections.

 

Enbrel review by 54 year old male patient

  Rating
Overall rating:  
Effectiveness:   Highly Effective
Side effects:   No Side Effects
  
Treatment Info
Condition / reason:   rheumatoid arthritis
Dosage & duration:   50 ml (dosage frequency: once per week) for the period of 10 months
Other conditions:   depression
Other drugs taken:   meloxicam, trazodone
  
Reported Results
Benefits:   There was a complete halt of pain in the foot, which was the most affected area with arthritis, within 3 weeks of use. Swelling of the foot was gone within 5 weeks.
Side effects:   I have not experienced any side effects.
Comments:   I feel that it is definitely easy to contract a bad cold and then very difficult to overcome it, with the use of Enbrel. However, the benefit outweighs the liability. I would also recommend that the patient have good insurance. This medication is very expensive.

 

Enbrel review by 24 year old female patient

  Rating
Overall rating:  
Effectiveness:   Considerably Effective
Side effects:   Moderate Side Effects
  
Treatment Info
Condition / reason:   Ankylosing Spondylitis
Dosage & duration:   50 (dosage frequency: 1/week) for the period of 11 weeks
Other conditions:   psoriasis, sciatica
Other drugs taken:   birth control
  
Reported Results
Benefits:   total disappearance of psoriasis, greatly reduced fatigue, increased mobility, little-no sciatica, pain only felt upon application of pressure, all infection markers reduced
Side effects:   some swelling to soles of feet, some colds/coughs but no bad infections, cuts and bites take longer to heal, very severe injection site reactions leading to transfer from etanercept to adalimumab
Comments:   x

 

Enbrel review by 30 year old male patient

  Rating
Overall rating:  
Effectiveness:   Highly Effective
Side effects:   Mild Side Effects
  
Treatment Info
Condition / reason:   Psoriasis
Dosage & duration:   50 mg taken one injection per week for the period of 2years and 9 months
Other conditions:   Testicular Hypogonadism, Psoriatic Artheritis
Other drugs taken:   Androgel, Welbutrin
  
Reported Results
Benefits:   After having a severe outbreak of psoriasis Enbrel was the only one that cleared it up in about a month. been on medication almost three years and still have some psoriasis flare ups but not as bad as it was before. Maybe caused more due to stress. Also joint swelling and pain in my legs have gone away still feel fatigued sometimes but common with the disease.
Side effects:   Some bruising to the site of injections but doctors monitor it every three months and blood work comes back normal to good.
Comments:   I get treated for psoriasis and psoriatic artheritis. I take sure click injection myself once a week 50 mg.

 

Enbrel review by 64 year old male patient

  Rating
Overall rating:  
Effectiveness:   Highly Effective
Side effects:   No Side Effects
  
Treatment Info
Condition / reason:   Ankylosing Spondylitis
Dosage & duration:   25 mg injection twice per week taken sundays and thursdays of every week for the period of 5 years
Other conditions:   OA
Other drugs taken:   methotrexate
  
Reported Results
Benefits:   decreased inflammation of cervical spinal column, increased motion of cervical spinal column, decreased pain in other joints, decrease in neck pain, etc.
Side effects:   This drug had no side effects with me, or at least, none detectable. I consider this drug a wonder drug without side effects.
Comments:   I consider this drug a wonder drug without side effects. This drug had no side effects with me, or at least, none detectable.
 


Share your experience: submit a drug review

-- advertisement -- The American Red Cross
 
Home | About Us | Contact Us | Site usage policy | Privacy policy

All Rights reserved - Copyright DrugLib.com, 2006-2017