Betty,
My first visit took four hours. That was squeezed in between the ten hours of driving. And if you didn't get x-rays... I hate to see you have to wait too long before starting the injections.
They can use x-rays already in your medical files. They want a chest x-ray to rule out any lung disease, and one of your SI's to verify that you have AS.
My second visit didn't take as long, only about 1 1/2 hours. They took more x-rays, more labs, and another checkup. Then showed us how to do the injections. I go back on the 13th again. Hopefully there won't be any more x-rays. But I'm not counting on it. My neck looked funny on the x-ray, so who knows.
I am cautiously optimistic that I got the real thing. The next morning, the stiffness was not as bad. The last few nights I have been sleeping 6-7 hrs. I have not done that forever. I still get stiff, but not after 30 minutes. It takes a couple of hours now. I have a few joints that don't hurt now, but my back is still very painful, and I still can't walk any distance. But I am walking!! My only complaint is coming down with a sinus cold.
As for the numbers, I was told that if your number started with a "2", you were a DMARD user, and if it started with a "1", you were a non-DMARD user. Maybe that was just for the clinic I was at, so this may not be any information at all. My fingers are crossed for you. But after 12 weeks, you will be given open label Enbrel, so it is a win-win situation.
After thinking about it, maybe lab "rat" is the wrong term to use. Enbrel is made from an extraction from hamster ovaries. So if we start nibbling around and growing hair in weird places..........
Hugs,
Cindy
