Hi and Welcome
I'm on Humira rather than Enbrel, but I'll share my experience.
It has helped me a lot, but I do still flare.
Right after my first shot, my bowels improved remarkably. The first week was great, but during the second week I could feel I was going downhill a bit.
But the summer was a lot better. I could stand, I could walk, with my feet much better. I was only constipated for a few days before each shot, instead of all the time. my SI joint was better much of the time, not perfect, but better.
I started the Humira at the beginning of June. I had a flare mid august (which is always when I flare scary bad) that Humira couldn't handle and I had to go on methylpred for 10 days (4 mg pills (6 the first day, then tapered down to 5, 4, 4, 3, 3, 2, 2, 1, 1). That broke the flare.
I flared around thanksgiving (shin splints, my lower arm on the ulnar side felt like shin splints there too, and a few other aches)…..last week my SI joint spazzed out worse than it has since august: I was sitting on ice for 3 days due to that. But then I got cortisone injections in my cervical spine facet joints and that little bit of cortisone coursing through my veins was enough to help my SI joint out. I was constipated for a few days before the SI joint spazzed out.
So for me, in between flares, the Humira helps a lot. But I do still flare…what's up with that! But the flare at Thanksgiving was pretty minor, and even this flare with my SI joint, I wasn't screaming in pain like I used to before Humira, it was just stiff and painful and sore.
So, yeh, the biologic does help, but it hasn't been a cure-all.
But I'm hoping that its slowly healing the gut, and maybe with that, I will continue to improve? and stop flaring? that would be nice.
