Enbryl & Brain Tumors

[seattlegirl431]

My mother started taking Enbryl in 1998 or 1999, and was diagnosed with a large menengianoma brain tumor, which she had removed in 2003.  Since the surgery, she has been on Remidcade.  And during the hole time on Celebrex that has had a class action lawsuit.  She now is totally disabled, can hardly walk or communicate, in diapers, with nerve damage similiar to MS symptoms.  

Belive it or not, her doctors still have her on the meds.  I getting her off ASAP!  Anyone out there have similar happenings to themselves or a family member?

[maggs970]

hi im so sorry your mum has gone through all this, i have severe arthritis psoriatic my hands and feet are severely deformed with it i was on a medication for my arthritis called infliximab it has another name well it gave me back my life with some infections over 5years no pain in joints until my feet and left leg went totally numb i was sent for tests over a few months the med was stopped imediately by docs and i now have been diagnosed with ms, it scares the life out of me how strong these meds are wipeing out your immune system i had abcesses infections pnemonia all over a 5 year period my rematologist is now trying to get me to go on another one as the pain in my joints is bringing me to tears every day but i wont budge i will not let them pump any more into me its so hard when the pains unbearable but the side effects are too severe to take anymore chances all the best

[carolanivey]

I'm so sorry for your mother's troubles. She is lucky to have a daughter like you watching out for her. [[hug]]

All medications have risks, even over-the-counter ones. When a medication is put through trials, it is required that *all* possible side effects be documented, even if only one person out of thousands experiences it, and even if it isn't clear if the medication being tested is the culprit. If the person had, say, a headache while taking it, it'll be documented on the package insert that headaches are a possibility.

Taking her off everything all at once could be almost as bad as keeping her on them. You don't want to add to her pain and discomfort unnecessarily. Speak calmly with her primary care physician about her meds. You may discover that when it comes to many medications, the patient is basically choosing between the lesser of two evils: 100% certainty of debilitating pain and joint damage without the drug, or the relatively smaller risk of a tumor or other side effects with it.

As an RA patient who is also on Enbrel, this is a decision I had to make.

Do you have the legal authority to help her make medical decisions, or is she still able to do so for herself? I'm just curious since you said she has trouble communicating.