ENBREL Patient Stories: Matt
Indication
Enbrel® (etanercept) is indicated for the treatment for patients with moderately to severely active rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, moderate to severe plaque psoriasis in adults and children 4 years and older, and moderately to severely active polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis.
Matt: I could just tell something was seriously wrong, something permanent. I was in pain, constant struggle with doing menial, daily tasks: tying my shoes, buttoning my shirt. The doctor said it was psoriatic arthritis.
ENBREL can cause serious side effects including: new infections or worsening of infections you already have, lymphoma and other types of cancer; hepatitis B can become active if you already had it; nervous system problems, such as multiple sclerosis, seizures, or inflammation of the nerves of the eyes; blood problems (some fatal); new or worsening heart failure; new or worsening psoriasis; allergic reactions; autoimmune reactions; including a lupus-like syndrome and autoimmune hepatitis. Additional Important Safety Information will be discussed later in this video.
Matt: I remember being on the computer and looking at disability benefits. I was trying to prepare for a worst-case scenario while I could still type. I was about 38 years old. When I’m not working I spend as much time as I can with my girlfriend, Vicki. We’re very active. She got me into country dancing.
Vicki: You give him something, and if he hasn’t done it before, he’ll figure it out. That amazes me about him. He loves fixing things—fixing vehicles, cars.
Matt: I like working on cars and helping repair problems for free. I always wanted to have some type of impact to other people. I had a little bit of a difficult childhood...foster care, even an orphanage. And I just didn’t want to live that life, being dependent on other people I guess to take care of me. I’m going to be productive in society, I’m going to help people, and be exactly the opposite of the situation that I was growing up in. I avoided going to the doctor. I was afraid, knowing that I am going to get a diagnosis that is going to be a permanent condition. And now needing to receive help from other people. I just, I did not want to be dependent like that. I pretty much abandoned all of the car work because I was no longer able to do things like thread bolts or tighten things. I stopped doing pretty much all physical activities. Having all that taken away from me was pretty devastating. At that time, we tried ENBREL, and I noticed an improvement in my condition. And over weeks and months I was able to return to a lot of my activities: buttoning a shirt, tying my shoes, even being able to do car repair, working. I really had this overwhelming sense that I got a second chance. I really wish that I had been more aggressive on getting diagnosis and treatment earlier, rather than waiting and hoping that things would change. There are lots of times where I flash back and feel very grateful and thankful that my condition was able to be improved.
