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| I totally stole this pic from Emily @ Chronic Curve |
Well, it’s been done.
I went for labs Thursday morning and, despite a pred boost, my sed rate has only gone down ONE FRIGGIN’ POINT and my CRP has actually gone UP.
I cannot right now with this.
Anyway.
Kineret is an IL-1β inhibitor.
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| Hi IL-1β! |
This little guy can be a cause of inflammation and in Still’s/SJIA interleukin (IL) medications tend to work better. The theory is that this is the type of inflammation we deal with more than others (TNF alpha, etc).
K-dawg (my new nickname for it) inhibits IL-1β because it’s IL-1α protein which can block the beta bits from attaching to cells and causing inflammation.
Some of the studies with Still’s show symptom relief within HOURS which is pretty friggin’ baller.
The downside? Well there are a few.
It’s still a biologic and it still inhibits the immune system. I haven’t had as much of a problem catching the ick from people on TNF drugs, but that can be a sign that those drugs aren’t working for you. The nice thing right now is that I share an office with one person AND work with docs, so they’ll totally get my precautions.
K-dawg is injected daily, which is nice if you have to stop it for some reason but annoying because daily shots.
The other big downside? Major injection site reactions. They seem to last for like a month for most people, causing fun painful welts. I’m not excited about this, especially if I do end up starting here before my JA conference trip and my previously planned swimsuit time while there.
Oh well.
I’m trying to look at it in a good light. With my old rheumy, I’d be stuck moving onto another medication that wouldn’t really do much for me. This is why I switched docs. With my current rheumy, who has treated Still’s before and hates step therapy, I’m ready to really deal damage to Arthur.
| /nerd |
I’m also hopeful. None of the medications I’ve been on would get me to remission. This could. And that’s an awesome notion.