Shar
Hi Ida, It's very good to hear from you. I'm sorry you need a kidney operation. Are you having a replacement? Goodness, I hope that all goes very well for you. I had another Orencia infusion yesterday, and I also had a very nice talk with my doctor. She recommended that we give Orencia a last try. I have been on Orencia for 12 weeks now, and it can take up to 4 months to be effective. If it doesn't work by another few weeks time, she would have me go on Remicade, which is also an infusion drug. It has some similarities to Enbrel in the way that it stops the inflammation of rheumatoid arthritis. By the way, I had some bad flares in the last few weeks, and had to go up to 40mg of Prednisone for a few days, and I am now down to 17.5mg. It's good that you aren't on a high dose of Prednisone, Ida. Seven mgs. sounds pretty good to me. How I wish I could get there. My doctor is trying her best to get me off of it, or at least to a much lower dose than I am currently on. She's a very good doctor. I hope you have a very merry Christmas, and that your new year gets better and better, and takes all of your pain away. I will keep you in my prayers. Post soon. Shar