Qualifying for anti-tnf
maddyc
Member Posts: 16
Hi
I wondered if you could help me. Though English, I have been living in ireland for the last few years, had my children here and diagnosed with RA here two years ago. I was very promptly put on mtx and enbrel as part of a trial, when I came off enbrel when the trial was over I flared really badly and was put straight back on it. After a year, this combination started to fail me and through trial and error (also involving Arava and Plaquenil) I am now on weekly Humira injections and function normally. If I can't take the Humira because of infections etc I am in a dreadful state very quickly so know it absolutely works for me. The thought of not having it is terrifying.
However, for family reasons we would like to relocate back to England over the next year or so. I read the forum regularly and see that access to anti tnfs in the uk is not easily available. I would really appreciate an understanding of how patients qualify for this medication and whether the qualification varies geographically.
Additionally, I am looking for a recommendation for a good private RA consultant, preferably SE based, who I can sit down with - before we make any decisions - to understand my treatment options should we decide to make the move.
I apologise for the length of this post. If anyone can help, I would be really grateful!
Thanks
Maddy
I wondered if you could help me. Though English, I have been living in ireland for the last few years, had my children here and diagnosed with RA here two years ago. I was very promptly put on mtx and enbrel as part of a trial, when I came off enbrel when the trial was over I flared really badly and was put straight back on it. After a year, this combination started to fail me and through trial and error (also involving Arava and Plaquenil) I am now on weekly Humira injections and function normally. If I can't take the Humira because of infections etc I am in a dreadful state very quickly so know it absolutely works for me. The thought of not having it is terrifying.
However, for family reasons we would like to relocate back to England over the next year or so. I read the forum regularly and see that access to anti tnfs in the uk is not easily available. I would really appreciate an understanding of how patients qualify for this medication and whether the qualification varies geographically.
Additionally, I am looking for a recommendation for a good private RA consultant, preferably SE based, who I can sit down with - before we make any decisions - to understand my treatment options should we decide to make the move.
I apologise for the length of this post. If anyone can help, I would be really grateful!
Thanks
Maddy
0
Comments
-
Hi Maddy
I can totally appreciate your anxieties over the decision to relocate etc. Unfortunately at Helplines we are not really aware of the details of how certain areas of the UK are interms of difficulty getting Anti TNFs however I'm sure the NHS can't take you off it or deny you just because you move especially if you have already been on it for years.
I think it may be worth you putting this post on the Living with Arthritis forum as I think this will invite more people out there to tell you about their experiences and also someone out there may be able to give a good report abpout services they have received within an area or from a practitioner. Unfortunately we are unable to recommend such.
I do hope that helps and best of luck with the move,
Simona0 -
Hi Simona
Thanks for the reply, I'll post on Living with Arthritis.
Maddy0
Categories
- All Categories
- 12.1K Our Community
- 9.6K Living with arthritis
- 776 Chat to our Helpline Team
- 393 Coffee Lounge
- 23 Food and Diet
- 223 Work and financial support
- 6 Want to Get Involved?
- 172 Hints and Tips
- 399 Young people's community
- 12 Parents of Child with Arthritis
- 38 My Triumphs
- 128 Let's Move
- 33 Sports and Hobbies
- 244 Coronavirus (COVID-19)
- 21 How to use your online community
- 35 Community Feedback and ideas