etanercept and depression/ low self esteem

mandyb

Hi. Am posting this on young people's forum for my daughter, who is 17. she has been back on etanercept since april 2011 and since then she has become depressed with very low self esteem and has become very anxious. When she was on the etanercept before this was also a problem but not as extreme as this time. I realise that lots of teenagers have anxiety/confidence problems but this seems so extreme we are wondering if it is a side effect of the medication as it came in with a bang when she started it. I just wondered if anyone else has experienced this? and if so did they or their child come off the medication? And also could it be that the teenage hormones are affecting the way it works? Also has anyone tried Adalimumab/Humira and had any similar problems as don't want to jump from frying pan ino the fire! Thanks for ANY advice form anyone. Going to get her to read this forum tonight after college so any young people who might be able to give a bit of support we'd be very grateful.

N1ck

Hi,

I'm 22 myself and I've been on etanercept (Enbrel) for about 2 months and have felt nothing of the sort since being on it. I was on Humira before and also was fine... Well apart from the drug not actually doing anything for me.

Saying that just the fact of having rheumatoid arthritis did cause me to have low self esteem among other things. Plus taking quite a large dose of steroids also caused similar problems but since I've come down off them a lot of this has gone away.

diddykirsty2011

hi im 24 with JIA i was on etanercept but had to come off it due to effects at the injection site and im now on humira and have been for 4months. i got diagnosed at 8 and I often suffer with feeling really rubbish about myself and did all the way through school. I just think maybe its just because of the condition at that age your very different from the rest of your friends i know i was with the medication and hospital appointments. Just try get her to stick it out with the medication especially if its helping and i often find speaking to my rheumatology nurse often helps so id advise that if shes got one. Feel free to get her to get in touch with me if she would like to. hope thats helped xx

mandyb

Thanks K. I will get her to have a look at this forum at the weekend. M

Lyndz

Hi I'm totally new to this but seen your post and thought that it was one I could reply too. I have been on various drugs for my (psoriatic) arthritis since I was 16 and know exactly how your daughter is feeling. For me I believe it was not the drugs it was the way the condition in general made me feel- slightly different from everyone else. However I quickly learnt that it was important that I controlled the condition and didn't let it control me. I am now 21 and have just graduated as a teacher. Although I have had several ups and downs and Spent periods of time on hospital I have realised that the people around me will always support me therefore I do not let the condition take over. Hope your daughter is ok

SaitenMar

Hello,

While I have not taken the medication you stated, I have grown up with arthritis having had it for twelve years now (diagnosed at 11, now 23) and I can't put into words how difficult it can be to have to cope with the condition and the challenges of simply growing up. I'm sure many on this forum will tell you the same. I still struggle with low self-esteem, but I'm trying to build it up. Depression is also a common side effect, so it may be having to deal with her condition that's causing her moods.

I'm sure there's more experienced users who could offer better advice then I. But its important to be there for her and to consider how the condition affects her mentally as much as it affects her physically.

Good luck.
Joseph.

joziexo

Hello im the same age as your daughter and have rheumatoid arthritis. I went on the entracept injection for a while and will be going back on soon i found with my arthritis i get quite depressed and have an incredibly low self esteem. i never really put it down to the medication, i suppose it could be. I had councilling for a while where i was put on fluoxtine and found that helped a lot. i still have up and down days but the fluoxtine helps even it out.. having someone to talk too helps heaps aswell. im sure this comment hasnt been very helpful haha but i know how isolating having arthritis at this age could be, it helps for me to know there are others the same. i hope she begins feeling better soon xx (sorry for my spelling haha)