KINERET^® (anakinra) isn't for
every patient with RA,
but it was right for me Meet Megan: Treating her RA
with KINERET since 2013

"I joked to my friends that it looked like someone had beaten my legs with tiny sticks until they were covered with a lattice of small, purple bruises. My feet swelled two sizes. My fingers were too clumsy to even open a bottle of water.

After several months of inconclusive tests, I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. I remember the phone call from the doctor. My relief that I finally had an answer for my unreliable body quickly turned to panic. I was afraid that the life I had known up to that point had ended."

"I remember the first conversation I had with my doctor about KINERET was just after she returned from a conference. Whereas our initial conversations about medications had been focused on general topics—side effects, dosage, birth control requirements—her first mention of KINERET was related to research she had heard about at a conference, research that she felt might be particularly helpful to my RA symptoms.

Prior to beginning treatment, I was afraid I had gotten my hopes up about KINERET, and I worried they would be dashed again by failing another medication. I was also concerned about whether it would be challenging to get KINERET from my local pharmacy, whether I would have to prepare the syringes myself, and whether there might be any unpleasant side effects.

I was told it would take up to 60 to 90 days for me to start seeing the impact of KINERET on my RA symptoms, and that I could expect injection site reactions within that time period, but that they may gradually get better and become milder. I admit, the prospect of daily injections wasn't exactly appealing, but I had already tried self-administered injections, so I had conquered my fear of needles and I was prepared to try."

"Although I had pretty classic injection site reactions starting about two weeks after I began taking KINERET, they tapered off within the first six weeks. I get mild bruising sometimes now, but none of the itching or swelling I experienced initially. I do almost all of my injections on my upper thighs, rotating sides and areas daily. I find this much less painful than other spots, but that's just my experience.

I remembered my doctor said it would take a while to potentially start working, so I was glad I continued treatment, even though I was having these issues. The fact that I was beginning to feel improvement motivated me to continue treatment."