I had severe pain and was in a wheel chair. I started taking orencia and was able to walk again. I have virtually no pain. Praise The Lord !!!!!

It is an extremely expensive medication not covered by insurance. The co-pay offered by the manufacturer does not even touch the cost. Over $4000.00

I was on this drug for about 15 months and it worked like a dream. I had used Humira for 6 months but I was constantly sick on it (colds/flus). Never experienced any increase in illnesses on Orencia, not to mention it restored my mobility and gave me back my life. Unfortunately, upon my 15th administration of Orencia I had a severe allergic reaction (anaphylactic shock!) and discontinued use. It has been hell without it and I'm scared to try anything else now but am considering Simponi because I don't want to live like this.

my pain is better but the side effects i'm having is like no others written. i'm fatigue, weak, to the point that i feel i'm not going to make it thur my work day.

I am 51 yrs. old and was diagnosed with RA at age 39. I've tried it all, and been on Prednisone for over 6 yrs., with a 40+ weight gain. Became a grandmother for the first time this past Oct. and wanted so much to hold my granddaughter with no pain. Orencia is wonderful! My hands feel the best the have felt in many years after 4 months of treatment. My feet still a problem. I have dropped my Prednisone down to 1mg, and not even every day. My weight is dropping finally! My hair loss I blame on Methotrexate, for I still take this also. My hot flashes I blame to Menopause! My only side effect I have, and I'm not sure it is the drug is severe heart burn.

I was diagnosed with RA four years ago at age 42. I have been taking Prednisone, then Plaquenil was added and finally Methotrexate and Folic Acid. I continued to have joint pain, inflamation and fatigue. My doctor suggested Enbrel last spring. I was on it for 5 months. It did not help. I started the Orencia in November of 2008, it tooks about 5 months for it to finally start working but for the last two months I have had little pain and don't need to sleep as many hours.I am taking little or no vicodin for the pain. I get a headache for several days after the treatment but that is the only side effect I have noticed and the headache is manageable with Tylenol or Vicodin, if it is a really nasty one. I see my rheumatologist at the end of this month and he plans to take me off the prednisone if I am doing well, which I expect he will agree I am. I would recommend anyone who has RA that has not responded to other treatments give Orencia a try if their doctor recommends it. It takes 4-6 months to really start making a difference but it does help!

I have been on Orencia (IV) for about 1 year. It is given to me once a month. When I started being treated I never associated a rash or dryness of my skin or scalp. I went to a dermatologist because I started to get a red line around my hair line and the dermatologist told me it was stress. She gave me a cream and I used it. It would clear the redness but only until I received another treatment of Orencia. Now for the past few months I have been getting worse with a terrible rash on my face and neck. I coutinued using the cream from the dermatologist but seem to believe it is the Orencia that I am getting this reaction from. It itches and I try to take Benadryl to stop the itch. I can't sleep because of this. I am also loosing my hair. Thank you for listening.