One Year of Cosentyx

As I’m writing this, I’m having the worst flare since starting Cosentyx.

I have been on Cosentyx for a year now. It has given me my life back. Besides this horrible flare, I’ve been doing good, really good. I’ve been able to manage my illness and live my life. Flares are normal, I’m putting it down to the cold weather. Let’s hope it passes soon.

Sharing my experience

I want to point out that for me, starting Cosentyx was a personal choice. I am aware that this is not the decision everyone is going to make. Everybody is different and we all have different ways of treating and managing our condition. Starting on biologics is a decision that you and your rheumatologist make together. I am not providing any medical advice here, just my experience with Cosentyx.

Before starting Cosentyx, I was in debilitating pain every single day. My hip felt like it was cemented in place. My tailbone felt like it was cracked in half, with a sharp edge ripping and digging into my back. My neck felt like it had a metal neck collar that was bolted tight with weights hanging from it. And my head felt like gravity was pulling it down straight to the floor, and that gravity was too strong to pull back.

I didn’t have the energy to hold a conversation with someone. I couldn’t even listen to people properly. I had to constantly be in bed. I spent three months in bed. A horrible three months that was. I thought that was going to be my life. I constantly felt that I was on a rollercoaster ride, I felt so dizzy all of the time from this horrible fatigue.

A game changer

I started Cimzia in July of 2020 and that didn’t work for me. I wrote articles about this experience. Then I started Cosentyx on November the 5th 2020. After about 10 weeks it changed my life, and with each week I continued to feel better. I was less stiff, in less pain and I had more energy.

After my loading dose, I was taking two injections on the same day every month. I did this for about three months. I saw my rheumatologist after three months, he was happy with my progress but thought maybe we can do even better than this. So, we decided together to change my dose to one injection every two weeks.

This was the best decision I have ever made

This dose suits me perfectly. When I was doing two on the same day monthly, I felt that about a week before my injection was due, I felt the need for my injection. I was in more pain, more stiff and more fatigued. Now, it’s only sometimes that a few days before my injection my body feels the need for it.

Before I started Cosentyx, I thought my life was going to be a life forever in bed and constantly feeling so so horrible. That has all changed. I’m still in pain, and I’m still fatigued. But, nothing like before. I still have bad days, but these bad days do not compare to how I was feeling before I started Cosentyx.

How has your biologic journey been?