Well the Cimzia is finally here despite all of CVS/Caremark's ineptness, rudeness and customer neglect. To ice the cake they did not send the OXO Good Grips pre-filled syringes my doctor ordered - they sent self-mix kits with inadequate instructions. It arrived on a Saturday when Caremark is closed. I tried cimzia.com but their phone number is just a voice mail box. Enbrel and Humira had nurses you could talk too.
I was supposed to start this two weeks ago and figure what the heck, I've mixed Enbrel many times and inject Methotrexate, I can figure this out. The instructions were more pictures; minimal written guidance. Took some time to figure that you draw diluent into the syringe, inject it into the Cimzia powder, and wait for it to turn to jelly. Then you use a different needle tip to load the syringe (tricky - while the needle is in the bottle it keeps getting sucked inward). The medication is quite viscous and you have to "milk" and pump it to get it into the syringe. Then, you switch needle tips a third time for the injection. Now repeat with another kit to equal two 200 mg. doses. (The pre-filled syringes are 400 mg. ready to rock and roll.)
The syringe itself has teeny tiny handles. For someone in a flare with stiff swollen joints, the whole process was like knitting a sweater wearing mittens. One good thing, the inject itself is absolutely painless except for the needle stick. I don't even have any injection site reactions.
Moral of story - if you try Cimzia, make triple certain they're giving you the OXO Good Grips syringes.
Hi Tara, I am glad you finally got the medication and got the injection done! What a shame CVS is not accessible and their customer service is so awful! I have had problems with them in the past but was able to resolve the issue. Make sure you contact them to let them know they sent the wrong thing or they will send the same next time! Soooo frustrating! I haven't had to deal with them yet this year so we will see how that goes... I know I had to deal with CVS pharmacy last year and vowed I would never set foot in another one!
Thanks for the support, Waddie. It's a subcutaneous injection, and I'm still on the MTX and my RD said I have to stay on Pred for now too. I had a good response to the injection he gave me in the office and sure hope these two injections will take hold again and help me out.
I sort of feel like a cowboy now, loading one gun for each hip and shooting double time.
Wow, that's great that you were able to figure it all out....I have no experience other than the pre-filled self-injector types and I would be completely lost. I may be trying Cimzia next, and I use Caremark (I've had enough troubles with them myself) so I'll be sure to triple check with them that they send the pre-filled ones when I get to that point. You definitely deserve a holster, and a cowboy hat too!
Suzanne, on the Cimzia website it even differentiates Cimzia for Crohn's and for RA - the pre-filled syringes with the handle were specifically designed for RA hands. Caremark really is the worst, isn't it? I don't see how it saves money in the least.
I hope it works for you!
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