@elleninz thank you. And I agree, insurance companies have been given way too much power!

@elleninz I started Tyenne in January. My doctor Dx GCA in early Nov and tried to start me on Actemra then. I declined once I did research and learned that it was being removed from every Formulary List and replaced with Tyenne. I did not want to put my body thru the challenge of changing drugs when I could wait a few weeks and prevent that. I had asymptomatic GCA so did not need the 60mg of prednisone, etc that most patients require.
Please know that Tyenne has the same active ingredient in it that Actemra has. Technically it is not just biosimilar it is bio-identical. In the world of biologics the only difference I found between the Actemra, the Brand product, and Tyenne, the bio-similar product, is the formulation of the inactive components. This is definitely not true with all bio-similar drugs.
I would suggest you keep notes on changes your body is experiencing with Tyenne injections. I have several, changes in BM's, changes in pain - more old-age type pains in joints rather than PMR pains, increased fatigue, interaction with my thyroid meds, etc. For now the side effects are manageable. I am at a steady state - about 8-10 weeks worth of injections gets you there. I should start my prednisone taper by the end of the month. The other suggestion I have is I started reacting locally with each Tyenne injection. My doctor suggested I ice the injection area for 10 minutes pre injection and 10 minutes post injection and it works perfectly. If you have problems see if your doctor is OK with icing. Please keep us posted.

@elleninz Sorry to hear that. I too, as so many others, see the tail of health "insurance" (HA!) wagging the dog of American healthcare. I was fortunate in that my insurer, a Humana Plus Medicare management plan, approved and covered Actemra, and with a hospital discount as well, I'm paying a few hundred a month for an infusion that's saving my life. But what a struggle! Carry on...Best wishes