I liked your story! I hope Kevzara will work for you.

I wanted to add something about inflammation markers or PMR markers as you say. When I started Actemra (tocilizumab) about 4 years ago my inflammation markers "bottomed out." Kevzara will probably cause your inflammation markers to drop too. Actemra and Kevzara both target the same inflammation pathway.

Due to the blockade of IL‐6 signalling, Actemra (tocilizumab) inhibits the hepatic production of C‐reactive protein (CRP) and other acute phase proteins like the erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR). This is true for Actemra (tocilizumab) and I assume it is true for Kevzara.

My inflammation markers were always elevated when I took prednisone. After Actemra was started my inflammation markers were close to zero. I was concerned because I had never seen my inflammation markers so low. I was so concerned that I asked my doctor if my inflammation markers were too low!

Actemra interrupts the production of C Reactive Protein (CRP) so it is no longer a reliable measure of disease activity. This was learned from patients with RA who were treated with Actemra.

Another thing to be aware of --- if you have an active infection your CRP and ESR will stay low too. Potentially a doctor could overlook the possibility of an infection when you are on Kevzara or Actemra.

Jump to this post