Anyone on Humira...side effect?

Dear Lisa,

I am so sorry about your current situation & my heart goes out to you.

My 1st thought is:  Do you have an allergy to Latex? Or sodium phosphate; sodium citrate; citric acid or mannitol? Rubber?

The needle/cover & ingrediants have these in them & if one is allergic to any of them they can have the symptoms like you describe...mild though. A bad allergy would be way way worse than what you describe.  Could be a sensitivity but mild.

A heart beat of 90 to 96 is still within normal limits.  Normal P is 60 to 100. 

What was your BP?

I tell ya one thing...that's super smart that you took your P and BP.  What about your Temp?

Do you have any heart conditions? Congestive heart failure?

An allergic reaction YOU WOULD be worried about would be one in where there is swelling of the face, a severe rash, and dificulty breathing (like throat is closing).

Skin reactions can itch, be painful and last several days.  Compresses of cool towels may help.  These reactions may occur immediately or several days later.

I take Humira every 4 days...so 160mg per week. 

One thing I can attest to is that Prednisone causes the same symptoms you describe!  I have a tremendous time breathing (can't get enough in) heart is so rapid it hurts to beat in my chest! It's around 90 to 110 per minute. Lasts ALL DARN DAY! And so dizzy as well. Wobbling when walking, get vertigo...and this is from the steroids!  At 80mg/30, 20, 10 or even 5mg...that darn pred is just awful!  So maybe it could be that??!!

Do you feel like you're developing panic attacks?

Awe, Lisa I wish you well.  I so want out of this flare too.

{{{{{{{{{{{{ big hug }}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}

write back soon.  and ps: what did the doc say? have you contacted him?

sincerely,

erin

Hey again Lisa,
Your BP you listed is good. :) Well withing normal parameters 90/60 to 140/90.
Mmmm, I understand about not contacting the doc about it.
Many people have a Vaso-Vagal response from injections. Let me tell you about it. It starts with a little apprehension, maybe clammy, sweaty hands & back/armpits, the heart seems and can increases in beats per minute but there is a DROP in blood pressure! Then there comes dizzy, ringing in the ear, blurry vision, maybe loss of vision, tightness of chest, loss of hearing, tingling in arms and hands, blacking out and eventually hitting the floor! It's a defense mechanism. Just the body shutting off for a few seconds.
Bummer is that if this happens outside people get rushed to the ER because outsiders have to always think that it may be a stroke or heart attack.
And this "phenomena" can happen during a procedure or even a few minutes after getting bloodwork or having an injection.
Anxiety, even though it might not seem we have it...can definitely cause an attack of panic.

Since you're on prednisone, that can raise your heartrate & BP & also screw around with the sugar...so you might get bouts of dips in blood sugar.
Have you tried injecting while lying down in bed? That's how I do it. And I stay there for at least 10 minutes as well, and I don't get up fast.

For Crohns...you mean that you're not taking 160mg/week? That loading dose is a 1 time thing?
Mine is initially for RA, but so happens it helps with CD too so when I was getting worse, rheummy upped the Humira to every week than to every 4 days.
No remission. In pretty bad shape....but hopeful still.
Take care Lisa

hey Lisa,

in regards to your question about serious side effects from Humira...the fever, severe body rash, and breathing dificulty would be the danger signs.  going by BP and pulse alone isn't that great to calibrate a response...because it is normal that our BP & pulse raise slightly when we are about to give/get injections anyway.  but it's always good to keep a check on BP...especially while on medications.

Yep, i inject myself.  my 1st injectables were Enbrel and then since last august Humira.  my docs know that I KNOW how to give injections, so they never bothered with the "in-house" demonstration.  i had lots of shots under my belt...so they knew i was competent.

i was still freaked out to give one to myself though!!!!!!! lol.  i shook, sweaty, nervous! geesh!  it is so weird self injecting!  giving a pt. an injection is much easier.  but after the first one....no sweat!

the Humira i inject strictly to the abdomen.  too little fat on arms or thighs.  and the amdomen hurts the LEAST!  it's great.  i do inject VERY SLOWLY!  less stingy that way.  never a bruise or any bleedinh either.

i think perhaps you can do it!  it boosts your confidence a lot!  something to be proud of.

i know what ya mean though.  my godmother has HepC and she said, "no way" to giving herself injections.  so i did them for her twice a week for a year...and then i put my foot down because i wanted to go on vacation. "you're gonna have to do it yourself toots!"  AND SHE DID!  and continued to this day too!

so sure it will take time...and when you're ready, you'll do it.

yes, i have Crohns.  was DX in august 2005. RA since???? i forget, but been on treatment with TNF since 2003? i'm starting to forget!

take care,

erin 

hey Caprie,
in fact, my PCP on thursday ordered that in my bloodwork. just to check. don't think i ever had a test/biopsie for it that i know of.
:)

Hi Erin...you are so sweet, thanks for checking on me! I had my second injection of 40mg today and everything went well. Just had a good size red rash on the injection site that is slowing going away. I spoke with the Nurse who administered my injections regarding my pulse rate and rapid pounding heartbeat (which by the way, has almost subsided now). She doesn't feel that it is the Humira and that it sounds as if I am tapering too fast off of the prednisone. I started tapering one week ago by 5mg (which is the same day that I had my first injection). She suggested that I taper every 3-4 days by only a couple of milligrams. So hopefully she is right and all along it was just the evil prednisone!

I hope you are doing well!!! Thanks again for all of your support. You're the best! Take Care. Lisa