Monday night, I injected my second dose of Humira (two shots). I've been waiting and waiting for the side effects that I experienced after the first round to hit. I'm very happy to report that the side effects this time have been very mild. The head ache was gone by the following evening, hardly any nausea, and no flu symdrome at all.
Also, I've been noticing that inflammation is starting to decrease in various locations. I take flonase for chronic sinus inflamation (which seems to be very common in chronies). My sinus inflammation has decreased *alot* the last few days. I'm now able to breathe out of both nostrils at once, which is something I can't normally do. Also the arthritis pain in my elbows and knees is starting to ease. My back still hurts, and I still have Crohn's symptoms, but I'm hoping that the decrease in the other symptoms is a sign that the Humira is starting to take effect. The psoriasis on my back is almost gone, too.
And I've saved the best for last... Beside the GI problems associated with Crohn's, the most bothersome effect of Crohns (for me, at least) has been the terrible fatigue. Today marks day three that I have bounced out of bed, ready to tackle the day, and had great energy reserves *all day long*. That right there is worth the cost of admission to the Humira club for me. Relief from the cramps and D will just be the proverbial icing.
It always seems like good things always come with the bad, though. I recommended my GI to my mother, as she has had some bad symptoms lately, and she is due for her yearly colonoscopy. She's had UC in the past, but after a small resection, it never re-occured. She has also had quite a few polyps removed. Due to her history, her last GI recommended she have a scope done every year. Well, she's let it slip by a year. Last week she had a scope done by my GI. She had a very large polyp removed. Yesterday the biopsy results came back: she has cancer. The doctor said that he is quite sure he removed all of it during the scope, but that she needs to have the entire area resected to be on the safe side. Unfortunately, my mother isn't in the best of health. She is a terrible surgical risk. So of course we're all very concerned for her. Moral of the story: if your GI recommends yearly scopes, then GET YEARLY SCOPES. Since it had only been two years since her last scope, the cancer hadn't had time to get *really* nasty, but it still would have been much more treatable and alot less traumatic if it had been caught even earlier than it was. The doc stated that every one of my Mom's children should get yearly scopes after age 40 now that she has been diagnosed with colon cancer. You can bet I'll be getting it done. I just got scoped in October. Next halloween will find me kicking back with a nice tall shot of phospho soda.
Anyway, just had to get all that out. Thanks for listening. : )