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Posted 2/15/2008 6:54 PM (GMT 0)
Ok, I have a question and if anyone who is on Humira and pregnant or has been on Humira and Pregnant, please reply!  I am currently on Humira and I was told by my doc that I cannot get pregnant while on it.  Basically, I am a Humira junkie because nothing else works for me.  From what I understand, I cannot stop taking it because I might develop anitbodies and there is nothing else out there no other new medication that is approved for me to take.  My husband and I are wanting to have kids in the next couple of years and I just don't know much about Humira and pregnancy.  Help!
Posted 2/15/2008 9:07 PM (GMT 0)
I'm 28 weeks pg and on Humira.  I take a shot every 2 weeks.  I was taking it every 10 days but as my pregnancy has progressed, my CD has not acted up at all, so I went to every 14 days.  Everything has gone great with this pregnancy and the baby looks perfect and is growing right on target. 

Good luck with everything and let me know if you have any other questions.

Posted 2/15/2008 9:49 PM (GMT 0)

It's interesting how each GI has different thoughts on things.

I am on Humira, and my GI told me to get pregnant anytime without a problem.

When I was on Remicade, two of my GIs said it was safe while 1 said he'd refuse to see me as a patient if I got pregnant on it. *shrugs*

We hope to get pregnant in the near future and have no plans to discontinue Humira. If in doubt, you could always seek another GIs opinion on it.

Posted 2/18/2008 12:35 PM (GMT 0)

I WOULD BE VERY CONCERNED WITH ANY DRUG THAT WORKS TO AFFECT THE IMMUNE SYSTEM...CERTAINLY THIS IS ONE DRUG THAT COULD AND PROBABLY WOULD MAKE ITS WAY THROUGH TO THE FETUS/BABY.

This is from the humira website:

Can I take HUMIRA if I'm pregnant or breast-feeding?

Tell your doctor if you are pregnant, planning to become pregnant, or breastfeeding. HUMIRA should only be used during a pregnancy if needed. Women who are breastfeeding should talk to their doctor about whether or not to use HUMIRA.

Pregnancy Registry: Abbott Laboratories has a registry for pregnant women exposed to HUMIRA. The purpose of this registry is to check the health of the pregnant mother and her child. Talk to your doctor to contact the registry for you at 1-877-311-8972.

I would be a bit cncerned with their use of the word "exposed"...as in "exposed to Humira".

It couldn't hurt to call the number listed or register on the "my humira" website they offer and call the number listed there for help.  they really are very supportive on the humira website.

Posted 2/18/2008 4:06 PM (GMT 0)
All Crohns medication is pretty much immunosupressants-well Prednisone, 6Mp, Humira, and Remicaid are. Prednisone has been tested for years and shows to be fine besides a couple of side effects only in large doses and only occasionally such as cleft palate. Remicaid is shown to pass the placenta only during weeks 30-40 and you can schedule your IV transfusions around that. Some women don't have mild cases of Crohns and cannot be medication free or on a mild medications such as Pentasa during pregnancyand flares are worse on a fetus. If your doctor says it is fine-I would listen to your doctor. It is new on the market, but structurally similar to Remicaid right? They have now listed Remicaid as category C only because they have not done extensive enough tests, but feel it will ultimately be Category B.
Posted 2/20/2008 7:22 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you all for weighing in. I really appreciate it! I guess I just have some serious follow-up questions to ask at my next appt. with my GI and also my OBGYN.
Posted 5/27/2009 4:52 AM (GMT 0)

Hey this is Haley.  I just became a member on this site so Im not familiar with it. I saw your question and the only way I could respond is if I became a member. SO here I am. ANyways I am 24 and I have had trouble getting prgnant myself.  My doctor had to put me on humira a year ago for this skin comdition I have. I called the 1800 number for humira and asked the lady about the effects it had towards pregnacy and all see could say is it hasnt been tested shakehead so she had no results for me.  I haven't asked the docs so Im not for sure but by what you said I would have to go with the doctors words.  I have been trying too and yet no baby.  Ill look more into it though and let you know. :-)

here is my emial so u can email me. ps my email is what I use more! so u can likely get a hold of me that way.

Please post your email in your profile, not on the open forum.  Otherwise the spammers will get you:)

Post Edited By Moderator (Nanners) : 3/9/2011 1:09:22 PM (GMT-7)

Posted 5/27/2009 9:24 PM (GMT 0)

I just came from my doc-went over everything because currently I am doing IVF and need to be in the best clinical remission I can be before getting pregnant.

Remicaid is a class B drug and so is Humira.  In fact so is 6mp.  There are studies out there and one of my doc's patients is getting Remicaid and she is pregnant.  The high risk doc I see also has several patients on Remicaid and hasn't had any patients that had a problem with their kids.

There aren't thousands of cases out there, maybe hundreds but there are no studies that show any congenital defects from Remicaid.  There is probably less info about Humira but my doc is willing to prescribe if that's what I need to be healthy.  There is a bigger chance of something going wrong if you flare during pregancy. 

This is all what my doc said and since they only do IBD and do their own clinical trials I tend to go with their experience.  They actually did the clinical trials for Remicaid (as I'm sure many doctors did).  They are working in conjunction with my high risk doc.

My doc is starting me on Apriso which is a new asa drug with some new fangled ph delivery or something.  Either way, if this doesn't work, I will go on Humira.

We would all like not to go on meds while pregnant but it's not always possible.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

Posted 5/27/2009 11:17 PM (GMT 0)
Humira is doing that registry because they would like to eventually be cleared for pregnant woman. They do not currently have any information that makes humira counterindicated during pregnancy-but also don't have enough history of woman taking humira while pregnant to say that it is safe.
Posted 5/29/2009 2:35 AM (GMT 0)
I took Humira through out pregnancy and I had a very healthy baby boy in February. There is not much data about Humira and pregnancy, but my GI doc and I agreed that the benefits of being in remission definitely outweighed the risks. My IBD was totally under control for my pregnancy and my "high risk" pregnancy ended up being very easy and smooth. Good luck!
Posted 2/1/2010 6:25 PM (GMT 0)
Hi there. I was actually taking Immuran (150mg daily) throughout my first pregnacy and also breastfed on this medication with no side effects. My Crohn's (severe case for 10+ years) was pretty much in remission the entire pregnancy although I did devolp pre-eclampsia and ended up having an emergency c-section at 35 weeks. They had planned on my having a c-section all along bc of the risk of fistulas devolping. After giving birth I had a horrible flare after and devolped a fistula and lost almost 50 pounds, my flare only worsened after I stopped breast feeding we I can only relate to the steriod and hormonal changes related to the birth and breastfeeding. Humira pulled me out of this flare and I tapered off the Immuran (I used to use Remicade in the beginning but devolped antibodies to it) I now have have a healthy and happy 18 month old little boy and we are now planning for #2 (they want me to have been in remission for a year at least). I have been told by my GI that Humira is safer in pregnancy & breastfeeding that Immuran was but we may want to hold off in the last trimester (like a previous poster related that the drug crosses the placenta later in the preg). My GI is also trying to prepare for the after birth effects of the disease and is talking about a bolster situation to head off the resurgance of the disease.

good luck and let me know if you have any other questions.

Posted 2/1/2010 6:28 PM (GMT 0)
On the bright side, it's a pregnancy category B drug, which means there are animal studies that fail to show risk, but unfortunately no human studies. A lot of drugs are in this category.
Posted 2/1/2010 8:43 PM (GMT 0)
Hi there, I don't know if this helps or not but I've recently started taking Imuran and my GI said that I can't get pregnant just yet. Not because of the medication but because of the Crohn's. HE said that the medication isn't dangerous in pregnancy but Crohn's is. I think that the main idea is to keep the mother healthy and therefore protect the baby? I know this doesn't stop meds crossing the placenta though.

IT's something that's on my mind too
Posted 2/17/2010 3:20 PM (GMT 0)
Hello,

I realize this is an old post with recent activity, but I just wanted to say that there is a university in California that has an abundance of information on autoimmune diseases, drugs, and more regarding pregnancy. They are all recent studies, with a lot of specifics and comparisons to the outcomes of general population. They also have a number you can call for more information, and packets to be sent to you for free! There web address is www.otispregnancy.org. What I have learned from them is that taking Humira (1 injection every 2 weeks) is not placing me or my child at risk, and my doctor gave me a print out of a study on Humira in monkeys during pregnancy where they injected the impregnated monkeys with 66 times the amount of Humira they prescribe people, and there was no side effect whatsoever in the baby monkeys or the mothers! The study went on to show that the molecular structure of this drug is too large for the infants body to ever absorb (pre and post natal), and therefore passes through the body without any absorbtion (even when breast feeding)!

So in my and my doctors opinions, and Otis, Humira is safe for pregnancy (but if I ever had the option to go off of it during pregnancy, I would;-) Hope this helps. Baby dust...

Posted 11/9/2010 4:13 AM (GMT 0)
YOU CAN DO IT !!!! I took Humira throughout my pregnancy and had a healthy baby boy on September 23, 2010. Like everyone I found it frustrating that there was very little information and research available on the subject but from all that I read I felt that my husband and I could make an informed decision about having children while I was taking Humira. I had a perfect, beautiful pregnancy and have continued on the Humira since giving birth and while breastfeeding. The drug has had no effect whatsoever on my son, nor have I ever had any side effects or been ill while taking Humira. For me it's been a miracle cure and completely changed my life. I am 30 years old and have had psoriasis since the age of 12. I had one of the worst cases in Australia spending the most part of each year with over 90% of my body covered in psoriasis. I was in and out of hospital and tried ever natural remedy as well as cyclosporin and methotrexate and every cream out there. I started Humira in September 2009. At the time my psoriasis was so severe I could not walk. Within just a few weeks it started to disappear and by November I was totally clear and we decided to try for a baby. We were fortunate to conceive almost straight away. I have remained 100% clear with not the slightest sign of psoriasis. I cannot wait to have more children and I hope my case will help others feel confident to do the same.
Posted 11/9/2010 6:38 AM (GMT 0)
I am not nor have I been pregnant however when speaking with my CD specialist a few years back before my divorce I did speak with him about the topic of humira and pregnancy and my CD is so bad without Humira (and I still flare while on it weekly mind you) that he said iut is better for me to remain on Humira than to try and go off of it...when off it fistulas appear even on remicade I was getting fistulas they were just internal (intestine to intestine ones) so they went unnoticed until my intstine perforated and I needed a ct scan.
Posted 3/9/2011 12:17 AM (GMT 0)
Hi My name is Ashley and I am currently taking Humira. I have been reading through this whole feed and I'm quite confused as to whether or not ppl can be pregnant on Humira. I feel as though they can be but its not happening very often. I was on Prednoisone and Methotextrate for years (13yrs) which I know can do a lot of damage to my ovaries to begin with so my chances of getting pregnant are pretty slim. However, my OBGYN has been doing monthly clomid tests on me and has said my estrogen levels are quite high more than the average person three times more in fact. I've been on Enbrel, and Remicade as well. For those of you that were able to get pregnant while being on humira did ur dosage have to change? How long did it take you to get pregnant?

26yr
Sarcoidosis (Inflammation Disorder)
Posted 3/9/2011 3:17 PM (GMT 0)

I was on Remicade and switched to Humira in the first trimester. I had built up antibodies to the Remicade and it wasn't working any longer. The humira was/is working for me at the 40mg every 2 weeks. I had a relatively smooth "high risk" pregnancy and delivered 1 month early (Oct 2010) and am breastfeeding. My daughter is healthy and I have been in remission since switching to humira.

I agree with the previous postings, my dr. said that being in remission was critical to achieve before trying to conceive. My CD was under control the pregnancy and continues to be under control {thank God}. We were lucky to get pregnant after trying for a few months. Good luck.

~diagnosed with CD 1998, currently taking humira and breastfeeding, in remission during and after pregnancy.

Posted 3/9/2011 7:51 PM (GMT 0)
My Crohn's specialist i use to see has me on Humira weekly and said with my CD and how bad it gets I would remain on Humira while pregnant if that ever was something I wanted. My Current GI also agrees with that and he also added pentasa and entocort into the mix and almost added imuran. My OBGYN out here (I moved from RI and now in OR so had to get all new docs hate that part) says I should be in remission when I get pregnant (well yeah wouldnt we all like remission I have had 1 year of remission in the 24 yrs of this DD) and I should get off my meds...I think she is not well informed. Yes it is best to be in remission and on as few meds as posibble but if would risk you getting icker than no def not worth stopping the meds at least that is what my docs have told me
Posted 3/28/2011 5:07 PM (GMT 0)

Thank you for the encouragement and advice. I know that when I do become pregnant I wont be able to get off the Humira possibly they will allow me to change my dose from 40mg weekly to biweekly but unlike the rest of you fine ladies I dont have Crohn's and I cant imagine what that feels like I'm not even sure what it is. I have an idea. My disease is an inflammation disease thats in my eyes and liver and possibly now in my esophagas. The worst part is the cataracts that are not stable enough to do surgery and I've been battling this surprise surpise non-curable disease since the age of 11. I'm now 26. Not to mention I've had two brain surgeries and loopis like reactions to all these rheumatoid medications. However, because this disease is so rare the FDA has no known form of treatment so my doctors are basically going off trials and studies.

The pregnancy is a whole other factor which from the moment methotextrate and the enbrel etc was introduced, I feared the long term effects. It gives me hope that some of you that have been on similar meds got pregnant. I just have to be patient. As females battling chronic illness, motherhood is one thing I dont want to sacrifice. We dont have a choice over the cards we were dealt. Thankfully there are other options like adoption or surrogates if it should come to that. I'm thankful for things like a college degree that I could obtain. That was something I could control. Even having a brain tumor removed my senior yr of college i was determined to finish and walk with my class.

Thank you for the continued inspiration these forums give me and the hope that tomorrow may be that day I get my wish.

God Bless you all! smilewinkgrin Remember to always keep the faith.

Ashley

26

Sarcoidosis, Fibromyalgia

Posted 3/28/2011 5:20 PM (GMT 0)
It is a tough call to make, but we have ladies here who've been on the biologics and had healthy babies.
Posted 3/28/2011 6:57 PM (GMT 0)
I was on Humira for almost all of my pregnancy with my son. My doctor only took me off in the end because my symptoms seemed to be in a remission a bit so he decided if I didn't really need it, I shouldn't be on it.
Posted 3/29/2011 2:42 AM (GMT 0)
I was in remission before I became pregnant, and developed abscesses and a fistula during pregnancy. My doctors considered putting me on Humira, but said at 30 weeks it would cross the placenta and affect the baby, so they are waiting until after I deliver. But it sounds like there are a lot of success stories on here, and no negative stories really.
Posted 7/25/2011 5:31 PM (GMT 0)
Hello.

My wife is due in 6 weeks.  She has ankylosing spondylitis.  Humira had her symptom free for the past couple of years after a decade of agony.  When we got pregnant, her doctor said she should go off of it.  I now fear that was a mistake.  I now realize the FDA has this as a Class B.  I'm in Canada, and Health Canada has no position on it.  Abbott Labratories suggests not taking it during pregnancy or while breastfeeding.  I noticed the UK's equivelant of the FDA/Health Canada states clearly that a doctor is not allowed to prescribe Humira during pregnancy or while breastfeeding.  I read the OTIS study which supports that its likely fine for pregnant/nursing women to be on Humira.  Anectodally, of course, it is also supported (I've yet to find a single report of a problem, but dozens of reports of "we're fine").

3 days ago, my wife had a severe flareup and now she can't walk.  She's crying right now.  I'm typing because we're waiting for the doctor - who's on vacation of course - to call us back.  She has one dose in the fridge right now but she's refusing to take it until she gets word from the doctor.  It takes a while to kick in anyway, so she's hoping for some other form of painkiller that's safe during pregnancy.

Anyway, to those not yet pregnant on on Humira.... from my research and experience... my suggestion is to stay on Humira.  If not during the whole pregnancy, then up to the 20 week mark and hope that gets you through the rest of the way.  Why 20 weeks?  Well, at 30 weeks is where there is some (largely unsupported) anecdotal "worry" that there could be an issue, and there is other research that shows it takes about 10 weeks to clear your system.  My personal feeling - but take it with a grain of salt that this is coming from A) a man; b) a non-sufferer; and c) a non medically trained individual - is that if I were in her shoes, I'd take it the whole pregnancy and during nursing as I'd be confident that the information that is available supports that position more than not, and the pain really seems unvearable.

Anyway, best of luck to all.

 - Steven

Posted 8/6/2011 8:41 PM (GMT 0)
I have severe Crohn's Disease with many feet of my intestines removed.  I'm a 30 y/o F who started Humira last year, along with my regular medicine, Purienthanol.  I'm currently pregnant and still taking Humira.  I'm working with University of Michigan GI Clinic and High Risk OB, which has advised me you can take Humira until the third trimester.  Doctor's have access to a data base not available to the public on all medications, their risks, and all study data from that medication.  Humira has shown no increased risk to fetal development, but must be stopped in third trimester so the baby can develop a normal immune system and spend less time in the NICU.  Yes, your baby will more than likely have to go to the NICU for some days after delivery.  Also, if you're looking to get pregnant, make an appointment with high risk OB and plan before you decide to get pregnant.  I have to have a C-Section to avoid any fistulas resulting from trauma in vaginal birth.  I have to take many, many suppliments and had to make major diet changes to support a healthy fetus.  So far I just entered my second trimester and me and baby are doing great.  I'm nervous, but found a good team of doctors to help me along the way.  Good luck!
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