Humira or Remicade? Help!

patientspiders said...
Remicade was a life-saver for me, and also I think it was administered in a way that I could handle at the time. I was very ill when I started it, but being in the infusion room with a nurse right there, the IV benadryl, the ability to ask any and all questions as we went... I'm a worry-wort, and the inconvenience of driving to the infusion location was far out-weighed for me by the piece of mind I received knowing that I was in good hands, surrounded by "professionals". I became so comfortable with the routine that I used to actually look forward to it. Obviously this is just me, and some people do horrible in the sterile medical environments and would be stressed and annoyed. There were a few times where it was hard to get the IV started or something, but all in all, it was a smooth routine for me. I would be a little groggy the day of the infusion from the benadryl, but I always returned to work or drove myself home so it wasn't ever bad. Sometimes the next day wold be a little groggy too, but I found that maintaining adequate hydration is KEY to not feeling waterlogged after a Remi treatment.

When the Remicade stopped working and I had to start Humira it was after some very traumatizing stuff and a trip to the hospital. Because of that, I think I didn't give Humira the fair chance that it probably deserved. I made it through the loading doses, booster dose, and first initial bi-weekly dose I think, but that's it. I, personally, could not handle administering the shots to myself. This left my poor hubby to do it. He did a very good job, but, in my humble opinion, those Humira pens hurt like the dickens! It was a quick, burning pain, but it also lingered for me to where I could not even really handle to wear pants for the rest of the night because the injection sites on my thigh were just so sensitive - like a wicked sunburn almost. I know everyone has different reactions to the humira pens though... some say it doesn't hurt at all. I don't know why it hurts some more than others, but I do believe it is more than a "macho" thing. I would get random fevers after the shot, and feel flu-like out of the blue. After those initial doses I didn't notice enough improvement to put myself and my poor hubby through my Humira tantrums. I used to be nervous the entire day waiting for my husband to get home, knowing that he had to poke me with that stuff. I called it my "liquid-burning-fire-magma-juice-from-hel*". A bit extreme, I know, but this is just me. I hated Humira.

Hopefully someone will come along and give you the opposite side of the coin. Many on here had horrible reactions to Remicade and love Humira. I'm getting ready to start Cimzia now.

I hope you find the info and answers you seek! Good luck with everything!

kimberlayn said...
I've been on Humira since October. I chose it for the convenience, I didn't want to take a day off of work every 6 or 8 weeks for the Remicade. I was a total basket case going in for the loading doses, so scared of any effect and the pain I would feel. There was burning, but it was quite bearable, and I was fine. I give it to myself, and I really don't have any problems. I don't use my thighs, I get welts that stay for days and it burns more. Sometimes I don't have any burning on my stomach, and when I do, it's gone within a few minutes. It hurts alot less than a bee sting for me! I use the syringes, that way I can control how quickly I put the medicine in. When it starts to burn, I back off a couple of seconds, then start again. Maybe 45 seconds total for an injection. I take the meds out 30 minutes before I take it, and I take 2 bendadryl then. The bendadryl is because I get really shaky muscles, legs and arms about an hour and a half after the humira. Doc said to take it, and it seems to help, but it puts me to sleep for the night so maybe I just don't notice the shakiness. I take the last bit of chill off the meds by holding the syringe in my hands for a minute or two before injecting it. At first I was exhausted for days after taking the humira, but now its only for the next day. This last time I planned to do absolutely nothing all day, just watched movies with my kids, took a nap, and did a load of laundry. I wasn't completely wiped out so maybe it helped to not try to do much. I was on prednisone this time too, so that could have had something to do with it. The big problem I was having with humira was the joint pain. It came on after I started Humira, so my doc thinks it from the meds, but this last time I didn't have any. So don't know if I'm getting used to the humira of the prednisone affecting me. I just wanted to let you know someone who really isn't having an issue with humira injections, but I'm not sure it's working. My doc is talking surgery again, after this pred hopefully brings down some inflammation, and he said that he still wants me to stay on Humira because it may be working, just enough to slow disease progression down. It's scary putting this stuff in my body, but its scary thinking of not putting any brakes on the disease at all. Good luck with your decision!

Anywho, most doctors will offer to have a nurse give you the injections if you can't do it to yourself. I recommend trying it a few times though, it does eventually get easier. I've found that allowing the Humira to sit out for a half hour and rolling it in my hands to help warm it a bit makes it hurt a bit less too. Talk to your doc or nurse practitioner about it, they can give you tips too.