Will be starting Humira next week

I just started at the beginning of the month. I wasn't thrilled about starting it either but my Dr. gave me the choice of starting Humira or another round of prednisone. Guess which one I chose.

It's not as bad as I had made it out to be in my mind. I think it was more fear of the unknown.

Good luck! Hope it works for you!

I love Humira so much easier then Remicade :D

I can not tolerate the pens so I use syringes and it is all fine.
It took about 12 shots for the Humira to work for me.

Good luck hope you feel better soon.

I'm so glad you posted this topic.  My scope last week was not good - disease is progressing.  I go next Friday to see my GI.  His recommendation that we will DISCUSS is Humira. 

I'm anxious about the thought of going on it, too.  Part of me wants to say, "Can't we go to Imuran, 6MP, Methotrexate, Entocort? SOMETHING ELSE FIRST?!"  But then there's another part of me that thinks I should give it a shot (no pun intended!). 

One of the main things that debilitates me with my CD is my constantly swelling ankles when I'm flaring.  Can't walk...can't drive...and Humira will help with that (supposedly).

I just started Humira back in April and I was actually terrified of it - not of the shot or the pain but the actual medication and the risks associated with it.  I think I am actually starting to see some improvement in my condition at this point.  I don't feel great by any means but I seem to have more energy and my joints definitely feel a lot better.  I have also had some fairly normal bathroom experiences which I have not experienced in over 5 years.........so, I think I am on my way to be another success story.  Just a few tidbits of advice:

* My nurse said that you can also give the shot in your hip / butt - This is what we have been doing and I think it hurts a little less than the ones I did in my stomach.

*  We ice the area for a couple of minutes prior to the injection

*  I make sure  Itake the pen out of the fridge for about 45-60 minutes prior to injecting

* Make sure the area that you wipe with the alcohol prep pad is dry prior to injecting

*  Once the injection is done - just rest and lie down for 20 minutes or so with another icepack or cold compress on the injection site.

These are the things I do and it has made the experience OK.  It hurts but these things really do help.  Also, you might be tired the following day or so.....especially on your loading doses so take that into consideration when scheduling the injection.

Good luck!!!!!

I've done Remicade and Humira. The strange thing was the effects it had on me. When I came back from Japan and had my first colonoscopy in a medical world that understood the disease a bit better (and used drugs to knock me out for it) the doc said I looked "like hamburger." It was exhaustive for me, and it took great effort to move. As with a lot of these drugs I loaded up on Remicade, and in about 2 weeks I was eating and drinking anything I wanted, and gaining serious weight. (Like I didn't even have the disease.) I set up a plan to receive treatment in Japan and went back pumped and ready to go. I was at the gym, getting ripped, and actually being pretty healthy! However, it seemed that after each treatment of Remicade (8 weeks), the effect would start to drop off earlier and earlier. Usually I would go to Starbucks and celebrate my treatments with a Frappuccino but it got so bad I couldn't even do that. I went further and further downhill until I called and myparents booked me into see the doc in the US again with a plane trip back in a week. At that point I couldn't get out of bed; but managed to at least shower and take a cab to the hospital for an IV drip of Iron, vitamins, nutrients, and the like. (Just to keep me alive, I wasn't eating or drinking because of the pain.)

Back in the US I hit up a double dose of it for one last push and there was no effect at all. I tried a few other things (natural meds, probiotics) because of the limited options for me. When I passed out in the X-ray room trying to test for tuberculosis I finally agreed to the Humira. (I was a man who originally was around 240 lbs. had turned into a 147 lb. weakling.)

I don't really mind if I stub my toe, or slam my hand in the car door, but to intentionally inflict pain (like with a needle) drove me nuts. The nurse on the first day of treatment (the first load day) sat with me for 2 hours while I worked up the nerve to push the pen button. While my Remicade run was about 8 months, I've been on Humira for 21 months. (I believe it's because the Remicade has some strange mouse protein in it. Yum!)

In your case, and probably most with Crohns, I would be more worried with it NOT working than any side-effects at this time. As we all know the the FDA would rather have us suffer with a treatment rather than a cure, there won't be anything more to help us (outside of butchering our colon) for a long, long long time. (Unless you want to take your body into your own hands to cure.)