Any advice out there for my first Humera injection?

Not sure if this will be much help, but hopefully it is.

I was on Remicade for 8 years, so I know about that. Remicade is in the same family of drugs as Humira.

I've never been on Humira, but my wife is using it for Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Remicade is expensive, and it does need to be administered by an RN, and I think they require a doctor to be present.

Humira is a self injection that you do at home. My wife does it herself, and it is really easy. It's no more painful that any other type of injection, so I doubt you will have an issue with that.

My wife is using the Humira along with Methotrexate. When I was on Remicade, I was taking Mercaptopurine (aka Purinethol aka 6MP) along with it. My understanding, at least with the Remicade, is that the two really work well together. Since Humira is the same family as Remicade, I bet the same applies.

Not sure about the cost per dose of Humira, but I know the cost of the Remicade was astronomical. I saw bills in excess of $26,000 per treatment. Fortunately my health insurance covered it. Humira is probably cheaper since it is self administered. I was on a very high dose of Remicade, so that increased the cost quite a bit. I haven't seen a bill for my wifes Humira yet, so I don't know how much it costs.

Since these drugs subdue your immune system, there is risk for infections. I never had an issue, but your doctor will want to watch you very carefully and probably want fairly regular blood tests. I did have a problem with some cuts taking a while to heal, but never really any issues with infections.

There can be other side affects, just keep in mind that ALL medications have side affects. If you search on Humira on line, you should be able to find the manufacturers website and that should have all the information on the drug. Just don't let the stuff freak you out. Some of the side affects of these drugs are very rare. Most of the time, the manufacturers are just putting everything down so you can't sue them later.

Humira is working for my wife. She just started a month and a half ago and has done 3 injections. She says she is feeling better. Remicade worked wonders for me for 8 years.
It usually takes a while for these types of drugs to build up in your system, so you probably won't see immediate results. It usually takes a couple of doses for things to start happening. I know my wife didn't see any difference in her RA until about the 5th or 6th week of being on it.

How long you are on it depends on how well it works. If it works well, then you should stay on it, unless your doctor has concerns. Everything I heard about these types of drugs was that early concerns about taking them long term never really panned out. Some people have been on Remicade for a very long time. Humira is newer, but I'm sure there are lots of people that have been on it for a long time.

I hope it works for you. It really seems to be helping my wife.

Post Edited (mmckenna) : 10/7/2010 2:34:14 PM (GMT-6)

I just started Humira 6 month ago. You start out with 4 shots (called loading doses) usually done in the Dr's office so they can show you how to do them. I just did mine myself at home because I was OK with that, so I just watched the DVD that came with it.

2 weeks later, you do your second set of loading doses which is 2 shots. After that, you usually self inject every 2 weeks. Some people do it weekly if doing it every two weeks isn't helping much. My Dr has me doing blood tests every 3 months.

The medicine does hurt when you are injecting. It's over within 10 seconds, but during those 10 seconds you can definitely feel it. Try icing the area for about 15 min before and then putting the ice pack back on after injecting. There are several people here who think that the syringe is less painful than the pen. I haven't tried the syringe so I don't know. I'm sure somebody will be along that can tell you about that.

I have found that I get swelling and itching at the injection site for about 48 hours after. I take a benedryl about 1/2 hour before I inject, usually when I take it out of the fridge to warm up. That seems to help reduce the reaction to it.

I don't take any other drugs with it, but it seems to be helping a little. Here in the US, I was told it runs about $2000/shot. It does suppress your immune system, so you are more susceptible to infection. I haven't gotten sick on it yet.

I was on Humira for over a year. I personally never had a reaction while on it and it never made me sick.

The injections are VERY easy. They do hurt quite a bit, though. I agree with greyeyedblonde, icing the area helps a lot.

The shots come in pens and in pre-filled syringes. I have heard from other people that the pre-filled syringes hurt less than the pens. Either way, the injections are very easy. You can find detailed information on the website: http://www.humira.com

Humira has a patient assistance program- talk to your doctor and take a look at the site: http://www.humira.com/Global/FinancialHelp/Default.aspx

I suggest looking at the Humira website because they offer information about their assistance programs, side effects, detailed information about how to take it, etc.

It is common totake Methotrexate or Immuran with a biologic like Humira or Remicade- for some reason, those drugs help the biologics to work better. And as my doctor put it, even if the Immuran only makes you feel 5% better, then that's still an improvement- as long as the side effects aren't overwhelming you.

I was on humira for a year. My thoughts:

Keep your thumb away from the trigger until you've got the other end depressed against your body, so you don't misfire.

It stings, some times worse than others, and WAY worse in the thigh than the stomach. It stings for 5-10 seconds.

I always gave myself a countdown as I have major anxiety. The 3-2-1-hit was easier than just taking the plunge randomly, if that makes any sense

The first couple times, take it while the kids are somewhere else, be it asleep, watching a movie in another room etc. You need to get the hang of it and a feel for the pain level and if she's wtaring at you watching you grimace in pain..not so good.

don't forget to keep your sharps waaaaaaay up high :)

it can take the pharm a few days to get it in, so don't wait til the very last minute to order. It must be kept refrigerated, but you take it out 30 min or so before.. I have taken it out more like 1.5hours hoping the sting would be less, but it wasn't. HOWEVER it DOES sting more when you inject before the 30min is up..the fartheraway from your body temp, the worse it is, I gather.

It gave me psoriasis. They said it was impossible over the humira hotline, since it's used to treat psoriasis. Now I see that finally on their site they acknowledge it can give you psoriasis.

I definitely agree with keeping it out to warm it up to closer to body-temperature. It stung A LOT more than I expected it to when I did my loading doses. There was no way I could have given myself the shots. My boyfriend and my dad gave them to me. I did notice that the two shots that were out longer were significantly less painful. I had to do mine in my thighs, though...the nurse told me I didn't have enough skin/muscle on my abdomen to give the shots there, so maybe if I did, it would have been less painful too. I really hope Humira works to get your Crohn's under control. I had a bad reaction to my loading doses, so I couldn't continue, but it did give me about three months worth of remission!

thanks everyone... all the feedback has been really informative. i hope to know about my approval next week and then maybe start humira as early as next week. we will see.

thanks again

B

Thanks- will do. I have some masks already for hospital visits. ;)

B