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Can Humira cause C Diff??

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Crohn's Disease
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Posted 7/22/2011 6:41 PM (GMT 0)
So I just got off the phone with my doctor and is thinking that the reason I have been sick for so long now is that I might have C Diff.  We are both confussed though because I haven't been on any antibiotics.  The only thing that is new in my life and diet is Humira.

So I am now starting to wonder, can Humira be causing me to get C Diff??  Has anyone experienced this before?  This also worries me because if this turns out to be the case, I don't see myself lasting with Humira then and this was my last resort drug.  Almost no drug for CD and agreed with my body.  Remicade was the first but that only lasted a little over a year.  Now if Humira is out....I am done.  There isn't much left to try out there except clinical trials...and that isn't a long term solution.

Posted 7/22/2011 6:48 PM (GMT 0)
Are you not eligible for Cimzia? (I am on that after the Humira failed miserably, but Cimzia has done very well)...

C Diff...humira may not have caused it, but it didn't help it(on any immunomodulater from Imuran to Humira, you have to be careful of infection)...now that the doc knows it's C Diff, there should be some treatments for that...and in between, you will have to replenish you bacterial flora with probiotics (just cannot do that within 3 hours of ingesting the antibiotic)...you doc should know...not to mention some others who have had C Diff as well...

Take care
Posted 7/22/2011 6:53 PM (GMT 0)

We still don't know if it is C Diff.  I am getting blood work and possible stool sample done on Monday. 

As for Probiotics, they scare me also.  I have used a number of them in the past and none have reacted well.  I always seem to get worse.

As for Cimzia..it is an option, but after being on Remicade and then Humira, the odds of Cimzia helping go way down.

Posted 7/22/2011 8:32 PM (GMT 0)
JavaJay--I was just coming here to post the same questions. I just hung up for my GI's office and I tested positive for C Diff. I'm blown away by this diagnosis. I've been on Humira since Feb. 2011 and haven't not been hospitalized or on any antibiotics for more than a year. I have had low grade fever, lots of diarrhea, cramping etc.., but I've never been diagnosed with C. Diff. Just really surprised and curious to hear about anyone else on Humira developing C Diff.
Posted 7/23/2011 1:35 PM (GMT 0)
Hi JavaJay. Sorry things are going in the wrong direction right now. My husband got C-diff without being on antibiotics and without being on immuno modulators. From what I read, people with IBD are just more susceptible to C-diff than people without. I think the changes that IBD brings about in your gut can allow c-diff to overgrow causing an infection.

A positive stool test means you have c-diff,but a negative one does not always mean that you do not have c-diff. If you get a negative test, repeat it three times to be sure that it really is negative. If you do have c-diff, there are 2 medications that are used to treat it - Flagyl and Vancomycin. My husband responded well to the vanc, the flagyl gave him lots of stomach cramping.

Also, my husband has also had a stomach flu (a virus), which landed him in the ER totally dehydrated. This was after he began the remicade. Until 6 pm he was fine, and then at 10 pm, I was driving him into the hospital. It was pouring out both ends, and he couldn't even keep water down. It seems like people with IBD and who are on immunosuppressants are harder hit with a stomach virus than the rest of the population. It took my husband over a week to recover.

When I took my husband to the hospital with a stomach flu, they did some blood work, and his white blood cell count was high, as was his ESR. They said both could be because of a viral infection, or because of crohn's. To be on the safe side, they gave my husband anti-nausea medication, keep him on clear fluids, and also gave him entocort (just in case it was crohn's). After 3 days when things had stabilized somewhat, they stopped the entocort, and he continued to recover and slowly get back to normal.

I hope you feel better real soon.

PV
Posted 4/28/2012 8:41 PM (GMT 0)

I was wondering about this also. I had an abscess last August, they treated it with clydamicin (not sure on spelling), that didnt work and they surgically drained the abcess and it healed within 2 weeks. after that i was put on humira to treat my crohns, future abscesses and any posibble fistulas....almost a month later after starting humira I tested positive for cdiff. i had been on antibiotics many times in the past with no problems. ever since then i have been battling diarrhea and cdiff. i am starting to think the humira is keeping my body from fighting this off. also 5 times since starting humira i ate a food that caused me to stay up all night vomitting and diarrhea that would not go away. I also had another abscess and a fistula, ive had a drain in place since nov 2011. i started the huimira to heal the fistula but the fistula wont heal b/c of all the D and im afraid the humira is causing the D....what do I do?

Posted 4/28/2012 10:22 PM (GMT 0)
I had c.diff this winter. I was not on any antibiotics, and not on Humira either. I was in the middle of a Crohn's flare. I think that when we are having active inflammation from the Crohn's it changes our bacterial flora and makes us more susceptible to infections. I also had Salmonella several years ago under similar circumstances. Make sure to get your stool tested as you can't diagnose c.diff with a blood test. I think any of the immunosuppressants make us more susceptible to infections...it's not unique to Humira. I hope you get things figured out and feel better soon!
Posted 4/29/2012 3:51 AM (GMT 0)
Humira basically shuts down your immune system. An opportunistic infection such as C Diff would likely thrive in such an environment. It makes sense to me.
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