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Humira every week opposed to every two wks

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Crohn's Disease
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Posted 7/18/2011 8:34 PM (GMT 0)
Hay everyone so I started Humira back in Dec (after being on remicade for two years) and have been getting a shot every two wks. I'm still having terrible pain and the only thing that makes me feel better is being on Entocort 3 a day (every time I try to go down in my dosage to 2 a day then 1 a day my symptoms come right back and my life is hell once again). So my Dr suggested doing a Humira shot every wk. I'm a little anxious about doing this because my immune system has already been so compromised doing the shot every two wks and I worry about it being even worse. The side effects of Humira just scare me all together but if it could make me feel better I guess it might be worth it. I guess what I'm wondering is do you notice more side effects of the drug when having it more frequently? Or does anyone have some pros and cons of doing it more frequently? I would appreciate all the advice I can get! It's always good to hear of people that have gone through similar situations and how it turned out for them. Anyway thanks so much for listening!
Posted 7/19/2011 2:03 AM (GMT 0)
I was on humira weekly. It definitely helped as opposed to only taking it every 2 weeks. I did not notice more side effects at all. Pros - it keeps a steady stream of meds in your system so you feel better. Cons- the painful shot is once a week instead of once every two. All things considered, it might be worth it for you to try.
Posted 7/19/2011 3:19 AM (GMT 0)
Once aweek was just a little too much, so I take it every 10 days with no more side affects than 14 days. All you can do is try and find what works for you.
Posted 7/19/2011 3:24 AM (GMT 0)
I have been on it weekly for 4 yrs now, does wonders compared to other meds for me
Posted 7/19/2011 10:56 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks for your posts everyone... you're right I'll just have to try it and see how it goes. Hopefully it helps!
Posted 7/20/2011 5:29 PM (GMT 0)
I've just seen my GI this afternoon. I started Humira in January with injections every two weeks. My first side effect problem was acid reflux and was so bad I couldn't ever drink water without terrible pain but this has been successfully solved by taking omeprazole. The other problem came at beginning of May when I eventually finished the pred. My joints, muscles and nerves became incredibly painful, I thought initially it was pred withdrawal. Over the weeks since the pain has got worse not better and is constant, some people get joint pain few days before the are due an injection so have had there regime changed to weekly but mine is there whether I have just had injection or not.

Outcome is after very long chat with my GI I am going to stop the Humira and hope that it has had enough time to work it's stuff and keep on the azathioprine which has always kept it in remission before. Only reason I had a flare was advised to stop all meds 18 months ago as had been in remission for 7 years. Bad move. Flared after 6 months and worst flare I have ever had. Hopefully things will work out and all is settled down but if symptoms start up again then will go back on it and have to find some solution for the joint/muscle/nerve pain as co-codamol and tramadol aren't helping.

Good luck to you with your new weekly injections and hope it helps with your symptoms, plenty of people are able to take Humira for years on weekly regime and have no problems and it has definately worked on me to get rid of the CD symptoms and just hope it has had enough time to work properly. Fingers crossed.
Posted 7/21/2011 5:20 PM (GMT 0)
Stripey it sounds like you have a had a rough go of it lately... I'm so sorry!!! I too was diagnosed with acid reflux about 2 months ago and am taking omeprazole as well. It seems to help most of the time. I don't know if it is from the Humira or not but I never had a problem with acid reflux before I started it (and I was on Remicade for 2 yrs before that) so maybe it is due to that. I also started having joint and muscle pain about 3 wks ago when I started to come off of my Enotocort (which I had to go back up on because my Crohn's of course got worse like it always does). Anyway I guess I will try the weekly injections and hope that none of my other issues get any worse, at this point I'm willing to try anything to see if it helps ease my Crohn's lol. Thanks so much for you response, I hope you start feeling better!
Posted 7/21/2011 6:24 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks Riley. Luckily, my CD symptoms are settled so hope that the 6 months I have been on Humira are enough to have put in into remission so that the azathioprine will keep it there. The acid reflux is fine now I take the omeprazole but hope that once the Humira out of my system (in about 6 weeks time) I can stop that as never had it before the Humira and also that the joint/nerve/muscle pain goes away.
Posted 7/22/2011 3:50 AM (GMT 0)
i've been thinking about asking my doc about shifting to every week...i was feeling pretty good but not so much the past week or so...i'm wondering f every week would help me feel better more consistantly.
Posted 7/22/2011 4:31 PM (GMT 0)
mtgman I am starting the weekly dose on Sunday so I will keep you posted as far as how it goes for me... I'm hoping for the best!
Posted 8/6/2011 10:58 PM (GMT 0)
I was on Remicade for 5 or 6 yrs and it stopped working for me....So I went on a couple of other meds and they didnt work for me so then I went on Humria every 2 wks to every week...I been having so many issues I dont even know if its working...I ended up in the hospital two times this yr and two other stops in the ER...So I am on Predisone, Humria and another medication right now and still not doing good...I dont have any side effects with the Humria...I hear this medication works for a lot of people...I hope you dont have any side effects or very few...:) :) good luck and let me know how u are doing!
Posted 8/8/2011 3:25 PM (GMT 0)
I am actually on 2 shots weekly.  Its a lot, and I hate having to take that much, but that is thr only way it works for me ;o)
Posted 8/8/2011 8:38 PM (GMT 0)

Today is my first day of weekly shots.  After my flex sig scope last week, my GI wants me to do weekly shots for about a month.  I will let you know if there are any weird side affects.

I do have to say though...so many people complain how it hurts.  I noticed it in this posting also that the humira shots are painful.  I have been on it now for a couple of months and except for some burning that lasts 10 seconds, I don't have anything else that is painful.  Am I one of the lucky ones that isn't feeling the pain or is the burning sensation the pain everyone talks about.

Posted 8/8/2011 9:52 PM (GMT 0)
I was on humira every other week and then weekly. Honestly, it never helped me either way, but it didn't seem to hurt either, no side effects that I linked to the drug. I got a reasonably good year on remicade, but humira and cimzia didn't help much at all.

Hope you have better results than I did.
Posted 6/22/2018 10:35 PM (GMT 0)
I have been on remicade for 9 years and it stopped working for me I am starting humira injections in a couple of days and am afraid it's not going to work! I can't take the joint pain anymore it seems that in this post that it is not working well. what should I do? rolleyes
Posted 6/24/2018 7:46 AM (GMT 0)
maggie, this thread is more than 7 years old. some of these posters may not be here any longer.

everyone is different . you will get 4 shots as a loading dose and then do one very other week if your going on the standard treatment. i myself take 2 shots at the same time per week. i am doing well on this dose, but have been on it long enough that i am developing antibodies to it. and im a kinda special case. are you an RN as your signature implies? if so maybe you can talk to a gastro doc that has more long term experience with patients using the drug. they may have more insight than the run of the mill dr.
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