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remicade vs humira

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Crohn's Disease
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Posted 11/19/2008 2:46 AM (GMT 0)
Recently started 6mp, but because of low white blood cells have to stop. My next option is either remicade or humira. I am soooo nervous. How do I choose? After reading about all the side effects, I think I'd rather jump off a cliff. What can I expect? Anyone?? sad
Posted 11/19/2008 3:49 AM (GMT 0)
Hello and welcome Miss Mouse. Sorry you have to be here though. For me the Humira has been wonderful with nothing much to speak of in the way of side effects. Remicade produced many side effects in me and stopped working anyway. Humira is one shot every two weeks that you do at home. Remicade is done at an infusion center and used to take me hours and hours because of complications. I would have to take the day off work. Others will come along with their stories. Good luck with your decision. And there is no need to jump off any cliffs. It all sounds scarier than it really is.
Posted 11/19/2008 4:06 AM (GMT 0)
Potatoqwn is right... it all sounds really scary, but in the end - you just have to evaluate your quality of life and weigh that against the possible side effects. I had great success with Remicade for several years before it "wore off". By then, I was fed up with the "biologics" so I didn't really give Humira much of a chance before I stopped it and chose more "alternative" routes. With the Humira, I just couldn't bring myself to "shoot" up that stuff every two weeks - it gave me the heebee-geebies and the shots hurt like the dickens (although I know not everyone finds them so painful)... it was much easier for me, psychologically, to get Remicade because I felt "monitored" and that someone else was in control... that made a big difference for me. Also, the Remicade started working for me almost immediately, whereas the Humira was a little harder to notice improvements with. But I'm just one person, with one set of experiences.

I'm glad you found us, Miss Mouse. I wish you all the best in your treatments, and never hesitate to ask ANYTHING on this forum. The people here have kept me sane for almost 5 years!
Posted 11/19/2008 10:39 AM (GMT 0)
Hi and Welcome to HW Miss Mouse. I have been on remicade for 5 years. It has been a wonderful drug for me. i don't let the side effects bother me. Because the drug has helped me alot.
Posted 11/19/2008 6:35 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you so much for your replies. Its so nice to know I'm not the only one that is going through this. I'm going to see my Dr in a couple weeks, hopefully I'll have my mind made up by then. =)
Posted 11/19/2008 7:07 PM (GMT 0)
Welcome!

I have been on both. For me, the potential side effects didn't matter much because my quality of life was so low. It was a no brainer that I try anything that could give me my life back.

Remicade did just that. I had absolutely no side effects for the first 2.5 years. I finished graduate school thanks to Remicade and went back to a normal healthy lifestyle. I did develop antibodies after 2.5 years and had to go off it, which sent me into a major flare.

I moved to Humira then, which worked like a charm and again gave me my life back and helped me avoid surgery. Thanks to the Humira, I'm back to a normal healthy lifestyle. I've never had a single side effect from it.

Remicade did take a day of my life every 6-8 weeks but it wasn't a big deal. I brought things to work on while it dripped. Humira hurts going in but it's a temporary pain and nothing like the pain I have when in a flare.

The vast majority of people never have a side effect, and certainly not one of the more severe ones. I will also add that every one of my medications has some serious risks listed on them but without them in my life, I wouldn't have a life to live.
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