Humira - how long did it take to work?

I've been on humira for 3 months now at one injection a fortnight - for the last month i've been on one injection a week & all this time been on steroids - & any drop below 40mg of steroids symptoms of crohn's are re-occurring.for the last few doses of humira i think i feel a bit better for a few days - more energy, less pain but then a few days before i'm due a shot i'm back to square one. Is the humira working at all or are the steroids doing most of the work? I've had a scope done recently showing severe inflammation - i don't know if the humira is a bit of a lost cause at this stage or if it can still kick in - how long has it taken to see a response in other people? - i'm going to my gi about this next wk but just want to be prepared! also anyone take the one a week injection with any other meds - like imuran etc & does it work better with them?

My GI refuses to use immunosuppresants with biologics, he says it could lead to higher incidence of cancer. He says, given all its side effects, he would prefer to use steroids in combination. But, I don't know about effectiveness of these biologics in teh short term, I am due to take Humira next month, will post when I start it.

Hi Wild_Swan,

From what I understand, Humira can take from 3-6 months to work.  According to the Humira people, however, if it hasn't helped by 6 months, then it most likely won't be effective.

As for myself, I really had no idea if it was working or not (I'd been on it nearly 6 months at the time) until I had a colonoscopy and lo and behold the ulcerations were healed.  Unfortunately, I had scar tissue in my terminal ileum and ileocecal valve.  Thus, I had severe stricturing and had to have a small bowel resection.  Humira can reduce inflammation and heal ulcerations, but does nothing for scar tissue.

Prior to my surgery on 7/30, I used Humira once every two weeks.  (I'll start it up again soon).  I also noticed that about 5 days or so before I was do for my next injection, I experienced more Crohn's symptoms.

Hope the Humira ends up working for you!

I really loved Humira - it kept me from surgery and I lived 99% symptom free for a full two years on it. At the time I started it, I wasn't eating anything solid and in and out of the hospital. I was eating solid foods within a week. I'm sure that is rare; I responded the same way with Remicade.

It doesn't sound promising that you're on high levels of both drugs and not doing any better. How discouraging =( I would perhaps give it until the 6 month mark?