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Humira or remicade

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 7/17/2012 8:50 AM (GMT 0)
hi i started a new thread because im trying to decide on which to try.
I have pancreatitis so i cant use the 6-mp along with them and im of all other uc drugs apart from pred which is keeping my pancreatitis pain at bay. (thank the lord) hurray.

Interested on your views on either. please and thanks.
Posted 7/17/2012 2:22 PM (GMT 0)
I only have the option for Remicade as my doctor tells me that he can't give me Humira as it's not for my Ulcerative Colitis and I won't be covered by insurance. It's labeled to treat Chron's
Posted 7/17/2012 2:45 PM (GMT 0)
blksteeda,
yeah my Gi said it was just recently passed for use in UC, so what do you think of remicade. did it make a difference to you.
Posted 7/17/2012 5:55 PM (GMT 0)
Remicade has definitely helped, absolutely. I take it along with 100mg of 6MP. I just had a prometheus test to make sure the remicade is still effective. I'm still waiting on those results. My gi did mention something about giving me a "booster" shot of Humira the other day when we were talking.
Posted 7/17/2012 5:57 PM (GMT 0)
this is what I read recently regarding Humira and UC. This was dated in May of this year...

Abbott Laboratories ABT +1.47% has encountered a delay in its bid for U.S. regulatory approval to expand the uses of its blockbuster anti-inflammatory drug Humira to include treatment of the bowel disease ulcerative colitis.

Abbott received a "complete response letter" from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in late 2011 regarding Abbott's application to market Humira for colitis, spokeswoman Elizabeth Hoff said Monday. The FDA sends such letters when a drug application isn't yet ready for approval.

The Abbott Park, Ill., company has provided additional information and continues to have a dialogue with the FDA, Hoff said.

Abbott expects an agency decision by the end of this year, she said. She declined to provide contents of the complete response letter.

Abbott filed for regulatory approval of Humira to treat ulcerative colitis in the U.S. and Europe in early 2011. The European Commission approved the new use in April.

The regulatory applications were based on clinical data showing that Humira improved rates of disease remission versus a placebo in people with colitis, an inflammatory bowel disease that causes pain, diarrhea and other symptoms.

Humira is currently approved in the U.S. to treat rheumatoid arthritis and several other inflammatory conditions. Abbott recorded $7.9 billion in Humira sales for 2011.
Posted 7/17/2012 6:32 PM (GMT 0)
well thats it then. its been approved here in Ireland in April. when said recently i didnt realize....
lucily for me then i have 2 options available to me.

Ju
Posted 7/17/2012 7:34 PM (GMT 0)
I was approved for Humira for UC with my insurance. I called my insurance myself , said I was approved for Remicade and Humira. Had Humira within days of the GI's office calling it in.
Posted 7/17/2012 7:35 PM (GMT 0)
Forgot to say I'm in the US
Posted 7/17/2012 8:03 PM (GMT 0)
so whats the deal. can uc patients get it in the US or not. seems to be alot of different info out there.
Ju
Posted 7/17/2012 8:08 PM (GMT 0)
I'm in the US and my GI office said most insurance companies want you to try Humira before trying Remicade. My insurance approved both with out any problems.

Tried Humira for a number of months, before moving on to Remicade. If I had my choice over the two I would certainly choose Humira. It's much more convenient, and takes not time at all. I get really tired for the next day or two after my Remicade infusion, never had anything like that with Humira.
Overall the side effects were much less with Humira than with Remicade.
Posted 7/17/2012 8:24 PM (GMT 0)
On the box it says Humira Crohn's. Maybe they are giving it as an off label. They are getting around it.
Posted 7/17/2012 8:27 PM (GMT 0)
thanx for your opinion Jay.
so if you dont mind could you tell me what are the side effects you have and is it making any difference to your UC.

Ju
Posted 7/18/2012 12:27 PM (GMT 0)
My side effects from Humira:
Slight allergic reaction on my forearms and back of my legs. Took some over the counter allergy medication which took care of the hives.
Dry skin around my mouth.

My side effects from Remicade:
Really tired the next day or two after the infusion.
After second infusion experienced tightness in back and chest for a few days. Took Advil a few times for the pain. Experienced this side effect only slightly after my third infusion.
Bruise very easily.

These were my personal reactions to the medications, just remember each of us are different and we all seem to react in our own individual way.
Let me know if there are any other questions I can help you with.

The Humira didn't seem to help my UC at all. I've had 3 Remicade infusions and so far it seems to be working. I'm tapering down on Prednisone, taking 5mg every other day. Before I wasn't able to get below 20mg. I've read that Hurmira and Remicade are very similar drugs and if one of them fails to work for you, the other one will most likely also fail. But so far for me Remicade appears to be working.
Posted 7/18/2012 1:26 PM (GMT 0)
Jay, are you sure you don't mean Remi before Humira? That's how I've understood it to be... I know my GI put me on Remi, it worked ok, then when it lost effectiveness, we discussed Humira. In order for my insurer to cover it, we had to prove that the Remicade had lost effectiveness. I'm in the US also. My diagnosis is UC, not Crohns.
Posted 7/18/2012 1:54 PM (GMT 0)
so another 2 for remicade. i should of did a pole
Thanks jay, im glad its working for you.
Ju
Posted 7/18/2012 3:35 PM (GMT 0)
Eva Lou,

It was Humira before Remicade for me. My GI's Nurse practitioner called my insurance company a head of time to make sure they would approve the treatment. She stated that insurance companies usually want patients to try Humira first before trying Remicade. It might just be how the insurance company work in my neck of the woods.
However, my GI seems to be the greedy type, possibly getting kickbacks from prescribing Humira to patients. Needless to say I have an appointment with another GI on Friday who most likely become my new GI.

I have no idea how much the Humira cost, my co-pay was only $10.
But I am able to see insurance claims for my Remicade infusions. It came to $5300 for one infusion, but they lowered the price down to $4600. Took it at as an outpatient at a local hospital. Insurance took care of all but $120. I enrolled in Remistart, which should cover everything but $50.

If my GI received a kickback from me taking Humira, it's appears very unlikely he received anything from me taking Remicade.
Posted 7/18/2012 3:46 PM (GMT 0)
jeez,
some might laugh but im so lucky to be in Ireland with free health care. I coulnt imagine the extra stress paying for all those meds would cause.
I mean 4600 for 1 infusion. i would be bankrupt or dead.
Posted 7/18/2012 3:54 PM (GMT 0)
     I had UP and my insurance covered Remicade and when that failed, Humira.  I had Personal Choice Blue Cross and Blue Shield at the time and all I had to pay was a $5 copay.  Gordon, my GI doctor took me off 6MP two weeks before starting Remicade.  In his opinion, it was too risky to have me on both at the same time.

     I believe Remicade is considered the Big Daddy of the biologics, so when that failed, even though I did try Humira for three months, my doctor didn't have much hope of it helping.  I had surgery because I had become prednisione dependent and my health was plunging downward very fast.

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