As far as severity, I have pancolitis. I just looked through my notes again to check, and that's what I found.
As far as a timeline for Humira, my doctor never necessarily gave me a specific one. The timeline I'm familiar with is just what I've found by researching online, but I take it with a grain of salt.
Tier said...
Hey there! I had similar issues when I first got diagnosed. I let the UC get really bad before I was willing to go in to a doctor's office, so they had to blast it out of me pretty much. Okay, a few things:
I'm currently on Humira. It's a really good medication, but takes some time to kick in. The loading doses help, but just keep up the every 2 weeks. I know it kinda hurts, but it's worthwhile. A big suggestion is that you give yourself a day after Humira for the first few times to see how you react. When I started, I would be groggy, angry, and having food cravings the day after. So give yourself a break just in case until you know how you react. It seems really miserable right now, but Humira has been able to at least maintain me for the past year and a half, which is saying a lot, because my body really does seem to hate me.
I've never been on a drug in the same drug group as Imuran, but those medications are what my doctor calls the maintaining drugs. Asacol, Lialda, Imuran all serve the same purpose of suppressing white blood cells to maintain inflammation. You won't see an improvement on just those because they're pretty much the remission drugs. If I ever do get in remission, those will be the only medications I'll be on.
If Humira isn't cutting it, I strongly and passionately encourage Remicade. A lot of people hate the concept of it because it's sitting with an IV in your arm for hours at a time, but it was probably the most therapeutic experience on my UC journey. I would get Benadryl through my IV and sleep the entire time, or sit in sunglasses (I have a habit of hypersensitivity) and read a book or watch some good movies. Just double check your infusion center. If you're not in a reclining chair feeling relaxed, it isn't a good place. The only reason I'm on Humira now is because Remicade stopped being effective. So if Humira ever isn't good for you, Remicade is a wonderful route to take.
Good luck and keep us updated! I'm really hoping Humira puts you into remission or at least something close; but even if it doesn't, remember that there are so many options out there!
(Adding on: With the liquid diet thing... ech. I'm lactose intolerant and mostly avoid caffeine and nuts. But depriving myself of food is almost as bad as relapsing itself. I tried juice and protein for a while, and when I've been really sick, all I can eat is tortillas and soy protein shakes anyway. But I suggest high protein, high cooked veggie diets. Maybe even paleo because it cuts out so many harmful substances. Even if you don't fully digest the foods, at least they taste good, give you energy, and make you feel a lot more healthy.)
Thank you, this was an awesome post. I'm definitely hoping Humira works, it just sucks being patient after 7 months of bleeding and pain! After my initial loading dose, I felt fine afterwards. But this time, I'm just miserable overall with the constant diarrhea and abdominal pain.
I'll take your advice on the dieting. I'll give myself a day or so probably before I eat any solid foods. I may take a very small amount of Pepto (< 15 ml, recommended dose is 30 ml, and 15 ml still had me feeling uncomfortably constipated) just to see if it'll help me any. I'm just ready for some relief after the past week.