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Humira vs. Remicade

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 9/9/2014 6:33 PM (GMT 0)
 I am currently on Lialda (4 pills a day) and Canasa. I have had UC for 9 years. I have tried 6mp and I had awful side effects and I don't want to go on prednisone again. My doc just suggested that I add either Humira or Remicade as a secondary med. I am leaning towards Humira just because of the convenience. Any advice from anyone who has been on either or both of them?

Thank you!

Post Edited (Quityourbellyaching) : 9/9/2014 1:07:53 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 9/9/2014 7:04 PM (GMT 0)
Humira and Remicade are both similar medications, their method of action is to block TNF-alpha within your bloodstream. How do you choose between the two: cost, convenience, and effectiveness. Cost will vary based on your insurance company and policy (often Humira is slightly cheaper). Convenience, well Humira wins there as you can self-inject yourself at home, know that there is brief pain for some in those injections. Effectiveness, Remicade seems to be the most effective for uc. about 64% of uc patients notice an improvement in their uc symptoms after initially taking remicade and about 34% reach remission (an absence of uc symptoms) after taking remicade. Humira's numbers are about half of that for both categories. Remicade is given every 8 weeks, via IV infusion by a nurse. The infusion takes 2-3 hours but is painless.

Do your homework. Call your insurance company and see what each Remicade and Humira will cost you out of pocket. Both medications do have patient assistance programs which help out with the out of pocket costs. As an example:

My infusion center bills my insurance company $6,400.00 for my treatment of remicade every 8 weeks. My insurance company reduces that bill to $3,200.00 as the maximum they allow for that treatment. My insirance company pays all but $120.00 and says I am responsible for it. RemiStart, the patient assistance program for remicade, makes sure I pay no more than $50.00 out of pocket for each dose. So, RemiStart pays the difference between the two. These numbers will vary a lot depending on your drug copays, insurance policy deductibles, and so forth.
Posted 9/9/2014 7:09 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you! That is great info. Looking into costs now.
Posted 9/9/2014 8:00 PM (GMT 0)
Here in Canada the cost between those 2 meds are about the same...I chose Humira for convenience..my GI told me that which ever drug I chose between the 2, they don't deny anyone based on not being able to afford them. If you don't have insurance through work that will cover either of those drugs then the drug companies will still set you up to receive the meds (that's how it works in Canada anyway).
Posted 9/9/2014 9:03 PM (GMT 0)
If your insurance will cover a newer med, I would opt for Entyvio instead of those other two. It is much much safer and has better results (according to the trials). Don't let the doctor box you in to just his choices. This is not his life, it is yours.
Posted 9/10/2014 1:32 AM (GMT 0)
I tried Simponi for convenience but it didn't work for me. I think you have a great chance that either humira or remicade will work for you so I agree with iPoop, you should choose based on what works best for you. On the other hand, Remicade does have the highest rate of success as far as the numbers I've seen.
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