Insurance is requiring I use humira

Is that a problem for you?

Remicade may work 2% or 3% better in the trials - but it is an infusion, and very expensive compared to Humira. Humira is also less prone to antibodies.

If I was given the choice, I would take Humira.

Doing the injections yourself isn't too bad and it gets better the more you do it...they sent a nurse to my house to help me do them initially and she made me do them while she watched and guided me through it all, it made a world of difference, I hate needles and never thought the day would come that I'd be injecting myself but like I mentioned above, it put my IBD in remission and seems to have healed up the fistula (now if I could just get this ridiculous IBS d/c under control I might actually be laughing (for as long as I'm in remission from my CD of course).

I've been on Humira since February of this year and it did take some time to go into remission but I was also in very bad shape (you have to be when your GI brings up surgery if biologics don't work) so considering how bad of shape I was in I still went into remission with my crohn's colitis and that speaks volumes when you consider I've been in a constant flare in my colon especially for over 2 decades and my inflammation ran deeper into the intestinal lining due to having CD and not UC where the inflammation remains on the surface...so if Humira can pull me out of the woods then that's pretty impressive especially considering all the issues going on with my disease.

I know they are scary and there seem to be a lot of possible side effects, but keep in mind, they are very rare and they monitor you so closely via blood work...

I was either allergic or non-responsive to traditional oral meds, Asacol nearly killed me literally I was so allergic to after taking just one dose of 4 pills back in 1991 so I get your fear, but meds have also come a long way too, basically I seem to be sensitive to the oral IBD meds, I wasn't expecting anything different from Humira, but I was wrong, I don't have a single negative side effect from it to date (it's also cleared my skin up beautifully and I didn't even have really bad skin to begin with but didn't have a near perfect complexion until going on Humira) and I'm taking one injection every week compared to the standard dosing of one injection every 2 weeks and I still have no ill side effects from it...considering how sensitive I tend to be with medicine I'd say that's pretty amazing.

i understand nervous. but rare is very rare. anything that interacts with immune system can potentially have a rare effect somewhere in your body. but so can untreated UC, so can surgery ...

and "sudden blindness" is also a rare side effect of Remicade.

www.webmd.com/drugs/2/drug-16554/remicade-iv/details/list-sideeffects

maybe you can talk with a counselor about these changes and your fears. it might help to gather perspective and feel more certain of your path

Chrissysoul said...
That's good it has helped. It just scares me that these medicines may help but in some cases could even be fatal. I dunno I read blindness and I'm like *** I don't understand why these medicines have to be scary. I guess they can get rid of the uc but they can also attack other parts of your body. Just wish there was another way than the drugs. I was even scared to use imuran :/. Which has helped but I do believe it has caused the painful numbing and tingling in my hands. I am confused why humira has more side effects than remi. I'm glad it worked for you tho pb. I think I'm gonna be scared on it Cuz blindness is my top fear In life :/

I totally get where you're coming from, but blindness is only one possible RARE side effect and there's no guarantee that you will experience that or any of the other side effects (I know, how crappy would it be to be blind and try to live that way and for us especially having to wipe our butts so many times in a day when flaring, how would we ever know if we cleaned ourselves up properly).

That numbing you're describing could be due to low vitamin B 12 absorption, if you haven't had your B12 levels checked I highly recommend you do...I had the same issue years ago (painful numbing and tingling in my fingers) and found out I was very low on B12 due to my IBD causing issues with nutrient absorption. I had to get B12 shots for 3 months as my GP weaned me onto B12 tabs.

UC alone can also negatively affect other parts of your body, eyes, skin, joints, bones etc so really living with IBD (biologics or not) can have major health consequences that are not limited to the colon/rectum.

It's good that you have concerns, it's normal but you really have to weigh the pros and cons regarding IBD and IBD meds in general, this is where your GI should be guiding you as well...best of luck with whatever course you take.

Maybe it's a good idea to attack the anxiety as well. I know UC is scary and there is no denying that. But these drugs are supposed to help you and make you feel better. I hope you'll do well on Humira.

If I was being told I'd need to take Humira again, I would want to learn how to do the syringes. I was already on it but I'm not sure if my first batch froze or not. I'm not sure if I'm now "immune" to it because of this or what.

For sure, I would possibly do the Same if I had more income