Remicade (infusion) vs Humira

We've had posters using both Remicade and also Humira have success, so I believe they are both good choices.

Differences:

Humira
A nurse initially shows you how to administer your humira, afterwards, you can do it yourself. It's a subcutaneous (just below the skin) injections given with the humira pen or a syringe at home. During maintenance phase, every-other-week or weekly injections are common. Humira pens can be kept in a cooler/refrigerator and your can travel with them. Everyone is given the same initial dosage of humira, regardless of body-weight, and frequency is adjusted if needed. Humira is simpler billing and slightly cheaper than Remicade, as Humira is medication-only without a need for a nurse's time on an ongoing basis, and it isn't hospital-outpatient which can incur additional copays and deductibles with your health insurance. Some say the Humira shot stings briefly, but icing the spot beforehand can help.

Remicade
Medication given via IV at an infusion center, as hospital out-patient, and sometimes at a gasteroenteroligist office in a procedure that takes 2.5-3.0 hours. During maintenance phase, every 8-week injections are common. Remicade is weight-based drug, they weigh you every time you go in before mixing your meds. As Remicade is given as hospital outpatient in most cases, and you are billed for IV infusion and nurse's time it can be slightly more expensive than Humira. There's no sensation, other than a small needle-prick, when the remicade is given.

Thoughts
Are you okay with using a humira pen to give yourself?
How close is the nearest hospital or infusion center?

Regardless of which medication you choose, make sure to sign up for the manufacturer's copay/deductable assistance program. As these medications can cost thousands of dollars for a 60-day supply, and the cards can knock down your out-of-pocket costs to as little as $5. I use Remicade and Remistart patient assistance program and it saves me $150 an infusion, and took care of my annual deductable (a few thousand at the start of each year) which meant other procedures needed (like a colonoscopy) didn't incur that deductible as it was met and paid for by remicade/remistart. The programs are medication-assistance only, so they will not pay for the nurse's time to administer the med.

Humira www.myhumira.com/InsuranceHelp/FAQ.aspx

Remicade www.remistart.com/

I chose Remicade in Sept 2012, the month Humira was officially approved for wide scale use with UC patients within the USA. At the time, Remicade (approved a number of years before that) had an established safety history and Humira was new to market for wide scale UC treatment. I had read some good success stories with Remicade from some of the mods here at the time, and considered it a no-brainer.

With Humira, everyone starts with the same dose and frequency. Patient response determines whether more is needed. For example, you feel great for 10 days after taking humira but then always start regressing and feeling worse before your next scheduled humira pen. Then your doctor would have you take humira weekly to keep a sustained response.

Remicade weight-based dosing seems to help the most if your weight is very high or low for your age (outliers from the average). If you're of average weight than Humira vs Remicade and weight-based-dosing may not matter a whole lot.

There's no required, routine blood work required with Remicade/Humira as they are not known to negatively affect the liver or other organs. There's no harm in getting annual blood tests from your gasteroenteroligist or general practitioner (a.k.a. family doctor).

I really appreciate the information you all are willing to share. I am a small person (5 foot tall and 117 pounds). I am leaning toward Remicade because of the weight-based dosing, but I also like the idea of of the freedom that giving myself the Humira injections provides. I will have to give it some more thought.