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Just starting Humira - how long to see any results/effectiveness

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 10/9/2013 3:56 PM (GMT 0)
Hi,
This is my first posting on this site, though I've been reading it regularly since I was diagnosed. I'm in my second flare (my first was a year and a half ago and was remedied by 50mg of prednisone tapering over several months) that also included a bout of c diff (treated with two rounds of vancomycin) - my current symptoms are formed stool (no D at all), rarely see any blood, but my frequency is about 10-15 movements a day (mainly in the AM hours).
All of this was confirmed via a colonoscopy about a month and a half ago. I've been on 60mg of prednisone (done to 40 now since it doesn't appear to be helping according to my GI), 150mg of azathioprine/imuran, 6 pills a day of AsacolHD, and have been alternating between nightly hydrocort and rowasa enemas....all of this has had 0 effect on my current flare. My GI has described my condition as mainly distal colitis, which I understand to be towards the end of the colon, and the alleged hard end to treat. Given my lack of response to all the meds I'm on he has just started me on Humira - just did my loading dose of 4 pens 3 days ago. I had several questions based on all this that I'm hoping some of you may be able to help me with?
1. Regarding Humira, how long until I will know if it is working - to date, I see no difference and just want to know what the time lines are for its effectiveness from those who have tried it
2. Given my list of med's and symptoms is there anything else I should be suggesting to my doctor that I try?
Thanks in advance for any advice/information!
Posted 10/9/2013 7:02 PM (GMT 0)
It took me a couple of months to see a BIG improvement. I did feel a bit better after a couple of days, but it took longer to see a big improvement. I have heard people going to a shot a week instead of a shot every other week. I did this for a while, but it made me nervous and did not improve me much. I am only on Colazal in addition to the Humira. i was on an enema, but I think that stopped working. I have not taken the Imuran or the Asacol HD, so I can't comment on those. Sounds like your GI is covering all his bases. Try to rest, get some mild exercise, take a probiotic and try not to stress out! Hope you feel better
Posted 10/9/2013 10:57 PM (GMT 0)
I started Humira in Friday. I was told at least 2 doses to see any sir of a change. I feel like I'm on a roller coaster, I feel great one minute and like hell the next. However, I'm also on 80mg of prednisone that we are starting to taper in the morning.

It sounds like you are receiving similar treatments as I am- although I'm on Lialda and have stopped the enemas due to them making my symptoms worse. I added a probiotic on my own, as my GI wasn't really on board in making that suggestion, and I'm trying some Keifer. Someone recommended Fibercon to me to help form bulk, but I'm leery of that!
Posted 10/10/2013 1:17 AM (GMT 0)
I started Humira this year. My GI doc says it takes 2 months to see results, but you should start to see change by 1 month.
Dosages that I'm aware of:
40 mg every 2 weeks
40 mg every week
80 mg every week

I'm at 40mg / week right now. I'm still working my way off of the prednisone to see if that will work for me. 30 mg pred this week, means I'll have another month to get down to 5mg. At that point, I should know if it's working.

I suspect I'll need to combine with another immuno-suppressant like Fluorouracil. We'll see.
Posted 10/10/2013 2:33 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you all for the replies - its been very hard finding hands on accounts of folks using Humira for UC... and I guess I've been foolishly hoping for that immediate solution which we never seem to get. I think I'm also just extra nervous this time around since prednisone isn't working for me at all but it worked wonders the first time I flared.
I'm only 4 days into Humira so it looks like I'm gonna have to be patient - I have my second loading dose of two 40mg shots coming up in 10 days, then my dr. has me on an every other week schedule of 1 40mg shot ( but did mention every week as an option should that not work out well ) - I'll update this thread with any outcomes from my experience as it progresses, but if anyone else out there has any hands on experience please share it, after four months and no luck on the pred it'd be great to hear some positive experiences and timelines.
thanks again!
Posted 10/10/2013 11:06 PM (GMT 0)
The Prednisone might not be as effective since you're already taking an immuno-suppressant in azathioprine. Humira targets a specific part of your immune system (TNF) rather than the whole thing like azathioprine does. In my opinion, this would seem to make the TNF inhibitors a safer option than the general immuno-suppressants.

If Humira doesn't work, there are other options. Remicade, Cimzia, Enbrel and Simponi (pending approval) are all TNF inhibitors that you could try. Vedolizumab (pending approval) is another biologic that works differently that could help if these don't.
Posted 10/11/2013 2:42 AM (GMT 0)
I've been on Humira for over a year. I take it weekly. After the second loading dose I started to see thing improving. Took about 3 months to feel much better. about 4 months the Humira was good the first week and the second week started to show symptoms. Bumped it to every week . Saw a big improvement . Still at times things are not perfect. Stayed on oral meds and use rectal meds when I feel the need. Have not seen any blood in about 8 months. Otherwise the disease is manageable . I'll take it for now!!!!!!!!
Good luck hope it works for you.
Posted 10/11/2013 3:59 PM (GMT 0)
How are you feeling?
It's been a week for me and I've had several good days in a row!
I have been eating, fewer BMs and cramping, etc- I'm in the process of weaning steroids right now. Down to 60mg tomorrow for 3 days, which I when I started having problems before- hoping the Humira has kicked in enough to sustain where I am at...I can live like this!
Posted 10/11/2013 7:03 PM (GMT 0)
I'm doing "ok" - my main symptom has been # of BM's and I've had slightly fewer (like down from 12 a day to about 9 or 10 a day).....hard to say yet if it is a small improvement yet, but its looking that way from the optimistic perspective.....I am hoping the trend continues and that it isn't an anomaly, I did have one really bad day in there which is really whats giving me pause at the moment. From the sounds of some of the other posts I'm really hoping to see a marked improvement after the second loading dose (just over a week away for me)
Posted 10/11/2013 7:24 PM (GMT 0)
I'm like you....trying really hard not to get my hopes up! I feel like I'm turning a corner, but I know how quickly things can go downhill! The next few days dropping to 50/60 of prednisone will really be the test I think...and I'm nervous!! :-)

Keep us posted!
Posted 10/22/2013 1:49 AM (GMT 0)
I just tried Humira, but only lasted 6 weeks... Unfortunately I didn't see any improvement whatsoever and was getting too sick that I just had to stop it and go on a full dose of prednisone. I was taking it through a clinical trial as it's not approved in Canada yet for UC. My sister has been on Humira for Crohn's for over 3 years and it has been a life saver for her She said that after her first loading dose she felt a noticeable change and has been great since. The study nurse also said that the others on the trial all noticed a significant improvement within 2-4 weeks.

I'm trying simponi next, and hoping that it will work! Best of luck on Humira!! I hope that it works well for you!!
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