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Medical Forum / Diseases and Disorders / Arthritis / June 2006Humira Users?
Just wondering what Humira users experiences have been? I've had RA since 1973, been on tons and tons of different meds for these last 33 years, the latest Methotrexate, Arava and Celebrex. Something weird started happening with my hair about a year ago - the hair loss was bad enough but my hair was kinking up real bad and that was almost worse - and I finally woke to the fact that something was really wrong. Saw a dermatologist who said it was probably an overload of one of the meds, the rheumatologist agreed and took me off the Arava since that was the one I had been on the least amount of time (have used the Methotrexate for years and years). I've been off the Arava for over a month now and my arthritis is really flaring and my hands are just a mess. The doc said he was going to try me on one of the newest injectibles and would start working with the insurance company to get the necessary approval. I just got a notice in the mail showing it to be Humira. On the one hand I'm grateful that this will be happening soon but on the other hand I'm scared of the new meds. I'm not scared of needles as I've been diabetic most of my life, mainly just scared of the side effects. I'd be interested in knowing how you Humira users feel about it and what I might expect. Also, do you still take the other meds with the Humira? I'd love nothing more than to do away with the Methotrexate and Celebrex as there has been no change in the texture of my hair since dropping the Arava, making me think it wasn't the culprit after all. Aaaaaaarrrrrgh! Anyway, I'd appreciate hearing your thoughts and experiences with it. Many thanks! ~Lindy~ Although I'm new on it, just having had it once so far, I'm a fan. the one shot has turned down my inflammation to a dull roar rather than a 4 alarm fire. I'm still taking MTX once a week and will continue to be because my liver panel comes back fine every time. I used to take Bextra; Celebrex has done nothing for me. I've had the Dx of connective tissue disease for about 9 months now. Many of us use Grape Seed Extract for our hair. In fact, I take it twice a day to prevent any hair problems. It's OTC and you can find it in most drugstores, at GNC, Sam's, Costco and in some grocery stores, as well. I suggest you give it a try...it's worth it. HTH! Hugs from Rosie  Signature"If you wanna get it done, you gotta fight for yourself." -- Meat Loaf, Bat Outta Hell II > Just wondering what Humira users experiences have been? I've had RA since > 1973, been on tons and tons of different meds for these last 33 years, the [quoted text clipped - 25 lines] > > ~Lindy~ I don't use Humira but do use grape seed extrtact. Take 100 mg. daily, and found the 100 mg tablets at Sam's I think. Used to be able to get only the 50 mg so had to take it twice a day, or two pills at once. It surely has helped me with much less loss of hair. Gwen > Although I'm new on it, just having had it once so far, I'm a fan. the > one [quoted text clipped - 58 lines] >> >> ~Lindy~ Rosie said: > Many of us use Grape Seed Extract for our hair. In fact, I take it > twice a day to prevent any hair problems. It's OTC and you can find >it in most drugstores, at GNC, Sam's, Costco and in some grocery > stores, as well. I suggest you give it a try...it's worth it. Someone here suggested that and Bioten about a month ago. I was only able to find the Bioten and have been taking it since then. Every morning when I take it, I tell myself to call around for the Grape Seed Extract but by the time the stores open I'm busy around the house and forget. I'll have to do that today. Thanks Rosie! ~Lindy~ > Although I'm new on it, just having had it once so far, I'm a fan. the one > shot has turned down my inflammation to a dull roar rather than a 4 alarm > fire. That is so good to hear, Rosie! Isn't it wonderful when you feel a new med kicking in - wonderful and scary as you don't want to mess it up or jinx it or anything! LOL May it keep getting better. SignatureNann remove the Gator cheer to email me Simply the thing I am shall make me live --- William Shakespeare Lindy - I have been on Humira since March 22 (a landmark day for me!). I haven't had any negative side effects (except that the medicine burns when injected). It is a miracle for me. It put my PA in remission & finished off the P lesions that the MTX didn't get. I am still taking MTX, but a lesser dose. My RD hopes to be able to taper me off the MTX totally over the course of the next few months. Even though I haven't had any liver troubles, he is concerned about continuing to use the MTX because of my age (I'm 30) & because I want to have children someday. I imagine they will keep you on the MTX for a while after you start Humira - apparently, the two meds increase one another's ability to fight off the inflammation (at least that's what my RD told me). Once you are established, maybe they can step you down off it. FWIW, I was not having any troubles with excessive hair loss, but some of my hair had started to change texture (went from thick, straight, smooth hair to kinky & wiry), but that was while my P was out of control & before the MTX or Humira. I think it may have had something to do with either the flakes obscuring the hair follicles, or the anti-dandruff (& P) meds affecting them, in my case. Good luck with the Humira - I hope it works for you! Shannon/Plantmistress > Just wondering what Humira users experiences have been? I've had RA since > 1973, been on tons and tons of different meds for these last 33 years, the [quoted text clipped - 25 lines] > > ~Lindy~ Hi. I was on Humira for almost a year when I started loosing sight in my left eye. It was like having a gray spot in the center of my vision. I went to my eye doctor, who then sent me to a retina specialist at the Univ of Michigan. They diagnosed me with vasculitis of the retina. I went through dozens of tests to see what caused it. All were negative except for tests associated with Lupus (I have RA & SJS). My Rheumy talked to the Abbott people and determined that the Humira was the culprit. In the meantime I had to have steroids injected into my eye. I was taken off Humira and within 6 months my labs for Lupus returned to normal. I don't want to scare you. I think my reaction was very rare. I've also had RA for 30 years and have been on every medicine out there. I'm now waiting for permission from my insurance company to take Rituxan. Donna Donna said: > I don't want to scare you. I think my reaction was very rare. I've > also had RA for 30 years and have been on every medicine out there. > I'm now waiting for permission from my insurance company to take > Rituxan. I'm already scared without having talked with anyone about it. Mainly because of new drugs touted to be wonder drugs then later being pulled because of serious effects or death (Viox, then the Celebrex scare, - and what was that other one -- Phen Phen? which my mom was using). I'm not panic stricken but scared enough to want to know what people actually using them think and whether they are helping. I dunno, I'm just soooooo sick of taking pills anyway and then we're always adding another then another. It's just frustrating sometimes. But like always, I'll get over my little pity party and go back to life as usual. :-) Thanks Donna. ~Lindy~ > I'm already scared without having talked with anyone about it. Mainly > because of new drugs touted to be wonder drugs then later being pulled [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > > ~Lindy~ Glad I didn't scare you too much Lindy. I can certainly appreciate your frustration with taking pills. I'm taking 7 different prescriptions! If I go on Rituxan, I get to drop one, and later another, if all goes well. I'm a little scared of trying Rituxan. I had a huge reaction to Remicade, & Rituxan is an infusion also. But, on my side is the fact that my son took Rituxan for his autoimmune blood disorder and it put him into remission. I'm hoping it will do the same for me. On the hair issue, mine has also gone from being board straight in my teenage and young adult years to wavy. I don't attribute it to any of my drugs though. My hair stylist said my gray is growing in curly. Maybe it's the drugs causing that though. Who knows? I don't think anyone really knows what these drugs can cause. I'm also very thin on top. I have fine hair which makes it even more noticeable that I have thin hair. I've had to cut my below shoulder-length hair to about at the ear to wear a style that I can do the famous "comb over". Ugh! You know what they said, it it ain't one thing, it's another! Donna Donna said: > Glad I didn't scare you too much Lindy. I can certainly appreciate > your frustration with taking pills. I'm taking 7 different > prescriptions! Tell me about it! Besides the diabetes and the RA, I've also got a pituitary problem which affected my hormones and my thyroid. Add all those meds up and I finally went to the hardware store and bought myself damn near a small tackle box to throw all the pills in to keep them straight. Well I'm exaggerating here (grin), it was just a clear plastic box with tabs you could stick in to make compartments but it sure did resemble a tackle box once I got through with it! >My hair stylist said my gray is growing in curly. > Maybe it's the drugs causing that though. Who knows? I don't think [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > the ear to wear a style that I can do the famous "comb over". Ugh! > You know what they said, it it ain't one thing, it's another! Haaaaaaaaa! Absolutely! ~Lindy~ I got a 4 week series of Rituxan last May [think that is right] and it put the Remicade I take back into control. I also take Arava and prednisone and a slew more. I think the total is up to 21 scripts now. It took about 2 months for the Rituxan to finally kick in and it has been clear sailing since then. Duckie Glad I didn't scare you too much Lindy. I can certainly appreciate > your frustration with taking pills. I'm taking 7 different > prescriptions! If I go on Rituxan, I get to drop one, and later [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > > Donna > I got a 4 week series of Rituxan last May [think that is right] and it > put the Remicade I take back into control. I also take Arava and > prednisone and a slew more. I think the total is up to 21 scripts now. > It took about 2 months for the Rituxan to finally kick in and it has > been clear sailing since then. > Duckie Duckie, Sorry to hear you're the Queen of Iritis, but being a Queen of something is good, isn't it? <g> A friend went with me to the eye clinic when I got the injections and she couldn't believe I sat there and didn't scream or anything. They really weren't that bad, but when I did get outside I did say a few bad words! Did you have any problems with the Rituxan? Did they give you steroids with it? Since I had a reaction to Remicade my doctor said I would need steroids IV before they start the Rituxan. Something has got to help. I did really well on Humira until that whole eye thing made me stop it. I asked my Rheumy if I could go back on it because I felt really well. She said NOOOOO! I'm on Cellcept as my main immunosuppressant along with the MTX and Prednisone and they're not helping much. I have to get a steroid shot IM about every 3 months. Thanks for the info on Rituxan Duckie and Lindy good luck with Humira. Donna I asked my Rheumy if I could go back on it because I felt > really well. She said NOOOOO! I'm on Cellcept as my main > immunosuppressant along with the MTX and Prednisone and they're not > helping much. I have to get a steroid shot IM about every 3 months. > > Thanks for the info on Rituxan Duckie and Lindy good luck with Humira. > Donna Hi Donna,,,, Has your RD told you why you can not go back on a DMARD that worked really well???? Did you have a reaction to it? Harv > I asked my Rheumy if I could go back on it because I felt > > really well. She said NOOOOO! I'm on Cellcept as my main [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > Did you have a reaction to it? > Harv Harv, I can't go back on it because of how it caused vasculitis in my eye. The eye doctor said my vision was at 300/20 before the steroid shot. He said my sight is much more important than my joints. I guess I was on my way to being blind in that eye. They took pictures of my retina and it was interesting to see how the vessels were bleeding and it was leaking into the retina. So no more Humira for me. As for Remicade, I had an allergic reaction when I was getting my 4th infusion. Had the eip pen shot to bring me out of it. Couldn't breathe, blood pressure through the roof, heart racing, rash all over.... Enbrel didn't cause any reaction, but just plan didn't work for me. I was on it for over a year, without much luck. The best DMARD, that worked, was gold shots in 1975. In 1996 I tried again, but didn't work. Tried Ridura and that helped a little. Also in about 1982 I took Plaquenil and it worked for a while. I envy those who can take Enbrel, Remicade or Humira and not have problems. But, that's life. It's better than the alternative. Donna Doesn't she should like KJ and her 'luck' with DMARDS. She was on Kinneret for awhile with some luck but I think she has moved on to something else at this point. Duckie > Harv, > [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > > Donna >I envy those who can take Enbrel, Remicade or Humira and not have >problems. But, that's life. It's better than the alternative. Remicade put me in remission. I can't imagine life without it, it has been my miracle. My Dr said I would have been totally disabled without it. I had no bad reactions to it. -- MZ >> I asked my Rheumy if I could go back on it because I felt >> > really well. She said NOOOOO! I'm on Cellcept as my main [quoted text clipped - 35 lines] > > Donna Thanks Donna for the reply. Gold shots worked really well for me too but I was also taking a strong steroid every day too. Insurance stopped the gold and 3 months later I found out what a full blown flare is all about. I never want to go back to that again,,, ever..... I like your attitude about what is taking place and I wish you the best of luck in whatever to try next. I do not remember anyone going back to gold with success and I did not try it. I do remember that at about the 7-8 year mark of gold use with some people it effects a persons blood,,,, soooo, I never went back to it and for me,,, Enbrel works great. You are not the first to tell this kind of tale with all the medicine problems and efforts to control a persons immune system. You seem to have the same good attitude and will to keep fighting. If all else fails, go for a second opinion from another or with another RD involved while keeping the pressure on to get control. You know better than most of us the cost of not having it. Make every effort to remove any kind of stress from your life and know that there are people here that have you in their prayers. Harv Typical Duckie here -- had no trouble with infusion 1-3 and the first half of infusion 4. Just as they bumped to the final drip speed, I had an allergic reaction. And that was with taking 25mg orally of benedryl before starting. All was stopped and they put in a IV steriod plus iv benedryl -- I think that was right. One of those hurt really really badly. Burned horribly even though they warmed things. She put that one in very very slowly -- burn, wait, burn, wait, burn... Most people who have a reaction will get it in the first dose. Is it mouse protein? Used to remember all this stuff but it has been too long for this shaky memory bank. Duckie >>I got a 4 week series of Rituxan last May [think that is right] and it >>put the Remicade I take back into control. I also take Arava and [quoted text clipped - 22 lines] > Thanks for the info on Rituxan Duckie and Lindy good luck with Humira. > Donna >One of those hurt really really >badly. Burned horribly even though they warmed things. Probably the bendryl it used to burn from my hand to my shoulder. I hated that stuff, thankfully they doesn't use it anymore. I also heard another patient complaining about it. -- MZ > Is it mouse protein? Used to remember all this stuff but it has been too long > for this shaky memory bank. > Duckie Duckie, Your memory isn't that bad. It is mouse protein. My Rheumy said I'm not to take anything else with mouse protein in it. The new Orencia is made differently and I could have tried that, but since my son had such a good response with Rituxan I chose that one. BTW, I think I forgot to say in my original post that the Humiria caused me to have drug-induced Lupus, which then caused the vasculitis of the retina. My labs for Lupus went back to negative after about 6 months. Donna (My memory is bad too!! I don't know if it's the drugs or age!) I have had a couple of those eye injections Donna. Scary as hell but not really painful -- just scary. Usually my eye posts also have the words Gory [or not gory] in the subject head to warn those squeamish ones. lol I have chronic Iritis. Glad you found a specialist and also that Abbott was forthcoming. The Iritis Queen Duckie > Hi. I was on Humira for almost a year when I started loosing sight in > my left eye. It was like having a gray spot in the center of my [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > > Donna Shannon/Plantmistress said: > I have been on Humira since March 22 (a landmark day for me!). I > haven't had any negative side effects (except that the medicine burns > when injected). I had that same problem when I was injecting Gold. I was injecting into my leg at that time and I'd find myself rubbing it a lot. This time I plan to inject into the butt and hope that turns out different. :-) >It is a miracle for me. It put my PA in remission & > finished off the P lesions that the MTX didn't get. I am still taking > MTX, but a lesser dose. He's already tapered me down to 2 tabs/week since the hair thing. I'd just like to be done with it so -- and here's another question I meant to ask -- I can enjoy a glass of wine now and then. Is that allowable with the Humira? > FWIW, I was not having any troubles with excessive hair loss, but some > of my hair had started to change texture (went from thick, straight, > smooth hair to kinky & wiry), but that was while my P was out of > control & before the MTX or Humira. I think it may have had >something to do with either the flakes obscuring the hair follicles, or the > anti-dandruff (& P) meds affecting them, in my case. This hair problem just snuck up on me. My hair is on the thin side as it is and I was growing it out from a really short cut so didn't notice anything going on until it got a little longer and I went in for a trim and my lady said "oh you've gotten a perm" and I said no. She didn't believe me. I went home and looked in the mirror (back of my head) and sure enough, there were some waves. At first I was happy because I've always had completely straight hair and always wished for curls! Then a couple of months later I asked my sister to give me another trim and I couldn't convince here that I hadn't had a perm. And by now I was able to pull my hair back into a ponytail which is when I noticed how thin it had gotten on the sides. My sis started looking at my whole head and it wasn't even at all - just the underneath parts of my hair are kinky. The top layer was still completely straight. It was like having a bad perm. That's when I knew something was going on and I had an appointment with the dermatologist anyway so asked her about it when I saw her. She knew exactly what it was - said certain drugs can load up in your system and it more or less torques the hair follicles and the hair grows in kinky in certain areas. After all these years of wishing for curly hair I can't believe I only want my straight-as-a-broomstick hair back!! > Good luck with the Humira - I hope it works for you! Thank you Shannon. I'm really looking forward to getting this RA back under control. ~Lindy~ > That's when I >knew something was going on and I had an appointment with the dermatologist >anyway so asked her about it when I saw her. She knew exactly what it was - >said certain drugs can load up in your system and it more or less torques >the hair follicles and the hair grows in kinky in certain areas. Aha! I think you have just answered one of my unspoken questions! My hair has turned 'curly' in a couple of spots and it has always been straight. I asked my RD if it could be due to any of the meds I am on for RA and he didn't think so, but after reading your post I think it must be the MTX or Plaquenil or something. Personally I suspect the MTX. Thank you. :-) --- Joan Joan said: > Aha! I think you have just answered one of my unspoken questions! My > hair has turned 'curly' in a couple of spots and it has always been > straight. I asked my RD if it could be due to any of the meds I am on for > RA and he didn't think so, but after reading your post I think it must be > the MTX or Plaquenil or something. Personally I suspect the MTX. > Thank you. :-) Oh my gosh!! I wish I had figured it out last year when it first started changing. Mine is just totally out of control now and such a mess to try to do anything with other than pulling it back into a ponytail. I'm thinking it is the MTX too since there has been no change after dropping the Arava. Speaking of Plaquenil, how are you doing on that? I took that about 20 years ago and it gave me the weirdest feeling -- sort of out-of-body like. Couldn't wait to get off it. ~Lindy~ As far as Humira goes, I'm about to do my 5th injection just as soon as I get over whatever stomach bug grabbed me yesterday. It isn't working yet, but also have had no side effects. Well, maybe. I keep thinking that my vision is weird but then when I'm about to check into it, it seems normal again. I will get it checked and let you know if there is any Humira/vision connection. My hair went from thick poker straight shiny bouncy to still thick but not so much as before, slightly wavy underneath to wavy and frizzy all over. Started about 8-9 years ago which was one year into my mtx use. Also tho, I am quite gray and I find that altho nothing stops the curl, keeping it colored every 2-4 weeks helps the frizz. Of course, I don't find the time to color that often so mostly I have frizz, controlled somewhat by the curling iron I use to straighten it after blow drying--then add the "right" curls. >Joan said: > [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > > ~Lindy~ Kris said: > As far as Humira goes, I'm about to do my 5th injection just as soon as > I get over whatever stomach bug grabbed me yesterday. It isn't > working yet, but also have had no side effects. Well, maybe. I keep > thinking that my vision is weird but then when I'm about to check into it, > it seems normal again. I will get it checked and let you know if there is >any Humira/vision connection. Okay, this is something to be on the lookout for. And are you saying even a stomach bug means you have to stop the Humira? It sounds like you have to be real careful with this stuff. > My hair went from thick poker straight shiny bouncy to still thick but not > so much as before, slightly wavy underneath to wavy and frizzy all over. > Started about 8-9 years ago which was one year into my mtx use. Oh my gosh! I'm just so happy to hear it's not just me!! Now if mine would just frizz up all over instead of just the underneath parts, I'd be so much happier with it. Please let me know about the vision problem. What exactly do you mean by "weird"? I'm so used to letting things go that I'm not sure I would figure out right away that it's something I should be concerned about. ~Lindy~ I don't think you really want the kink and frizz all over. I was happier when it just underneath. I thought it'd be neat to have curly hair after all those years of straight, but it's not a pretty curl. More like a perm gone wrong and when it's humid, it could scare small children. Heck, last week we went to the ocean and when we came back from a short stroll on the beach I scared myself when I looked in the mirror at all that frizz and erratic curling. The vision thing--sometimes it's like I have a film over one eye--and it's not always the same eye. It's sorta like when you get gunk in your eye when you have a cold or something and you can rub or blink it away. Only this doesn't blink away. Sometimes I can't see the tv clearly from the spot I always watch from and then all of a sudden, it will be fine again. So, I have to get my eyes checked. But, my employer just changed vision plans and my eye place doesn't take this ins. and neither does my husband's eye place. I can go to any Walmart vision center that I want--trouble is, I don't want any of them. So I am researching to find a good place that also is covered by my ins. I might just go to one out of network and pay for it myself. I had a stomach bug that started Monday nite--the runs, throwing up, slight headache, very sleepy and week.. This went on through Tuesday which is when my Humira shot was due. I called my rheumy and they said no humira til I feel better. I'm guessing that it's because the Hum. will suppress my imm. system and I need it in full gear to fight off the bug. Anyway, much better now, so I will do the shot tonite. I haven't read a lot of posts here, so forgive me if I'm repeating something. Do you all know that Hum shot stings less if you leave it out of the fridge for a half hour or so before you inject? Then also kind of roll it between your hands to warm it up a bit more. >Kris said: > [quoted text clipped - 22 lines] > > ~Lindy~ > The vision thing--sometimes it's like I have a film over one eye--and it's > not always the same eye. It's sorta like when you get gunk in your eye when [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > any of them. So I am researching to find a good place that also is covered > by my ins. I might just go to one out of network and pay for it myself. Kris, My uneducated opinion is that you should get to an eye doctor. Not an optomist, an opthalmologist. Before my vision went tunnel on me, I had an overall darkening of sight. I guess that's how I could term it. But if I would close my right eye and just look through the left, I would have a gray spot right in the middle of my vision. They said that symptom is also indictative of a torn or detached retina. But that wasn't the case with me. To be on the safe side, I'd get it checked out. Let us know what you find out. Okay? Donna Kris said: > I don't think you really want the kink and frizz all over. I was happier > when it just underneath. I thought it'd be neat to have curly hair after all [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > on the beach I scared myself when I looked in the mirror at all that frizz > and erratic curling. Oh my gosh! Another one! I was thinking I was the only one! I'm not happy you're having the same hair problem but I'm thrilled to know it's not just me. Ten to one if I had gone to the Rheumatologist before I went to the Dermatologist he'd have looked at me like I was stupid. > Do you all know that Hum shot stings less if you leave it out of the fridge > for a half hour or so before you inject? Then also kind of roll it between > your hands to warm it up a bit more. Glad to hear this. My insulin is the same way. Stings when it's cold but nothing when it's room temp. ~Lindy~ > Okay, this is something to be on the lookout for. And are you saying even > a stomach bug means you have to stop the Humira? It sounds like you have to > be real careful with this stuff. I'm not on humira, but rather on enbrel. My RD says to stop it with any "infection" but I stop it with any virus because I shift into an infection quite easily. I always tell them on my next appointment if I've had to stop it and they've never told me to do otherwise. I was wallopped with a stomach bug Wed. eve - seem mostly over it except for feeling like a steamroller ran over me, aching wise that is. But I am NOT shooting up today - may do my enbrel a day or two late if I feel *really* recovered this weekend. Clarify when to skip a shot or two with your RD, but the general rule is that it's better to skip one or two when getting over something else than to risk developing a life-threatening infection. SignatureNann remove the Gator cheer to email me Simply the thing I am shall make me live --- William Shakespeare Lindy, I've been on Humira 18 months with good results. I had to delay twice once with bronchistis last Sept and also flu in Feb 06. I have to be careful in public caught the flu from a school field trip with my son. DX Feb 2004 with RA now 52. Humira working great for me so far. I don't know if it's me but it seems like it has a cumlitive effect over time with me. My average time between injections avg 18-20 days. Yes and I agree let the Humira warm a little before use and sometimes I rub a little benadryl jel on the injection site. Wishing you well. Rich > Just wondering what Humira users experiences have been? I've had RA since > 1973, been on tons and tons of different meds for these last 33 years, the [quoted text clipped - 33 lines] > > ~Lindy~ Rich said: > DX Feb 2004 with RA now 52. Humira working great for me so far. > I don't know if it's me but it seems like it has a cumlitive effect over >time with me. My average time between injections avg 18-20 days. Oh wow! Don't know why but I was expecting 2 or 3 times a week. I would love it if I end up doing what you're doing!! Still nervous about the whole thing but can't wait to get started. ~Lindy~ Hi Lindy, I've been on Humira for about a year. The first couple of injections, I thought I had died and gone to heaven. I was almost pain free, could stride across a room like I hadn't been able to do in years. I really felt blessed. However, that didn't last too long, less than a month maybe. I am not even sure now that I am getting any benefit from it. I am going to discuss getting off of it because I do think the risks are outweighing the benefits at this point. I encourage you to try it though, you may be one of the ones that it lasts for and you deserve the glorious feeling of remission even if does not last. (Although I sure hope it does) I have not had any side effects except a whopping injection site burning and swelling. I called the company and they gave some good advice that really worked. I ice the site for 15 minutes before the shot and take the shot out of the refrigerator for 15 min before I inject it. It cut the reaction in half and now I really don't get it at all but I am still icing and taking the shot out early. I won't tempt fates. Use the 800 number with questions, they were so kind and helpful. I also take mtx, plaquenil, low dose prednisone. My hair is thin on the crown, but it has actually gotten straighter...I have always had curly, wavy hair. Strange thing. Good luck to you. It really is worth a try. Rosanne > Just wondering what Humira users experiences have been? I've had RA since > 1973, been on tons and tons of different meds for these last 33 years, the [quoted text clipped - 25 lines] > > ~Lindy~ Rosanne said: > I've been on Humira for about a year. The first couple of injections, I > thought I had died and gone to heaven. I was almost pain free, could > stride across a room like I hadn't been able to do in years. I really felt > blessed. Oh my gosh! What I wouldn't give to feel pain free! > However, that didn't last too long, less than a month maybe. I am not > even sure now that I am getting any benefit from it. I am going to > discuss getting off of it because I do think the risks are outweighing >the benefits at this point. Wow, that's not very long at all. But I do agree with you that the risks outweigh the benefits if you're still having problems. It's really scarey stuff, especially the lymphoma risk. > I have not had any side effects except a whopping injection site burning > and swelling. I called the company and they gave some good advice > that really worked. I ice the site for 15 minutes before the shot and take > the shot out of the refrigerator for 15 min before I inject it. It cut the > reaction in half and now I really don't get it at all but I am still icing and >taking the shot out early. I won't tempt fates. Use the 800 number with > questions, they were so kind and helpful. Good info to know. Thanks. > I also take mtx, plaquenil, low dose prednisone. My hair is thin on the > crown, but it has actually gotten straighter...I have always had curly, > wavy hair. Strange thing. Definitely strange! This hair thing really has me snockered. So I guess whatever you normally had, it goes completely opposite. Strange indeed. > Good luck to you. It really is worth a try. Thanks for the info Rosanne. ~Lindy~ |
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