Humira?? | Arthritis Information

I've been taking Humira about 14 months now.  It's working very well with no noticeable side effects.  It's not perfect...I still get occasional flares and it tends to fade about a couple days before each injection, but it makes a huge difference.

Good luck, Alan

Hi and welcome! I am actually on my second go-round with Humira. I was taking last summer and I was having bad site reactions and still flaring. I switched to Remicade which was working nicely untill I started having allergic reactions to the infusions. With only Rituxin and Orencia left for me to try, I decided instead to come back to Humira. This time I am using the Humira Pen which I think has just about replaced the original method of using pre-filled syringes. The pen is nice because you pinch up some belly fat and press the plastic canister against your skin. Then you push or click the pen and the needle pops in to your skin and it injects the medicine very cleanly. When you remove the pen from your skin the needle automatically retracts. Typically the company will send you alcohol preps, bandaids, a bio-hazard box and detailed instructions with the med.

Site reactions are the most common side effect, however I havent had any since using the pen. The site reactions are just red/itchy rashes that appear around the site. You can use topical or oral antihistamines to take care of them.  The Humira doesnt have the side effects that you see so often with the DMARDS like MTX.

From my experience and in talking to people with RA over the past year and a half about Humira, the side effects are pretty rare. I have encountered few people who couldnt take it. For most it just either works or it doesnt, but if it does work most people start seeing results in as few as 2 and sometimes even 1 dose. I do hear many people say, as Alan did, that it starts wearing off some a few days before the next dose is due. Mine sure does, but still...it is great. OH yeah..a few people get a bit fatigued on injection day.  I know Liz (Grammaskittles) has to take her injection day as a sleepy day cuz it really zonks her out.

I hope this helps put you at ease with it...I havent heard any real horror stories on this med and know quite a few peeps who have had success with it. I felt okay with it enough to give it a second chance and I am glad I did.

I really hope you get good results with it, and that you stick around at let us know how it is working out.  And since you are new here...just so you know, we do have a bit of drama on this board from time to time...best to just bypass it. There are lots of great people here with a load of experience and knowledge to share!

I love my humira and have had good results with it.  If it wasn't for the humira I would most likely be in a wheelchair by now.  I haven't had any real bad side effects from it.  I use it in combo wih mtx and I am a little tired the day after my injection.  That is more the mtx than the humira tho.