I am going to be switched from enbrel to humira please tell me it has worked well for some of you. I am worried about side effects and long term use of this medication. If people have been on it for years I would like to know. I am hesitant to change but enbrel has not worked for me.
Scienceteach, why are you more worried about Humira than Enbrel? To all intents and purposes they are different breeds of horse but both out the same stable so I'm wondering what has you specially concerned. Humira works well for many people but I know from my rheumy it can be a bit of a slow starter for some patients. I suspect that it might have just been showing a glimmer of hope for me when it was stopped ... I switched to Simponi which I've been on over two years now.
I guess because if you look up safety information about humira it seems there have been more lawsuits filed. I was scared about enbrel too.
I've been on it nearly 2 years. It's fine, no probs, & for me it's a really marvellous treatment for PsA.
If there are more lawsuits etc. that may be because it's used even more widely than Enbrel .... I don't know if it is but that could explain it. I think it's very commonly used to treat Crohn's Disease or possibly other inflammatory bowel diseases ... might possibly be the bio of choice for severe psoriasis too. In any case, we cling to the devil we know, or I do anyway! I'd say take the plunge & get acquainted. I hope it works brilliantly for you too.
I think you're right, Sybil, it is the most widely used (I've read some stats somewhere I'll need to try to remember where) and it's definitely the bio for Crohn's etc and psoriasis.
At the end of the day we all have to make our own choices about which treatments to take or not. When I had to make the bio decisions I looked at the only thing that I had a handle on at that time which was the pain and disability that I already had from PsA.
So asking myself if I could live with how I was then or getting worse for the rest of my life (hopefully another 30+ years), helped made it a straightforward decision to give myself the best possible chance of improvement.
Ladies thank you for all of your insight. I will be making the switch soon once it goes through insurance. I just needed assurance and I thank you.
It seems I'm late to the party here, but I did want to let you know that I absolutely loved Humira. It, and Remicade, were my best meds and I did well for quite a while on them. I hope you have the same response and are able to start feeling better soon. It is so frustrating when a new med doesn't work, so I am sorry that your first one didn't work out for you.
Hi Scienceteach! Another gal late for the part but was in the exact same predicament just 5-6 months ago. Enbrel just never worked for me I spent 5 months thinking and analyzing everything hoping if I felt better even for a day it was working. Then on to to humira which was the best med yet! I was falling asleep at work, still in pain and now developing foot damage that was found with just an X-ray. My original problem was ribs and chest and those took an MRI to see it and was minor but in about a year time my feet took for front. Moving on is good because prevention is best. I can now touch the floor again, walk enough to work, have only had one hand flare and my toe nails are growing back normal!! I do not fall asleep everytime I sit down now either. I am not perfect and still have complaints but my life is so much better. Less site reaction but the pen has a little more kick to it during injection but for the 5 second pain I have nothing but good things to say. Hope it works well for you. Always remember you can always quit a drug but you can never know how much it can benefit you without trying it. Take care and this is good news!
I hope I have the same results as you. I have been on enbrel such January and I have not felt any better. I hope the switch will work and I hope quickly. I have so much pain in my feet, hip, hands, back, and neck. I can not currently walk and my chest hurts terribly too. I am so glad you shared your story with me. I am hoping to get some improvement.
Rachael said:
Hi Scienceteach! Another gal late for the part but was in the exact same predicament just 5-6 months ago. Enbrel just never worked for me I spent 5 months thinking and analyzing everything hoping if I felt better even for a day it was working. Then on to to humira which was the best med yet! I was falling asleep at work, still in pain and now developing foot damage that was found with just an X-ray. My original problem was ribs and chest and those took an MRI to see it and was minor but in about a year time my feet took for front. Moving on is good because prevention is best. I can now touch the floor again, walk enough to work, have only had one hand flare and my toe nails are growing back normal!! I do not fall asleep everytime I sit down now either. I am not perfect and still have complaints but my life is so much better. Less site reaction but the pen has a little more kick to it during injection but for the 5 second pain I have nothing but good things to say. Hope it works well for you. Always remember you can always quit a drug but you can never know how much it can benefit you without trying it. Take care and this is good news!
I had similar results to Rachael's. At the time, my psoriasis was horrid, and within a week of starting Humira the plaques had lost all of the scaling, within 2 weeks they were just red patches, within 3 months they were pale pink, and completely gone within 6 months. I noticed a reduction in inflammation overall within a month. I was AMAZED. Hopefully, your body is as responsive as ours were.
I hope this one works for you, Scienceteach. You have been struggling for some time now. It's your turn to get some relief!
Thanks everyone I hope it works it has been a year now of feeling pretty lousy and 5 months since diagnosis. So I am hopeful.