My 20 year old daughter was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis and Psoriasis in her teens, and has recently been diagnosed with Psoriatic Arthritis. Her rheumatologist wants her to start taking Humira. Everything that I have read about it scares me. I really hate the thought of her taking it, but at the same time I hate seeing her in pain. Another concern is that while the pain is really bad on occasion, most of the time she seems to be able to deal with it, so I wonder if there are possibly some safer alternatives. She is very active (exercise science and sports performance major, also works as a personal trainer). She is obviously worried that years from now she will not be able to remain active. Her doctor has told her that the Humira can prevent further damage to her joints, so she is sold. I have read that following a strict vegan diet high in antioxidants works better than drugs for a lot of people. We are both already "meatless" so giving up dairy shouldn't be difficult. Anyway, my questions are:
1. To anyone taking Humira, what sort of results are you getting and have you had any serious side effects.
Diet can be helpful for some people in keeping overall inflammation down, but. . . The disease will likely progress, and needs to be directly treated. A lot of people say, fear the disease, not the drugs. And it's not just limited to her joints, psoriatic arthritis is a disease that can cause inflammation throughout the entire body. Plus, won't the Humira control both diseases? Do your research, but the more controlled the disease is, the less disability she will face in the long term.
Hi, I started taking Humira 2 1/2 months ago and it has not helped my symptoms and don't have any side effects either. I have an app't with my doctor next week to look for a new med.
I have read several studies that show that accupuncture helps psoriatic arthritis - I'm not really a believer in alternative medicine but I'm going to try it. My sister who has Lupus said it helps her much.
I hope you will continue to use this board for support and help - everyone on here is great !
I'm on Enbrel. It's similar to Humira. For me it works perfectly. It's been 15 months and I'm forgetting what PsA felt like and I've had no side effects.
Don't be afraid of the biologics. They're powerful drugs, so respect them, but don't be afraid. They're quite safe and they can work incredibly well.
You said that you've read studies that show acupuncture can help psoriatic arthritis. While I'm well aware that acupuncture can be useful in pain control, I have never seen that it is useful for treating the disease directly. Do you have something to the contrary?
Frances said:
Hi, I started taking Humira 2 1/2 months ago and it has not helped my symptoms and don't have any side effects either. I have an app't with my doctor next week to look for a new med.
I have read several studies that show that accupuncture helps psoriatic arthritis - I'm not really a believer in alternative medicine but I'm going to try it. My sister who has Lupus said it helps her much.
I hope you will continue to use this board for support and help - everyone on here is great !
I don't remember the details of the study but can research again - it may only help with the pain. I haven't tried it, but plan to in the near future, so I can write back with my experience. And I'm skeptical that it will help.
I know how difficult it must be for you to have an ill daughter. I know it is hard on my Mom - she doesn't tell me but my brother tells me often how upset and concerned she is about me and my sister who has Lupus. Let us know if there is anything we can do to support you.
The drugs are scary. I was on a lot of meds for various things in my childhood, and spent my late teens and twenties off of all drugs and as a vegetarian / vegan. Diet was of minimal help to my PsA. I now get Remicade infusions, and am SO thankful it works for me. I am able to be much more active, and it keeps me out of a wheelchair and I don't have to use canes much at all (I have overly aggressive PsA/spondylitis and have damage to almost every joint in my body as well as connective tissue issues). I'm hoping to get back to hiking when the weather warms up (we're several hours into a blizzard here in CT at the moment, so that's a while off! LOL).
Please do your research if you decide to go vegan. You need to make sure you combine proteins appropriately to get complete proteins your body can use. B vitamin deficiency (B6 and B12) are common in people with PsA, so getting levels checked is VERY important in vegans and vegetarians with PsA, as B12 is found in meats/eggs and doesn't have a good plant source.
Thank you all for your advice and support! She is supposed to start the Humira in about two weeks, so hearing from people who are having good results with biologics does give a little peace of mind. :) nym -- I hope you still have power! I'm also in CT. We already have over a foot of snow, but we still have power so we're good!