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Weight gain with Humira

Has anyone gained a considerable amount of weight on Humira? I gained 70 pounds in my first year on Humira, and I understand that foods used to go straight through me and I was malnourished etc, but this abrupt gain is upsetting me. I eat good and I go to boot camp every day and I can not loose this weight. My GI told me that Humira does not cause weight gain. He also says it does not contribute to me catching colds and flus all the time too.
 
Well Humira itself probably wont, but the reducing the inflammation that causes food to go straight through will! I've put on weight. The only thing is to eat less and/or boost your metabolism to burn the calories you do eat.
 
After I had surgery and went on humira, I did the same thing I gained 50 lbs or so which I have never been over weight even eating the way I do. It was really fast too, which is weird. They say its cause I am not flaring but I don't know I never gained weight like this before.
 
My fitness trainer has crohns and we share the same GI and when she took my weight gain to him and said she didnt want to try Humira because of the weight gain he told her she was too active to gain weight and that it wouldnt happen to her.... it will be interesting to see if she trusts him or not....
 
The weight gain could be due to not flaring. When I am flaring I lose weight like mad. When I am not flaring it all comes back. This has happened to me several times. I had Surgery in October 2010. By March I had gained about 40 lbs. (Luckily I had lost 40+lbs previous to the surgery, so I am just back to where I was. The only thing that changed was the diseased bowel being removed.
 
Humira weight gain

Juicy and Tanya, I feel your pain. My Crohn's went undiagnosed for quite some time, and I lost over 40 pounds during that period. Prednisone seemed to help, but I gained weight and was very puffy, sweat like a maniac in my sleep, and had to pee nonstop. I knew it was only a band-aid and not my maintenance medicine. I was put on Asacol, but since I have extreme difficulty swallowing pills (I even hired a hypnotist to help), I quit that medication and was unable to determine if it worked. Point is, it didn't work for me. Then my rhumatologist suggested Humira, and the results were astounding. My health had a complete turnaround. I finally could eat and live my life again, and without pills! The shots hurt like holy hell, but once every two weeks is doable.

I started Humira in April of 2010. Since then, I have gained 40 pounds. I'm not back to where I was by any means, because at my heaviest during my steroid use, I knew I was retaining water weight that didn't reflect my true number or size. Now, I'm bigger than ever. I work out 4 or more days a week and eat much healthier than ever, but I can't seem to drop it. Even during flares, when everything runs through me and I expect to see shrinkage, I stay the same. When I see pictures of myself, I think I look puffy or bloated again--I know that's not what I'm supposed to look like. All I can think of is the Humira, and I'm equally frustrated since all of the literature suggests it does not contribute to weight gain (if anything, they say to look out for weight loss). I'm nervous that this trend will continue to build my weight up even more over time as I continue with Humira. If you find any answers, I hope you will share.
 
Sorry, I'm the opposite! I've lost nearly 20kg on Humira. I was quite overweight from prednisolone and the insatiable appetite that comes with it, but since starting Humira my appetite has become normal again. Helps that I'm now able to get out and exercise too!

I'd say most of the weight gain is from your bowel healing and being able to absorb things again...even though it seems like a huge amount in one hit. If you're flaring, your calorie absorption for the day might be 5-600, but if you're not, it would likely be around 12-1500. Also, your BMR is likely to be much higher when you're flaring as your body is in overdrive, whereas it would settle to a normal rate when you're not in a flare.
 
I've been on Humira since Feb. 2013 and keep on gaining weight! I was 115 when I started and now weigh around 135! I haven't been this fat since my pregnancies and I don't enjoy it all. My GI doc says I'm just becoming a normal person again who should watch what they eat. Haha. I work out 3-4 times a week, but still not losing any blubber!:eek:
 
Same here! I gained 20 lbs since starting Humira last year. But I was emaciated at the time so regaining the weight is a good thing. The first few months were THE BEST. I've been eating like a starved fiend. But I definitely need to start paying attention to my diet and start exercising to avoid getting out of shape.

Tanya, have you tried mixing up your exercise regimen? Or perhaps make some changes to your diet? Our metabolism changes as we age, so that may be a contributing factor too.
 
I am glad (well not really) to see that others using Humira are struggling with weight gain. I have had Crohn's since 1988 and had a complete Colectomy in 2003. I fought flare after flare until I started Humira just a little over a year ago. I haven't felt better ...except I am up 2 sizes! I initially thought it was because things were being absorbed better in my body (YEAH) but at the price of gaining 25 pounds...UGH! If anyone finds a good and healthy way to take some weight off, please share! Signed, fat and not liking it!
 
Hello! I've been on humira for 6 months now and since staring treatment my weight has been the heaviest it's ever been, despite my clean eating and regular exercise. It's driving me crazy!!! So I have been talking to a Dr and she had a very interesting explanation for my weight gain...... Humira doesn't "stop" the body producing inflammation (tumour necrosis factor), it just blocks the receptors that the inflammation would normally "attach" to and start causing inflammation. The inflammation is still circulating through the body with no where to "attach" to. And when there is excess TNF floating around the body, the body's natural protective mechanism is to retain weight. I know this isn't a technical explanation but It's how I understand it. So now I'm seriously considering ceasing humira treatment.
Much love
Megan x
 
Well that is frustrating for sure. I have to say that I do feel the best I have ever felt so I don't think stopping it would be a good idea. Especially knowing the extent of my disease. But really appreciate the explanation. They should probably add "weight gain" to their side affects listing. Take care Megan and thanks again!
 
Laughter is good medicine. I'm with you, not stopping my meds because I gained weight, although I was convinced it was from my blood pressure medication. Don't worry a lot about it - worry causes inflammation. Have a cookie. :D
 
The weight gain could be due to not flaring. When I am flaring I lose weight like mad. When I am not flaring it all comes back. This has happened to me several times. I had Surgery in October 2010. By March I had gained about 40 lbs. (Luckily I had lost 40+lbs previous to the surgery, so I am just back to where I was. The only thing that changed was the diseased bowel being removed.
Just a random question, I am eating like crazy but not gaining weight and I'm having no symtoms of my crohns coming back, does it mean I'm flaring cause I feel like food is not absorbing at all. Just wondering if anyone knows! I really want to put on some weight :(
 
Just wondering if you have had your thyroid checked? If you are not having diarrhea and you area eating a lot, that only stands to reason that it has to be something other than your Crohns. I'm no doctor, of course, but hey - it's worth an ask to the doc. Kinda wish that was my problem. HA I LOOK at food and it attaches to my butt! HAHA:ylol:
 
I have been using Humira for almost 2 years and six months ago the dose was increased to weekly. It has only been the last 10 days that I am suddenly gaining weight daily. It is very uncomfortable to say the least and none of my clothes fit. This is the heaviest I have ever been including while on Prednisone for several years. My diet/intake has not changed nor has my level of activity. Frustrating!
 
I'm still 10-12 lbs less than I was a year ago, but at least Humira is helping me slowly gain it back. Maybe I'll even be able to top my old weight cap from when I was on Remicade. That might be nice.
 
I think weight gain a real side effect. Although for me it was more minor and slow. With the healing we will gain weight and the doctors love that because they can see and quantify the change. My Eating habits were terrible when I first started recovery on Humira, due to the need to retain calories with Crohns. So that helped the weight gain. After the first 6 months I got my eating habits back to a normal amount of calories and still there is a tendancy to put on weight on the drug. It is very hard for me to lose weight now but I can with 3-4 workout/week and controlled calorie counts. Also weight and lbs are not evil to me, after you go through a Crohns ordeal extra weight can be a literal lifer saver, it helps put those extra lbs in focus.

Dx'd JAN ,3/2013
Meds: AZA, Lialdo .. almost no effect
LDN - 4 months - mild help,
Preg - 1 year on/off - good effect
humira 2.5 years - remission
 
Ugh! Glad to see an answer to my question on here. So frustrated with the weight gain-- thankful to be healthy....BUT these extra pounds need to go!
 
Hi. I'm new to the forum. Just reasearching humira. I've seen half a dozen gi doctors over the course of twelve years all of which always told me to take biologics. I've always avoided them for fear of side effects but I think it's time I got my life back and will start next week on humira.
I'm actually looking forward to the weight gain. I'm not skinny by no means but hard to eat when you cannot digest anything.
Any help or advice you guys /girls have would be appreciated
Keith
 
After my surgery in 2010, I was put on Humira. As far as side effects.... what side effects. I had no side effects from Humira what so ever. It put me in remission and I got my life back. After about five years it started to slip up and I was slowly getting Crohns symptoms again. We tried to go to weekly injections, but my insurance company would not approve it, so I was switched to Entyvio. Humira was a very good medicine.

By the way, I have had no side effects from Entyvio either. The side effects of biologics sound awful, but I believe very few patients get the worst side effects. More likely to see injection site reactions from Humira than the other stuff. I hope the med works for you.
 
Thanks for the reply. It eases my fear a little.
After my surgery in 2010, I was put on Humira. As far as side effects.... what side effects. I had no side effects from Humira what so ever. It put me in remission and I got my life back. After about five years it started to slip up and I was slowly getting Crohns symptoms again. We tried to go to weekly injections, but my insurance company would not approve it, so I was switched to Entyvio. Humira was a very good medicine.

By the way, I have had no side effects from Entyvio either. The side effects of biologics sound awful, but I believe very few patients get the worst side effects. More likely to see injection site reactions from Humira than the other stuff. I hope the med works for you.
 
Hi. I'm new to the forum. Just reasearching humira. I've seen half a dozen gi doctors over the course of twelve years all of which always told me to take biologics. I've always avoided them for fear of side effects but I think it's time I got my life back and will start next week on humira.
I'm actually looking forward to the weight gain. I'm not skinny by no means but hard to eat when you cannot digest anything.
Any help or advice you guys /girls have would be appreciated
Keith
Hi I I am also new to this forum, I just started Humira One week ago. And I’ve gained 2 pounds I know it sounds crazy, but after reading everybody’s comments I hope I don’t gain every week.
 
I started Humira 5 weeks ago, and have also been on a prednisone taper during that time. I have not noticed any weight gain at all. Hope it stays that way because I only just lost all my baby weight a few mo that ago.
 
I have gained so much weight. I workout eat well and if I don’t do it every day I gain. I also constantly get sick. This is the first time since May I haven’t had a sinus, ear or respiratory infection. I have had a cough since June. I want off of this drug, because I’m still having bathroom issues. I have anxiety with this drug and depression. I’m not sure if it’s worth all the side effects.
 
Among the side effects I have from Humira is psoriasis. Sometimes it is aggressive and very bothersome, sometimes not. I went through several dermatologists before I found one who had a topical medicine that worked. Ironically his first suggestion was Humira. How does it help some people and cause the problem in another? The doc was incredulous, assuming I was wrong, but I know how and when it started. Its also plainly listed as a side effect.

Another side effect is that my joints started bothering me almost immediately. Here's another case where Humira is prescribed to help this condition, but it caused it in me. I know because I was golfing regularly before going on this med, and then swinging and even walking got harder and harder.

This is another testimony about what a snarling tiger Crohn's is for all of is. I have been luckier than most, but it's an unrelenting pain in the butt. I gain weight sometimes too, but then I drink coffee or eat ice cream (which I'm not supposed to do) and me and Mr. D get reacquainted. He's never far away.
 

Lynda Lynda

Member
Man, I.thought it was the 6mp that was causing me to gain weight! Now you say it can be Humira !! I am taking Humira too. I should be off my 6mp in 2 weeks but remain on the Humira. I have gained 12 pounds in 12 weeks. I cried about my weight gain the other day because in 2016 I lost 30 pounds and felt good after that weight loss. Now I am gainiing weight and bloated constantly. And I had diarrhea for years, well, hell, I've been constipated for two days now. I can't figure this out. Geez.
 
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