Coming off Humira

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Aug 4, 2011
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I have been on Humira for the last three years. I have not had a flare of any sort since I have been on the drug but was put on it after only having two flares ever. I'm not sure if maybe my doctor jumped the gun and maybe I shouldn't be on so strong of medicine. Part of me really wants to come off of Humira to see if I stay in remission. I just don't like the idea of putting all these drugs into my body. I stayed on the drug while I was pregnant with my son but would really like to be off of it when I have my next child so I can breastfeed (not enough data out there to make me feel comfortable breastfeeding).
Any toughts on what I should do or how I should go about doing it?
 
I am not on Humira but have been discussing it with my doc and according to him you should stay on Humira until it stops working. He says you can't stop it and then start up again because the body will fight off the Humira the next time. I would suggest discussing it with your doc before stopping use.
 
This is my first post, I'm a lurker. But wanted to give some info that I have. My sister had a perfectly healthy baby on Humira and she breastfeeds. It is true that there isn't a lot of info out there about it but this is what her doctors have said. Humira is injected instead of taken orally because your stomach acids would destroy it. So if some Humira is in your breastmilk it stands to reason that your baby's stomach would do the same thing to any miniscule amount that does get in there. And remember that Humira is a pregnancy drug category B which is very mild. Her pediatrician expressed some concerns but admitted he didn't know much about it but agreed that there are many chemicals in formula too and as long as my sister was comfortable with it he would support her. (I'm not against formula by the way, I used it with my daughter after 4mths of bf'ing)

I am starting Humira soon, maybe next week, and I have the same concerns as I would like to have another baby and breastfeed as well. But I think it's better to be in remission and on Humira than risk a flare during pregnancy. So it would be my opinion that you should stay on Humira and maybe when you feel your family is complete try to come off of it if you want.

Also, just in the interest of throwing out information, my sister saw an infectious disease specialist regarding live vaccines for babies exposed to biologics in utero (there is some info out there that they shouldn't receive these until 1yr) and was told all is okay. So, I think a lot of info is out there in cautionary terms that sometimes it overcomplicates things.
 

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