Does Humira come in pill form

[Chad K]

I was recently diagnosed with Crohn's this year, and since then it has been a nightmare. 4 hospital stays, was hospitalized for about an entire month recently on feeding tubes through IV, test after test, had surgery etc. You can view my other posts in the "Your Story" section about the recent pain I have been going through.

Anyways, I just got done taking my shot of Enbrel which I use for my Ankylosing Spondylitis, which is not fun taking, but it helps. I have several questions but will try and make it short. If anyone out there can answer any of these questions, it doesn't have to be all, it would greatly help me out! Sorry if some of them don't make a lot of sense, I am tired right now but really wanted to post this.

1. For people taking Humira, what are the worse side effects you have experienced? I'm taking Enbrel and want to switch to Humira because I hear it treats BOTH Ankylosing Spondylitis and Crohn's, where as Enbrel I am told only treats the AS. I also want off Enbrel because I am scared of the side effects, and have read online about a lot of people taking this drug getting more sick. I often wonder if this drug caused me to get Crohn's.

2.If you look at my signature you can see a list of meds that I am on. Are there any new meds out there that you can recommed that are working really well for you? Im scared taking my enbrel, and scared about humira and remicade just because I don't want them to make me worse. My dad has MS and I would hate to get that disease as well. I have enough disease to deal with. Is there anything you are trying that has been working better for you than you thought to treat your condition?

3.Being on these immunosuppressants, has anyone else became a clean freak? Now that I am on these drugs that lower your immune system, I am constantly cleaning and scrubbing and getting paranoid just about being outside and around people and car pollution. It is driving me nuts. Everything has to be as clean as possible. If I see a crumb on my table or a smudge on the floor I think "theres bacteria all over that which can harm me" so I am trying to keep everything as clean as possible. Is this normal? Anyone else become this way since you've been on immunosuppresants?

4. Humira or Enbrel in a Pill form? When I was in the hospital I mentioned to one of the doctors that I take Enbrel by injection, and he looked at me and said "isn't that available though now in a pill?" I looked online but didn't see much info about this, has anyone heard of Enbrel or Humira types of drugs in pill forms?




I know I have a lot more questions, this is all I can think of right now. I know they are kind of random. I see my GI tomorrow and am hoping he has some answers for me as well. He doesn't like me on Enbrel due to the side effects, and I think he believes that the Enbrel may have caused my Crohn's.

My life has just been a nightmare. All I want is a normal life. I have my own place now with my loving girlfriend and a great full time job... then suddenly the Crohns and AS take over. Life was going good and then I took a big fall. I am staying strong and staying positive and fighting through this. Its not easy having this bag connected to my stomach, all these scars. I have another surgery that will be happening when they reverse my iliostomy. I hope and pray that my health will improve more and more each day.

Thank you for your time and God Bless!

-Chad

 

[tiloah]

I have not had any side effects on Humira. And I am usually a lightweight and meds really affect me profoundly.

I have definitely not become a clean freak. I believe very strongly in the hygiene hypothesis and think it's important for us to be exposed to relatively benign "bugs" to keep us healthy. I still refuse to use antibacterial soap.

The only problem I have ever had is I got a staph infection from a relative when I was on steroids (just a little patch on my chin that went away with Bactrim). Your immune system really isn't weakened that much by this class of drugs. It is a very specific part that is suppressed and for those of us who need it, we are brought down to "normal levels" by the drugs. I do avoid being around sick people and get a flu shot. There are very specific infections that you have to watch out for, like TB or fungal infections (which I don't think being a clean freak would help prevent). But keep in mind that these are only experienced in a tiny percentage of patients.

I don't think it's normal to get so worried about being clean... Have you talked to your doctor about it? Your doc may be able to help ease your mind. But it kind of sounds like you are experiencing anxiety. It might be good for you to see a counselor to get some of this off your mind, or receive some coping strategies. And you can always come here to vent. I remember I was an anxiety riddled mess when I was first diagnosed (the steroids did NOT help with that). I really should have been in counseling at that point, I think. Maybe they should make it a standard part of treatment after a diagnosis...

Enbrel is in the same class of drugs as Humira and Remicade, but it wasn't shown to be effective in Crohn's. I think it is unlikely that it caused yours. Also remember that people love to get online and rant about the effects they are having from drugs. For each person complaining, there is probably another person not having problems who didn't feel the need to say anything.

That was my long winded attempt to say don't worry about it. I have not been sick more often than I was before. Most of the bacteria out there won't harm you either (in fact, much of it can do you good). Just don't add to the stress by worrying about it, because you don't need to.

 

[Rebecca85]

I am on azathioprine, which is an immune suppressant. I work with small children, who are frequently ill and have poor hygiene skills, so do tend to pass things round. I wash my hands before eating, and do scrub up with antibacterials if I have had to deal with a particularly ill child, and my colleagues know to inform me of 'big' illnesses such as measles. But I trynot to keep my enviroment too sterile, as that can alsocause problems. And I have a cold at the moment, and actually feel less ill than I normally would!

 

[HeatherMN]

I am on Humira and I work in a clinic, so I see lots of sick people. I try to keep my personal environment as clean as possible, which means lots of handwashing, Purell and disinfecting wipes. But, I have had MRSA and pneumonia twice since starting Humira, also lots of strep throat, which led to a tonsillectomy, and frequent UTI's, for which I now take a low dose antibiotic every other day. My house has always been pretty clean, I have antibacterial wipes in the kitchen for germy stuff and wash my hands a lot at home too. My coworkers know that I am immunosuppressed and are always willing to take on super-duper sick patients. I made it through last year's H1N1 outbreak just fine...
Anxiety can become an issue with this condition, especially when it comes to the cleanliness thing. It can almost become obsessive, which it sounds a little bit like it already has for you. A therapist and/or medication for anxiety would probably be very helpful... I see a therapist that uses Congnitive Behavior Therapy for patients with anxiety. She's been very helpful.

 

[smurphy0925]

I have had no side effects with Humira. I've been using it since January. It really helps. I'm also on Imuran & Pentasa

 

[Absentminded]

I was on Imuran up until may, and although it didn't make my CD any better, it did lower my White blood count. HOWEVER......it didn't seem to cause me to catch any illnesses.
I'm not a massive clean freak. I have a bottle of alcohol antibac stuff which I keep in my bag, but apart from that I'm not too worried.

I'm on Remicade now, and it has been AMAZING (for me anyway). I was a littld concerned about it at first, but for me the benefits have far outweighed the possible side effects so I almost enjoy going for my infusions now.
My dad also has MS and it's never worried me about developing it. It's not thought to be genetic, so if it happens it does. My Dad even said that he'd rather have MS than crohn's as he's seen the pain I've been in!!

 

[Chad K]

DIESANDUHR
Thank you very much for your reply and letting me know. I was thinking that my immune system was going to be very weakened by all these meds. After reading your post I feel a bit calmer now. I've talked to my doctor about it a little bit, but didn't get much info from him. I definitely try to avoid being around people that are sick. I was given something for my anxiety but it doesn't seem to help much. Sometimes I think my doctors just don't understand what I am going through. I tell them what I am feeling and that I need help and they are always very hesitant with prescribing me anything. I would like to maybe see a counslor but I work a full time job and already have enough going on as it is. My life feels like it has been flipped upside down since getting Crohn's and all I want is for it to be back on track and be healthy. Another thing is, I can't even sleep anymore. The only way I am able to fall asleep is if I take Ambian, otherwise I can't shut my mind off at night even if I try. I am extremely stressed out, I will try not to stress, but a lot of times I feel so trapped and feel like there is nowhere to go. I cant stop thinking about my health, I am so afraid of getting worse. I will try to stay positive and not stress though, but it is so difficult. Thank you for your support!

REBECCA, HEATHER & SMURPHY
Thank you all for your responses and for letting me know. Seems like I've read more online about Enbrel having worse side effects than Humira. I think I should give it a try if my insurance will let me, since it will treat both my AS and Crohn's. I'm still worried about the side effects though because my father has MS. I'm happy to hear that the immunosuppresants haven't been bad for you. I hope that it continues that way for me. This has all been so scary and stressful for me, sometimes I just don't know where to turn and feel like my life is over.

God bless all of you for your responses. More questions coming soon. Thank you!!!

 

[Chad K]

ABSENTMINDED
Thank you for your response as well! I am glad to hear the Remicade has been amazing for you!! I don't know if I should do that, or the Humira. I think they both work about the same but I'm not really sure. I was told that MS is genetic, was there any concern with your doctors about it before starting the Remicade? I'm a little worried now though, because sometimes I feel like I am starting to limp, or I start to tell myself that I am feeling numb in my arm, though it could be just my mind playing tricks on me being I am so worried about getting MS or something else from all these meds. I don't know, I'm a mess right now. Thank you again for your response!!!