Help for best treatment

[preetywoman53]

Hi, can anyone tell me which is better treatment, remicade or humira. I have severe an advanced Crohn's disease, an it is in small intestines an I can not take pills, I have a certain enzyme in my body that does not break down pills but I am concerned an scared,, I have other problems also,, chronic gastritis, fybrolmyagia, breast cancer survivor, back surg disk replacement,, angioma in the brain, an RA, can someone help me I want to make decision on which to take with less side effects, an I have had all test an finally camara pill showed it an it is in small intestines bad with ulcers an want me to start this soon, I do not know.. I am scared an have been on disability for the other problems for 4 yrs... and need help please thank you an I am scared...joney

 

[lizbeth]

Hi there and welcome to the forum

I'm sorry I can't give you any pearls of wisdom as I have no experience of either drug, I just wanted to suggest you have a look at the info about the two using the above search facility, it'll give you good info that might help you decide. It might be worth your while checking out the treatment sub-forum too where you will find a good amount of info regarding other peoples experiences. I would also add that everyone is different when it comes to Crohns, from what we can and can't eat and from what drugs we can tolerate so it would be difficult to advise either way. Does your Dr have any preference in which one you start or are they leaving the decision up to you?

I'm really sorry you've had such a rough time, I really hope that you have better times ahead, take care and best wishes. :ghug:

 

[Astra]

Hiya Joney
and welcome

I agree with Lizbeth, we are all unique, what works for one might not for another.
I'm on Humira, and I only chose this option over Remicade cos it's more convienient, I don't relish the idea of being infused for a few hours, plus it will interfere with work.
Humira was originally given for RA patients, so it might work for you too.
Here are our sub forums
http://www.crohnsforum.com/forumdisplay.php?f=59

http://www.crohnsforum.com/forumdisplay.php?f=58

Lots of info, support and advice in there for you
good luck with your decision xxx

 

[PsychoJane]

Hi Joney,

Choosing a treatment is rarely a fun event when it comes to disease like ours. Personally, I have never dealt with remicade but I have been on humira for about about 18 months. Both have their advantages and their inconvenients. For the latter, the remicade is often blamed for the need of spending time at an infusion center every 2 months, for the humira, people tends to complain mostly about the pain the injection cause (yeah it sting like a bummer but it only last 10 sec so it's not that terrible).

Though, something concerns me with your introduction. You specified that you are a breast cancer survivor so I assume that your GI is aware of that as well. I'm bringing this up as there is a slight increase of reoccurence with patients that had previous cancer and they tend to be cautious over that situation. I wonder if Methotrexate could be an approach to consider in your situation? It is now an alternative that is considered for people who can't take AZA or 6-MP due to TPMT deficiency. Has your GI even mentioned that medication as a possible alternative?

 

[nogutsnoglory]

Choosing the right medication can be complicated and may consist of trial and error. There is no better drug when it comes to the biologics. Some people do fantastic on remicade and Humira and others do terribly. We are all different and respond differently. Remicade has been around the longest and is the most studied but the downside is that it contains mouse protein which some are allergic to, it also must be given through IV at a clinic. Medications like Humira and Cimzia you can inject at home and are entirely human and less likely to cause a reaction.

 

[preetywoman53]

Hi everyone, I was put on remicade an I had to go off it in oct due to allergic reations,, an they were bad,,, seeing a rheumatologist now an a oncologist due to checking things out, but can someone tell me if I can not take it the doctor told me before they would have take colon out if this did not work,, I am worried can anyone help me please.. thank you an I have been diagnosed with worse case of fibromyagia an still have high c-reactive protein level.