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HELP. SOB on humira?

Just started humira in February, was on imuran but new doctor thought since I'm a 25 year old female humira would be better since I'm at the age to have kids? Since about June I've had on and off shortness of breath that's getting worse. In the last two months I've went to the ER, pulmonolgist, rheumatologist, and cardiologist. All X-rays and blood work came back fine except my DS DNA lab was slightly elevated, and my chest CT showed a small pericardial effusion (probably what's causing this SOB).

Pretty frustrated. No one can tell me what's causing it or what to do. My GI doesn't want to stop humira since I'm in remission but part of me wants to since it's the only thing I changed in my life recently and idk what else could be causing this. The cardiologist put me on atenolol to help decrease the work load of my heart. Which is helping but I am so tired of taking ANOTHER MED just to take the humira. Any help would be appreciated!
 

Scipio

Well-known member
Location
San Diego
I presume you had an EKG somewhere in all this? If not that would be crucial for determining that your heart is not in Afib. Afib could certainly cause shortness of breath.
 
I presume you had an EKG somewhere in all this? If not that would be crucial for determining that your heart is not in Afib. Afib could certainly cause shortness of breath.
I did. The EKG was normal other than tachycardia, cardiologist had me get an echo and wear a halter monitor for 24 hours. Nothing was wrong. All labs have been fine. Super frustrating
 

my little penguin

Moderator
Staff member
Have you looked at POTS ??
Or vocal cord disfunction(it mimics asthma but the vocal cords not the lungs sell so it feels like you can't breathe )

Vocal Cord Dysfunction (VCD) occurs when the vocal cords (voice box) do not open correctly. This disorder is also referred to as paradoxical vocal fold movement.

VCD is sometimes confused with asthma because some of the symptoms are similar.

In asthma, the airways (bronchial tubes) tighten, making breathing difficult. With VCD, the vocal cord muscles tighten, which also makes breathing difficult. Unlike asthma, VCD is not an allergic response starting in the immune system.

To add to the confusion, many people with asthma also have VCD.

Although the two may have similar triggers and symptoms, the treatment approach for VCD is very different than treatments used to manage and control asthma. This makes proper diagnosis essential.

An allergist / immunologist has specialized training and experience in the diagnosis, treatment and management of complex conditions such as asthma and VCD.



SYMPTOMS & DIAGNOSIS

Symptoms
Symptoms of VCD can include:
• Difficulty breathing
• Coughing
• Wheezing
• Throat tightness
• Hoarse voice
• Voice changes

Much like with asthma, breathing in lung irritants, exercising, a cold or viral infection, or Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) may trigger symptoms of VCD.

Unlike asthma, VCD causes more difficulty breathing in than breathing out. The reverse is true for symptoms of asthma.
From

http://www.aaaai.org/conditions-and-treatments/related-conditions/vocal-cord-dysfunction



Sometimes that is the issue
Ds has been on humira for 5 years without issues
He does have benign arrhythmia which is common and not harmful which makes your heart race and slow down and race again
But he has had that long before any meds

Hope you find answers soon
Inflammation can cause lots of havoc
I would not blame the med
 
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