How long have you/were you on Humira?

[BayAreaChronie]

I am at 3 months now with Humira. Was told by my GI it is best to stay on it for as long as it works regardless of symptoms/remission status.

I havent found many if any posts on those who have been on Humira since it was first available. Most posts I see are users of 6 months or less.

How long have you been on Humira? Did it simply stop working if you at one point were on it?

Also, are there any followup studies to those who have been on Humira for a long period of time now? Only see studies on those who switched from Remicade to Humira but not a single one of only Humira users who never used Remicade.

Thanks,

 

[tixbut]

Hey, ive been on humira for 3 years now and i have been out of remission a few times while being on it.
I think lifestyle diet/stress changes can have a big effect on getting out of remission on Humira, but my doctor puts me on steriods while taking the Humira and then im back to normal and keep injecting like normal.

Also i have never been on Remicade.
So is there a question you need help with? im more than happy to answer the best i can with my personal experiences.

 

[EthanPSU]

I have only been on it like you said for a short period, i'm going on 6 months. And like you said aswell, I was on Remicade first. However, my Humira is starting to not work as well.

 

[Rachael P.]

I have been on Humira for almost two years. Next injection will be on Christmas Day.

 

[DougUte]

I have been on Humira for 18 months. I still have symptoms so I wonder.But I have been in remission.

 

[Tdog1129]

First time I am posting. I have been on Humira for close to 5 years. I have had some side effects, Shingles being the worst. I also had pnemonia about 18 months ago and had to delay my shots for 5 weeks. Other than that I am in complete remission.

I would guess that most long time users do not post because they are in remission and do not follow the boards as closely as they may have previously.

Not sure of any studies but I will look and ask my Dr. He is of the same belief that I should stay on it for as long as it works. I keep up on all of my monitoring so I if something ever popped up we would catch it fairly early.

Humira has changed my life. I constantly question myself on whether I should continue to take it but then I think back to how horrible my life was before I started to take it. I was one step away from major surgery.

Hope this helps a little bit.

 

[RissaIUP2016]

I started Humira in January of 2013, and am doing really well! So far so good1 I just hope I can stay in remission!

 

[Scaryman]

I started Humira in January of 2013, and am doing really well! So far so good1 I just hope I can stay in remission!

Why did your GI put you on 500MG of pentasa? Do you know the reason for this? I am wondering the same thing, My GI told me that it was for colon cancer prevention at first then he told me it was to work with humira and MTX. :ylol:

 

[Irene3]

Hey, ive been on humira for 3 years now and i have been out of remission a few times while being on it.
I think lifestyle diet/stress changes can have a big effect on getting out of remission on Humira, but my doctor puts me on steriods while taking the Humira and then im back to normal and keep injecting like normal.

Also i have never been on Remicade.
So is there a question you need help with? im more than happy to answer the best i can with my personal experiences.

Thanks for this post- it's good to know that sometimes you might get worse symptoms but then ok to continue humira.

Iv been on humira 10months or so, and for the most part it's been good. I just posted iv had increased D, but I rarely have bad pain days, so I guess it's better in that way. Anyway, I was on remicade (infliximab), a few years ago, and only for a few months, as it didn't improve my symptoms much. I havnt read of many people only being on it 6 months, but there was a thread on here a while back, and average was 2-4 years. Some people had written 7. After being on humira 2-4 years, if it stops working, apparently a few years later you can go back on it, and it helps again. I'm hoping its a few years at least, as I hate pred, and remicade was no good. Best of luck, hope it works for many years to come for you

 

[MikeinBklyn]

Three years. Virtually symptom free. The main thing is the fistula is gone. Thankfully it is still working strong.

 

[LauraGrace]

I started taking Humira in April of 2007, so it's been about 6 years now. I did stop taking it for about 8 months or so in 2009, but ended up going into a huge flair and developing a fistula....so back to Humira I went! It has been working fairly well, but I've still had some problems and have to take other medications (Pentasa and Cellcept). I haven't seen too many side effects other than burning when it is injected. I was on Remicade for about a year and a half-ish before I went on Humira. I'd say Humira works out pretty well, although I've only been in 'remission' once in those 7 years. I was even able to take it through two pregnancies, both daughters born healthy and happy with minimal problems.