I think I've read just about every thread on this forum since my son was diagnosed with Crohn's disease 2 years ago, and it's been incredibly helpful. I think this is the first time I couldn't find a similar scenario to our current situation, so here goes: my son is 17, and after diagnosis 2 years ago he started biweekly Humira, and went into remission within a few months. His main symptoms were diarrhea/frequency, some vomiting, and serious weight loss. He's gained 50 pounds and 2 inches in height, and BMs are totally normal, once a day.
This summer, he had a pretty obvious flare. Weight loss, fatigue, BMs up to 2-3 a day. Our doctor checked his Humira levels and it came back with a trough level of 5 and "moderate" antibodies (she didn't give an exact number). So, she added Methotrexate injections and increased the Humira to weekly. All of his symptoms resolved, he gained 10 pounds back, and actually seems to be doing better than he was on biweekly Humira alone before the flare. After 10 weeks, she checked his levels again, and his Humira trough level is up to 14 (was 5 previously), BUT the nurse said he still is showing "some" antibodies. She wasn't able to tell me if it was higher or lower than the last time, and said the doctor wants to talk to me about it when she is back in town in a couple of weeks.
So now I'm driving myself crazy trying to guess what the doctor might be thinking or planning. If there are still antibodies, does that mean our days with Humira are done, even though his trough level looks good and he is doing great? His fecal calprotectin dropped from 403 during the summer flare to 27 last week, and he has no symptoms at all. All the other bloodwork was normal as well, according to the nurse. I'd love to know if anyone has experience with continuing Humira when there are antibodies present! Thanks.
This summer, he had a pretty obvious flare. Weight loss, fatigue, BMs up to 2-3 a day. Our doctor checked his Humira levels and it came back with a trough level of 5 and "moderate" antibodies (she didn't give an exact number). So, she added Methotrexate injections and increased the Humira to weekly. All of his symptoms resolved, he gained 10 pounds back, and actually seems to be doing better than he was on biweekly Humira alone before the flare. After 10 weeks, she checked his levels again, and his Humira trough level is up to 14 (was 5 previously), BUT the nurse said he still is showing "some" antibodies. She wasn't able to tell me if it was higher or lower than the last time, and said the doctor wants to talk to me about it when she is back in town in a couple of weeks.
So now I'm driving myself crazy trying to guess what the doctor might be thinking or planning. If there are still antibodies, does that mean our days with Humira are done, even though his trough level looks good and he is doing great? His fecal calprotectin dropped from 403 during the summer flare to 27 last week, and he has no symptoms at all. All the other bloodwork was normal as well, according to the nurse. I'd love to know if anyone has experience with continuing Humira when there are antibodies present! Thanks.