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Humira, Fatigue and Anemia

I've been on Humira for about 6 months so far and it is working alright. It hasn't gotten rid of my inflammation completely, but it has definitely helped a lot. I was finally able to get off pred after starting Humira and haven't had another major flare up. I'm looking in to other ways (food sensitivity testing, more frequent injections, 6mp) to push me over the edge in to full remission for my Crohn's symptoms, though I haven't taken action yet.

However I'm having serious issues with fatigue and anemia as a side effect. All my other vitamin levels are ok, but iron and HGB are quite low. I've already had to have a blood transfusion and will likely get another soon. I'm also thinking about trying epogen but that has its own dangers. And of course iron supplements generally hurt my stomach really badly and don't help enough. My GI said I am likely experiencing not just the effects of the anemia (which can have many causes including Humira) but also the Humira itself is making me fatigued.

My GI is encouraging me to get off Humira and move on to Remicade or Cimzia. Though I'm worried about doing this since Humira is at least working fairly well and is a known quantity so to speak. And if I go off it I may never be able to go on it again if other things don't work.

I'm wondering of others have experienced anemia and fatigue as a Humira side effect and what course they took.
 

theOcean

Moderator
It sounds like you have a good plan for getting yourself into remission. I'm about to do some food sensitivity testing too. (And I also get Humira every week, if that's what you were going to bump it up to.)

Proferrin is the only iron supplement I've encountered that absolutely does not cause stomach problems and it works incredibly well. I know a few other members on here recommend it, too. If you're able to get your hands on that, it might be a good idea to try. Otherwise, you might want to look into your folic acid levels and see if those are low, because they're involved in red blood cell production.

Humira is actually one of the biologics that are less likely for you to build up antibodies to, so there is a chance you could go back on it again later on. I personally would try to up the dosage and add 6mp and see where that gets you, first.

My iron levels are actually totally fine, and my hemoglobin is up at 147 the last time I took a blood test. My ferritin is low, though, so I still regularly take iron supplements every day. I'm hoping it'll finally be up again the next time I get my tests done. It may be that the anemia will go away once your inflammation is under control, too.

I've been experiencing really bad fatigue, but it's only been for the last few months so I'm not sure if it's from the Humira or not since I've been on that since last November. (And also deal with sleep disorders and insomnia.)
 
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