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Humira

My Doctor is thinking of switching me to humira. I'm terrified of needles and don;t think I can inject myself.

What are somethings you all have experienced and is it worth it?

I need some advice other then my Doctors.
 
I can't comment on the Humira but I have been doing my own B12 shots and actually find it not too bad. Just get in and get it over with! That said, the Humira ones may be quite different!
Anyway, lots of people here have experience they can share :)
 
It's not like an injection a nurse gives you. It's a pre-loaded pen type thing, very easy to use. Really.
 
I always told myself I'd never be able to inject myself with anything either. Like Beth says... its a preloaded pen type thing so it doesn't FEEL like a real injection to your mind when you do it. You don't even see the needle. Its painful because the med stings when it goes in, but after 10 seconds of that its all done and over with. I've been on Humira twice and I'm currently using it. The worse humps to get over are the two loading doses, after that its a piece of cake to do one injection every other week.

Actually now that I think about it, the only pain I do remember is the stinging of the medicine, I don't think I even feel the needle. Its much easier once you jump in and do it. And if it makes you feel better, you are more apt to do it anyhow. Good luck!

Only thing I noticed while using it is I get a little raised swollen area at the injection site for a few days that itches. Thats all... goes away after like 3-4 days.
 

My Butt Hurts

Squeals-a-lot!
I felt SO much better when I first started Humira. A little 10 second sting was SOOOO worth it. Even though the shots were every two weeks, I felt so much better, I'd have done them every day if I had to.
I had my husband do them cuz I didn't want to do them myself.
I started feeling better on the 6th day after the first injection. It was amazing for 4 1/2 months until it kinda quit working.
You can watch a video on the injections at www.myhumira.com .
 
I am on Humira and the injections weren't that bad. A nurse showed me how to do them when I did my first 4 loading doses. I injected in the stomach, some say the thighs are easier, but I think the stomach wasn't too bad.
 
I was on Humira for just over 12 months and after I had a resection in May 2009 I stopped it, I am now trying to get back on it and so am having a colonoscopy tomorrow. I never used the pens, they weren't available when I started and so I always used the syringes because that is how I knew to do it, I would find that some days I would have difficult injecting myself, and I am normally fine with needles, but it was more of a mental block and an emotional thing to do with why I had to do it. When I go back on it I want to get the pens, they seem pretty nifty.

It is amazing what you can do when it makes you feel better
 

imisspopcorn

Punctuation Impaired
Just clarify with the pharmacy that you need the auto-injection pens. I got a mixture of both.....The doctor's office should have a starter kit with a pretend pen and instructions, if not, they can get them from a drug rep. Good luck.
 
Been on Humira for 2 months now ( 40mg every 2 weeks ) and it seems that my BM's has decreased some ( now 5-7 times daily ) and the "unstoppable aggresive diarrhea" has turned into somthing more easy to handle - which is a relief itself.
Although I seem to have pain in the left side of my stomach, especially just before a BM, which by the way still are bloody :-( I know that it can take several months for the Humira to show full effect but cant help wondering.

Anybody else recognizes this pain sensation ?

/Uli
 
I've been taking Humira for about 2 years. At first I was taking it twice a month, but now my doctor has me taking it once a week. I've not seen any side effects yet from it other than the injection pain. B12 shots tickle compared to the Humira shots. I discovered that there is a major nerve that runs through the top of my thigh, so I just put the shot in my belly now. I also found that if you let it sit out for 20 minutes after taking it out of the fridge, it helps some with the pain. You have to hold the pre-loaded pen for about 10 seconds as the liquid goes into you. Kind of feels like molten lava being pumped into your veins.
The good news is that you normally take it only twice a month, so you tend to forget how bad it feels by the next injection. I don't know what it's doing to my body in the long term, but for the first year and a half it worked really well.
 

Crohn's 35

Inactive Account
Welcome Luke, perhaps you can tell us your story on your own thread!

I too was on Humira, I used the syringes because it hurt way less, it was good for 6 months, then weekly then it stopped working for me. I wish it did, because Cimzia is not in Canada I dont mind needles. Welcome, lots of information here!
 
I was on Humira for almost two years. I started with one pen(40mgs) every other week, then on to one pen every week. For a month I took two pens every week. I never had any crazy side effects. It just stopped working.
I got used to giving myself the shot but it still stung for about 10 seconds after pressing the plum button. One good tip is to wait about 10-15 minutes after taking the pen out of the fridge. This allows the med to come to room temp and the shot then hurts less, at least it did for me. Good luck!
 
@uli - i was on pred and switched to humira, and as im tapering off the pred i have the same pain as you - on the left side. my BMs are also bloody.
 
MetalCyborg, thanks for replying ! Good to know that someone shares your symptoms although circumstances could be better :smile:

Hope that the Humira would ease things !
 
I think there was someone else on here who had kind of the same thing as me, but if i recall it was because he tapered of pred. i think he got diagnosed with IBS or IBD in addition to crohns.
 
I just started humira yesterday after taking azathioprine for a while without any improvement. This self inject pen is pretty simple and I like it better than having to take pills every day..My doc says itll prob take 2-3 weeks to start working. Is he about right?
 
I started on Tuesday night. The injection pens were easy but I actually had an easier time injecting myself with a regular needle (I started Metho injections on Tuesday night also)
 
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