Infliximab to Humira transition - what are peoples experiences

[Mackie78]

Hi Folks,

I may be coming off Infliximab/Remicade after 2.5-3 years on it with varying success.

My consultant is talking about trying Humira.

My question is have many folk on here come off Infliximab and onto Humira and what success have you had.

Also have poeple generally come off Infliximab and straight onto Humira or has Prednisolone be used to reduce the flare up?

Thanks for any help :thumleft::thumleft:

 

[Mark63]

Hi,

It took six months to get the funding approved by the local PCT, who then pulled the plug on funding all together after the loading dose. A referral to UCLH and a further delay for appeals took nine months. By-weekly Humira from August '10 to June '12. Since moving to weekly some improvement.

I wish you well.

Mark

 

[Mackie78]

I am actually over the border in a small village 3 miles outside Chester, so I think the Welsh PCT' operate differently here (but could be wrong). There are a number of patients on Humira and Infliximab at the hospital I go to, so at present the costs aren't prohibitive and they approve everyone that the consultants put forward - I'm well aware this could all change though :frown:

By the sounds of your comment it hasn't been a great success for you Mark?

Have you been able to carry on with your daily routine (work, eating, etc) or has it not even worked that well?

 

[KayleighMeek]

I came from infliximab to humira as infliximab stopped working for me. I didn't have any other medication in between changing and suffered a bit because of it and it took around six months and putting me to weekly doses until I felt as good as I did on infliximab. I now notice a huge difference and can have an almost normal life with a few bad days here and there which I can live with.
Hope it works for you x

 

[Mark63]

My current problem is perianal Crohn's and it's been a constant feature of my life for the last 6 years. I count myself as luck compared to some of the stories that I've read.

I don't have any particularly problem foods, although my digestion has never been quite the same since Azathioprine cause me to develop pancreatitis. I go to work every day. The only times I don't go to work is when I've been an in-patient or recovering from surgery, I have an understanding employer and it helps that I do what I can from home even when signed-off sick. I don't have much of a social life these days, just too tired and uncomfortable, particularly after work.

It's difficult to treat this disease, in most case it's down to management with surgery and drugs. The trick is to find the right balance. Aza and Infliximab didn't work at all, but some of that could be due to not having had the right surgery at that point in time? Weekly Humira is showing some signs of helping, but it's not been the magic bullet for me that it has for others on here. 4 trips to the surgeon last year, only 1 so far this year, so you could call that an improvement. We'll just have to see what happens over the next couple of months. They are talking about the possibility of increasing the dose of Humira further or adding another drug such as Methotrexate into the mix. I'll do whatever is necessary to tackle this disease and get back to a more normal life.

I hope that Humira works well for you. It certainly does for many people and seems to be well tolerated by most of us on here.

Regards,

Mark

 

[tflock]

I was on Remicade for one infusion and had to stop due to a liver reaction. I waited about 4 weeks after the first infusion and then switched to Humira. I didnt notice any changes at first, and had the same general feeling of well being for about 2.5 months. Then it went downhill from there and now I am most likely going to be adding other meds on top of weekly Humira for my treatment plan.