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Starting Humira Question

Hey all, I had a question about starting Humira. I have been on Remicade for the past 2 years, and now my GI is having me switch to Humira. When I asked when I should make the switch, he said when I start feeling the effects of the Remicade wearing off, so I won't have both medicines in my system.

It has been about 5 weeks since my last Remicade, and I can tell it's starting to wear off. I want to start the Humira, but I'm afraid that the Remicade could still be in my system since it hasn't been 8 weeks. Is there anyone who has switched or has any other information that could be helpful for me? Thank you.
 
Don't worry about the remicade being in your system too much if you're 5 weeks out and feeling its effects wearing off. I was on 10 mg/kg every 4 weeks when I took remicade so your body can handle quite a bit of the stuff without too many issues.

In all honesty you should make sure the prior-authorization process is completed and get the medication into YOUR home asap and then you can always wait another week or two if you feel it is necessary to. The process can take well over a month if your insurance company wants to jack you around and there isn't much anyone (including members of the department of insurance in California) can do to speed the process along. Once you physically possess your 4 initial pens and 2 followup pens you can breath easy and just wait, but until you have those pens don't expect to waltz into a pharmacy and buy them like any other prescription.

Good luck with the switch and authorization+pickup(if not already completed). The Humira works fairly well for me so I hope it does the same for you!
 

butt-eze

Superstar
I called and talked to a nurse at Humira. She said that she can't technically answer questions about Remicade but that she believes that because the dosing of your Remicade is currently every 8 weeks that it may be best to wait until the 8 weeks is up. Her explination is that it would be a double whammy to the system. You certainly don't want to shut down your immune system, she said.
The drugs are both anti-TNF blockers which means they are acting similarly in the body. Unless your doctor gives you the go ahead I would wait until the Remicade has a chance to completely wear off. Of course, there is the issue of going into a flare???
The nurse on the Humira line said to follow the doctors directions.
If you have more questions I would call Humira again: 800-448-6472

Let us know what you decide please.
 
Thanks everyone, I am still deciding. I hope to make it as long as possible before the switch. I have had the Humira starter kit in my possession for about 2 weeks, it's in the refrigerator. I have only been feeling funky for less than a week, I kinda want to catch it before it evolves.

I do feel better now that I have graduated college and that stress is over. I've been trying to find a job and start my carrier, including stressful interviews. These symptoms could be from that. Also, my GI had me stop my Imuran 2 weeks ago and I am only 3mg of Entocourt(weaker than prednisone).
 
As long as you have the kit in the fridge wating then go as long as you can. If it gets to be worse call your doctor and find out if you can start it sooner. My guess would be yes based on the dosing and frequency I had with remicade, but that is between you and your doctor. Hopefully you can make it to the 8 weeks, but if you made the switch due to loss of effectiveness of remicade like I did, then that means your options would have been a higher dose of remicade or higher frequency. This is because your body is clearing the protein fast so you need more of it circulating to have the effect last as long. If you didn't increase the dosing or frequency, then the most likely case is that your body has cleared a large portion of the protein already and you would be safe to take the humira anyway. Basically wait till the pain gets to be more than an annoyance and call your doctor to see what they think. They'll probably say yes and then you'll be good to go from there.
 
Update... So far today has been fine, no problems at all. In addition to the Remicade wearing off, the Crohn's symptoms could be confused with nervousness and maybe something I ate. It's hard to tell what is the cause off the symptoms. I'll just take it a day at a time. Oh, and I did attempt to talk to my doctor but he is conveniently out of his office on vacation.
 
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