Starting Humira tomorrow--advice welcome!

[crohnie2]

I'm starting Humira tomorrow. Anyone have any tips/advice? How much pain do you have afterward? Which is less painful, stomach or leg? Do you ice injection site? Thanks for any help! At this point, I just want to get this started and get tomorrow over with!

 

[My Butt Hurts]

Hey C2! Congrats on your injections! They are SO worth the short little sting if they make you feel better! It's only about 10 seconds anyways. I always said "Hoooooolyyyyy coooowwwww!!!!" then laughed until it was over. (That is,m when I wasn't holding my breath. Don't hold your breath if you are doing the shots yourself though.)
There is a 'Humira Club' thread on here that you could read through to get any additional advice.
I always iced before, but I'm not even sure if it helped, cuz the sting is not really on the surface. There is no pain afterwards really. It's very short just as long as the med goes in. I always pressed on the injection site afterwards to prevent blood from pooling under the skin and making a bruise. I iced afterwards too.
I always did them in the legs, but I think it's split about 50/50 in here for preference.
If you watch the video at www.myhumira.com , that might help you a bit.
Good luck tomorrow!! Post on the Humira thread (or here too) to let us know how you did!

 

[dreamintwilight]

Here's the link to the Humira Club thread! http://www.crohnsforum.com/showthread.php?t=6500

I just started Humira 2 weeks ago and tomorrow I get my next 2 injections. I was really anxious about doing them, but it was super simple! I'm not nervous about doing it by myself this time. Is a nurse coming to help you at all? Or are you going into the doctor's office?

I did mine without an ice pack (my nurse didn't suggest it, so I decided to see how it felt). I'm not sure if an ice pack would make it hurt any less. I probably won't ever use an ice pack just because I think it's an extra step I don't really need. I did 2 in the leg and 2 in my stomach. I really thought I would end up doing them in my legs, but they hurt worse for me in my legs. I didn't realize I had as many visible veins in my legs. So, that's probably why it hurt less in my stomach. I am a naturally thin person with not much fat and I was surprised at how tolerable it was in my stomach. But, it will be something you'll have to experiment with because it seems to be different for everyone. If you do them in your legs, listen for the swoosh sound to know when you're done. I was worried because I couldn't see the window that goes yellow when it's done and the nurse told me to listen for the sound.

Make sure you don't put any lotion on your legs or stomach the day of your injections. I didn't think it would make a difference when I took a shower that morning, because I thought the alcohol swab would wipe it off. I found it took a while longer for the site to dry from the alcohol and it was harder to keep my skin pinched without slipping as well.

The actual injection wasn't painful, but the sensation of the serum going in is a bit annoying and stingy. Nothing that isn't tolerable though. Afterwards I was only minimally sore and it was only if I accidentally leaned on my leg or bent forward. I think holding a cotton ball over the injection site helped because I didn't bruise anywhere.

I think those are all the tips I can think of. Feel free to PM me if you have any other questions. Or post on the Humira Club thread. There are lots of people with great advice on there Welcome to the Humira Club!

 

[Jer's Girl]

My preference for injecting myself is in the stomach (with Cimzia), but I think it is easiest wherever you have the most fat. Just my opinion. Hope that helps!

 

[bindi]

heya! i jab myself in the stomach. for the loading dose i did two on legs and two on stomach and the ones on the legs hurt more.. haha and i have plenty of fat in both places!! i havnt tried puting ice on first i like to get it over with as fast as possible. it stings abit but not that much that it would put you off.. i think the results are worth that small bit of discomfort every two weeks. hope it works for you!!

bindi.

 

[ChefShazzy]

i think the others have given great advice so far; if i may just add one thing: make sure to take the humira out of the fridge 30-60 mins before you inject it... i forgot once and did the injection with the syringe straight from the fridge, and it was much more painful and stingy than injecting a syringe that had 'warmed up'.

 

[5 iron]

Ive been on Humira since Nov 09,every once and while I get a little sting,my sister is a nurse and I told her about,she told me make sure you let the alcohol dry on your skin before you put the needle in, the alcohol causes the sting,big sister was right no more sting.I use the pen and it's just to easy,GOOD LUCK.

 

[CDDad]

Hi,
So, how did it go for you? For me, the shots are painful. Sure, I've tried letting it warm up but it still hurts. But us Chronies are tough - I just grit my teeth and get it done. 10 seconds of pain is bearable for better health. And it's only every 2 weeks. I know some have moved to weekly, but that is better than daily!

-Joe
On Humira for about 4 months now - sadly not helping yet. I was on this 2 years ago too, but it was interupted by surgery. I have read that you can't stop and restart remicade, not sure if Humira is similar in that aspect. I guess my doc did not think so.