Symptoms returning slowly?

[MissBG]

When I started humira I felt significantly better and since then have been doing very well with the exception of one pretty nasty flare that was for the most part self induced because it was my anniversary and I was determined not to let this crap :lol2: get in the way.

Anyway my last shot was 4 days late due to a screw up with the insurance company and since then I have not been feeling well. I know that short of a delay shouldn't make a difference but I think it may have. I have not been overly ill but I have been having frequent nausea, fatigue, this strange uncomfortable pressure in my abdomen with occasional pain and loose stools.

I know it doesn't sound like much but before I really had next to no symptoms at all while on the medication and the issues I am having are slowly increasing in frequency. Has anyone had flares that started out being a slight upset but turned really bad?

I know I should try not to worry to much about this but my family has a week long vacation planned for Disney World in March and I am terrified that I will be sick through the whole thing.

 

[Cat-a-Tonic]

It could be a flare. I had something similar happen when they suddenly stopped making Asacol last spring. I was in remission at the time so I didn't want to stop taking Asacol, but I had no choice. I had to switch to a different maintenance medication, which I couldn't break down or digest very well so I wasn't absorbing enough, and I started feeling crappy within a few days just like you said. I think that put me into a mild flare. I have been on a few meds since then - I'm now on Pentasa, which is working okay, but I feel like I'm still in a mild flare. I'm still passing blood and having bad days and it's hard to maintain my weight, stuff like that. I didn't have any of those issues when I was in remission, so I guess I'm still mildly flaring.

So I would say, get this under control the sooner the better. Maybe call your GI and explain the situation, perhaps they could put you on something like a short steroid taper just to blitz the flare in its tracks before it can really get going. Otherwise, how often do you take Humira, is it once every 2 weeks? Perhaps you could see about taking it every week for a little while just to get things back under control again. Good luck, I hope you can get back into remission very soon!

 

[MissBG]

Yes its every 2 weeks. Last time they had me completely redo the starter kit so I did 4 shots then 2 shots then back to the once every 2 weeks, but I was in much worse shape then than I am now.

Bad part is most of the time I feel pretty decent but when I eat is when I feel worse... today it would seem I have been done in by a baked potato.

 

[Cat-a-Tonic]

Did you eat the potato skin? I know those are really hard to digest, but the potato itself minus the skin is usually pretty easy for most people - I know we're all different though and a flare seems to change all the rules. At any rate, I would say it's probably still best to give your doctor a call and get their opinion, and perhaps request to go to once-weekly Humira for a little while. Even though you were in worse shape last time, that doesn't mean you're not suffering this time too.

 

[MissBG]

:ybatty: Didn't even think about the skin! Lol that make scense now.

 

[Amaze]

In my experience do not ever eat skin off of anything such as potatoes, apples, etc

 

[Cat-a-Tonic]

Oh, that does explain it then! I agree with Amaze, skins on most anything are usually a big no-no. Grape skins are the worst for me - a short time after eating grapes, I passed what looked like contact lenses. Took me a minute to figure out that they were grape skins! Tomato skins don't do me any favors either. Anyway, hang in there and I hope you recover from the potato skin soon! Do keep an eye on things a bit longer, as undigested potato skin could potentially cause a blockage - hopefully not, though.