Trouble gaining weight on Humira

[ghostlizard]

I have been on Humira for a few months and am feeling better, but I'm still losing weight (14 lbs. since February) and my doctors don't know why. I just have no appetite whatsoever. I am also on 6-MP, B-12 shots, Imodium, and now Prednisone has been added in an attempt to stimulate my appetite. I'm down to 131 lbs., but Prednisone makes you feel like hacking your own arm off, and I feel that way enough already.Besides, it affects the effectiveness of the several other medications I take for Bipolar Disorder and PTSD, which totally blows. Is anyone else on Humira having trouble gaining or retaining weight?

 

[David]

Hi ghostlizard and welcome to the forum! I have copied your thread over here to the Humira as I think you'll get more specific responses to your poll here. I've left a copy of the original thread in the Your Story forum so you can be welcomed there

 

[beth]

If anything I have trouble loosing weight on Humira! Are you on weekly injections, or the standard regime of fortnightly? - makes a big difference. Without an appetite it would be easy to simply not eat enough especially if you have a manual job.

 

[PaulaZ in AZ]

I have been on Humira since May 2011 and while I was able to gain some weight from 95 to 108 on bi-weekly injections 40 mg (via pen) since increasing to weekly injections I am back down to 102 lbs.

I must say, however, that while I was on Prednisone for 11 months I continually LOST weight as opposed to most who gain weight. My metabolism is a 'bit' (lol) off!

In addition to the weekly Humira, I also take 100 mg of Imuran daily. My next stop will be infusion Remicade which is a 2-hour infusion. I can't sit still for a movie they better put it on a pole so I can travel ...

You have to have humor with this disease or you will totally be beside yourself. I know where every bathroom in every store that I tend to visit is!

Let us know how you are doing

_____________________
Symptoms since 1967 (age 12)
Diagnosed 1986 colitis with probable Crohn's
Diagnosed 1987 Crohn's, IBD, ileitis
Diagnosed 2007: Unresectable colon/small bowel adhesions x2 (ineligible for colostomy)
Previous Medications: azulfidine (sulfa allergy unable to take); prednisone, Methotrexate, Flagyl, Pentasa, Entocort and others I just can't remember.
Current Medications: Humira 40 mg q.weekly, Imuran 100 mg q.day, Lexapro 10 mg q.day, promethazine 25 mg as needed for nausea, B-12 1000 mcg daily, Vegetarian Vitamin C 1000 mg q.day

 

[JerseyIrish79]

I've been on humira for two and a half years, with a break of maybe six months in there. I started it after having my resection and gained all the weight I lost during the previous six months while sick. When I stopped taking it, my symptoms started coming back, I started losing weight and a few months later the doc put me back on it. This was around Sept 2010 and have been on it consistently since then. When I first went back on I didn't gain weight but was able to maintain the weight I was at the time. But eventually, I started losing it again and the docs put me on a weekly regimen. Now I'm losing it more slowly but still losing it. Before diagnosis I was 175-180 lbs consistently. Now I'm in the 145-150 lb range.

 

[PsychoJane]

Hey Ghost, I too haven't gained any weight back. I have been on it for a year now and I'm still losing. I have disease activity in the very last few inches of my ileum which may contributed to that but otherwise, my last exam was showing not sign of disease activity.
Did you notice any other side effects other than the inability to gain weight that you would link to Humira?

 

[beth]

Inability to gain weight is not linked to Humira, but to your disease.... If a colonoscopy didn't show anything up, it either wasn't looking in the right place, you aren't absorbing sugars and fats due to surgery, you have hollow legs, or you are young enough to still have a good metabolism, etc.

Just because you haven't gained weight whilst on Humira does not make it Humira's fault. Correlation != causation.