My doctor wants me to start on Humira injections for my psoriatic arthritis. Anyone here on Humira? Pros/cons? How did it impact your equestrian life? Positives/negatives? Thanks!
There are a few related threads on the first page of this side of the forum. Did you see them?
I have psoriatic arthritis too. I was on Enbrel for a year and switched to Humira. I was not able to tolerate it because of side effects, but I am super sensitive to most meds and what doesn’t work for one person might be the perfect choice for another. It did help the arthritis more than the Enbrel, a lot more as I remember. Hope that helps a little.
I was on Humira, but I have Crohn’s. The side effects I had from it were that it did not keep my Crohn’s in remission. I switched back to Remicade. Sorry I can’t help more!
I have RA and have been on Humira (and methotrexate) since around April 2003. It made a huge difference in my life when I started on it, and I’ve mostly done very well in the years I’ve been on it. The biggest change for me was that it helped a ton with the overwhelming fatigue I was experiencing back then.
I’ve never had any side effects with it.
Now I’m back to overwhelming fatigue, and discussing next steps with my rhematologist. He’s been hesitant to make a change because my bloodwork looks consistently good. Well, I am feeling pretty awful–not so much pain, but exhausted. I guess we’ll be talking more at my next appointment.
But even if this med is giving up the ghost, I’ve had a lot of good years on it.
Rebecca
I’m actually just starting a clinical trial for one of the next generation drugs after Humira, for psoriatic arthritis. So while I can’t give any tips about Humira (I was on methotrexate only prior to this) I will say that even if it doesn’t work for you, don’t give up hope, they have more options, they’re still working on getting it right! 
(My biggest tip re: any medication like Humira that suppresses the immune system - essentially any of the systemic drugs like Enbrel, Humira, methotrexate, Stellara, etc. - is to make sure you’re clear with your doctor about how proactive you should be about getting sick and cuts and so on, especially with being around horses since they aren’t exactly that clean, you know? For most people the increased infection rate isn’t THAT high, but your doctor maybe will want you to be extra careful about making sure to clean cuts well, that kind of thing.)
Thanks everyone. I had a slight “reaction” to the first dose I gave myself. Not at the site, but with getting phlem in my throat. This scared me as anaphlactic reactions can occur though rare. Discussed it with my doctor and I am to get the next injection in her office. I have to wait a month because they are booked until then. My hope is that I will sleep better and have more energy and less pain. I am a dressage rider bringing my homebred along, hopefully to FEI. I also have my 3 horses at home so need my energy for riding/training and all the barn chores. Staff is not an option.
Just want to second kdow re: infections. I got a lot of infections. One pretty bad one from just pricking my finger on hay. It was one of those little tiny things, perhaps a wee splinter that you get from moving bales sometimes. It blew up. I also had pneumonia, which was ignored by doctors even though they knew I was on meds that affected the immune system. I was told I was coughing “from acid reflux”. Uh, no it was MRSA pneumonia. So be very proactive with your health.
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Just want to second kdow re: infections. I got a lot of infections. One pretty bad one from just pricking my finger on hay. It was one of those little tiny things, perhaps a wee splinter that you get from moving bales sometimes. It blew up. I also had pneumonia, which was ignored by doctors even though they knew I was on meds that affected the immune system. I was told I was coughing “from acid reflux”. Uh, no it was MRSA pneumonia. So like kdow suggested be very proactive with your health.
Sorry for the double post. It won’t let me fix it.
I am discombobulated today.
Ignore me
I know two people who are or have been on Humira for imflammatory bowel diseases. One person does very well on it - feels a bit sick the day after the injection but the benefit is worth it. The other person can’t handle it at all - gets very sick and runs the gambit (gambut?) when it comes to side effects.
I’ve got rheumatoid arthritis. Humira worked great for me for a short period of time. There are a number of biologics available now, so if you don’t get a good response from this one, you’ve got many other options to try.
Good luck with the sleep and energy - that continues to be my biggest hurdle. It didn’t do much for me (other than give me a drug hangover the next morning), but if you haven’t tried it already, you could ask your doctor about amitriptyline, which is helpful for a lot of people who have problems with pain and sleep. It also never hurts to get the usual blood tests for fatigue - Vit D, B12, ferritin/iron, TSH, reverse/free T3/T4, cortisol, etc.
If it’s possible, you might want to simplify or reduce the amount of labor involved in caring for your horses at home. Keeping them turned out longer/all the time, simplifying feed program, etc. I know horses are a lot of work no matter what you do, but my experience has been that there isn’t an easy or quick fix for the fatigue issue. Pushing myself to keep up with a busy schedule only ended up causing more problems in the long run.
Random thing, re: sleep and joint pain. I’ve found this year (even over the summer) that a heated mattress pad and heated blanket go a long way towards helping with pain at bedtime so I can get to sleep. My ankles are often particularly bad so right now I have a queen size blanket turned 90 degrees (so top and bottom sections rather than side by side) so I can have just the foot area warmed without overheating the rest of me since it is summer and pretty warm in general.
I don’t know if the warmth actually helps or if it is just derailing the pain signals by sending temperature signals instead, but it has improved the quality of my sleep somewhat. So something perhaps to try?
Thanks for the responses…sigh.
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Thanks for the responses…sigh.[/QUOTE]
I know how demoralizing it can be. PsA seems to be tough to treat because not everyone seems to respond well to the same medications. But hang in there - you haven’t run out of options to try yet. Fingers crossed you will find something that works well for you with tolerable side effects.
I have been on Humira for about 2 months now. Rheumy switched from Enbrel. Looking back the Enbrel worked better than the Humira for me. I also take sulfazine with it. I go back to see him this week. He wants to add methotrexate with the Humira. Have only had the “hangover” after the first dose, I guess that is a common side affect.
