Hi!

[Turnedlight]

Thank you all for the warm welcome

[jiml]

Hi again
I don't think there will be any comparison between methotrexate and Humira. You are unlikely to get ill as much if at all on Humira.
The surgery will do the injections for you to start with you cant do it yourself
I used to pass out at the sight of a needle they had to lay me down at school before an injection, coz I always used to pass out..... But you know it's amazing what you can do when you have to, saying that I don't self inject but I do have regular blood tests and do my wife's needles for dialysis ( that doesn't hurt me )
But I think your anticipation of taking it will prove to be worse than actually doing it
I wish you luck and if you really can't do it ask for my tablets Fumaderm.... They have a good effect but at the start some unpleasant side effects that pass as the treatment progresses
But I think to be rid of psoriasis quickly you should get the Humira
Jim

[mataribot]

Most of the TNFs require six weeks of treatment before any meaningful results. Typically 3 months are required before it can be determined how much the drug helps. Humira does significantly out perform MTX for plaque psoriasis in the long run...

[mataribot]

For comparisons, just look at the phase III trials....

[Fred]

I'm worried about being ill all the time, I'm so fed up on mtx feeling washed out, weak and stupid, I don't want to just replace that with catching colds every five minutes.. Plus I'm not great with needles, I have got used to blood tests now enough not to faint but I'm not looking forward to doing the injections but I don't want anyone else doing it either lol.    thank you for the welcome though  

Trust me Humira will not be anything like what you experienced with Methotrexate, I can understand your concerns and yes Humira can make you feel like you have a cold when you first start but it is short lived any your body will soon become accustomed to it and after a few months you won't feel any side effects. So you will never be always catching colds, and if you were to keep catching colds they will take you off it and try another Bio.

You can read more about Humira here: Humira (adalimumab)

As for the injections, again I can understand your nervousness about having them and it's not easy for everyone to start injecting themselves. But they will do the first ones for you and make sure you are happy before letting you go it alone, should you however feel you still can't do them yourself they will arrange for a nurse to do them for you (But it would be best to do them yourself at home and at a time convenient to you.)

It's a very small needle and remember it's only going under the skin, so it's nothing like having a blood test which goes into you vein and the needle is probably 3 times larger. It takes a matter of a few seconds to pinch an inch of skin on your belly or upper leg, I think Humira also comes in one of the Pen type injectors if I remember rightly and they are simple to use.  

I would say give Humira a try, you have nothing to loose and I think you will be pleasantly surprised. You will be strictly monitored and in the very unlike event of anything going wrong you can just stop using it, yes you may feel a little teeny weeny stinging sensation for 2 seconds when you inject every two weeks but that is usually down to injecting it straight from the fridge. And yes you may feel like you have a cold or feel tired for a week but it's mild and will calm down, once your body gets used to it those feelings will no longer exist. And best of all you will Never feel anything like you did with Poison Methotrexate.

If all else fails and Humira is not for you there are other bio's and you can just stop one and try another.

Give it a go I say and get your life back.  

[D Foster]

I can sympathise TL ,I was on 20mg MTX for 9 years, 6 by oral and 3 by self injection but as the side effects built up I had no choice but to come off it. I never had complete clearance on MTX but now I am on Stelara and it's fantastic with 99% clearance and nothing in the way of side effects. I also self inject the Stelara which is two injections and injections are nothing to bother about when you get the knack, as Fred said it's only just under the skin and not as bad as MTX injections though they were no problem at all . I don't know much about Humira in fact only what is on this site which is excellent information.
Don't let the thought of injections put you off as I said it is nothing to bother about at all.
Take care and don't worry. Dave

[Kat]

This is a friendly bunch and there's lots of info here.

Good luck with Humira!

[jiml]

Hi Turnedlight are you still fearful of going on Humira? I think if you can put the fear to the back of your mind and go for it... If you do get bad effects like constant colds, then you can stop it and tell the dermatologist that it's not working

If I could have what I'm on by injection I would give it a go
What I'm trying to say in a clumsy manner is do give it a try , let the doctor inject you at first you will get used to it .
When you are comfortable move to self inject
Look at the Humira website that Fred has given you a link to .

[Turnedlight]

Hi Turnedlight are you still fearful of going on Humira? I think if you can put the fear to the back of your mind and go for it... If you do get bad effects like constant colds, then you can stop it and tell the dermatologist that it's not working

If I could have what I'm on by injection I would give it a go
What I'm trying to say in a clumsy manner is do give it a try , let the doctor inject you at first you will get used to it .
When you are comfortable move to self inject  
Look at the Humira website that Fred has given you a link to .

Hi, no I'm going along with it, the moral support on here has worked for me! Also the derm is such a lovely bloke I feel I ought to take his advice.. I'm not massively worried about doing the injection, I guess I'll just get used to it - I used to faint with every needle but not any more, I've had an epidural and loads of blood tests since those days! I was worried about catching lots of illnesses and feeling rubbish all the time but I've been reassured by you all :-)

[jiml]

That's great news I do hope you will keep us up to date with your progress it's very helpful to yourself and others if you keep a record of your progress and I doubt you will get lots of illnesses
I wish you success with it and hope to read of your progress on here
Jim