Saw the Rheumatologist today

[northcoast]

Well, still not much to add, so that's a good thing.  I started squatting at the gym, which is something I hadn't been able to do for 10 years because the toes/feet, knees, and hips hurt too much to do it safely.  So far so good.

The feet might be a tad stiff in the mornings in general, but it quickly goes away within a minute or two, and no pain, but that is relatively new over the past 6 weeks or so.

Overall, I've been plateaued for a while, but I'm pretty happy with where I am at.


Hope everyone else is doing well!

--dave

[jiml]

Well, still not much to add, so that's a good thing.  I started squatting at the gym, which is something I hadn't been able to do for 10 years because the toes/feet, knees, and hips hurt too much to do it safely.  So far so good.

The feet might be a tad stiff in the mornings in general, but it quickly goes away within a minute or two, and no pain, but that is relatively new over the past 6 weeks or so.

Overall, I've been plateaued for a while, but I'm pretty happy with where I am at.


Hope everyone else is doing well!

--dave

Thanks for the update Dave
Great to know the Humira is still working Dave and you are now able to do things that you havent been able to do for years ....it's certainly doing well for you ...

What about the skin is it clearing your psoriasis ? Or is it Psoriatic Arthritis only that you have ?

[northcoast]

Thanks for the update Dave
Great to know the Humira is still working Dave and you are now able to do things that you havent been able to do for years ....it's certainly doing well for you ...

What about the skin is it clearing your psoriasis ? Or is it Psoriatic Arthritis  only that you have ?

Ok, so the two biggest areas of psoriasis I had were on my right shin and above the tailbone in 2 patches, but I consider that one.  The shin patch shrunk from about 4 inches to 2 inches along its longest axis.  The area above my tailbone did not shrink, rather the severity of the psoriasis decreased, but it's still there.  I also have 2 small areas that improved slightly but did not go away:  one behind the right ear and the other at the base of my hairline on the back of my head, which is about 1/2 inch in diameter at most.  Tough to say how much those cleared since I can't see them, but it wasn't all that much, although they don't flake and they used to.  None of the areas flake.

All other areas cleared 90-100% which is great because even though the others were pretty small in size, they were moderate to severe.  Those areas were elbows, knees, right thigh on the outside, left thigh underside, and the small of my back.

[northcoast]

I'll just throw this in here, too -- I recalculated my psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis scores now having been on Humira for 9 months and I went from a 23 to a 7 and 22 to a 3 respectively.  Pretty darn good. 

Oh, and last week, both my wife and 2 year old got sick with a cold... and I didn't get it.  I guess either the Humira is successfully targeting the right part of the immune system, or it is just so active that the Humira is not weakening it to the point where I'm that much more susceptible to getting bugs.  Either way, I was glad I could avoid that one.

[jiml]

That's great Dave although far from clear the Humira must be working as your scores have dropped significantly, although you still have the stubborn spots that it's struggling with... it's good to know that the flaking is virtually stopped ( one less job vacuuming less often )

It's great you are managing to avoid the bugs when the family get them, as you say it shows your immune system isn't compromised  

The only thing I would say is that if after 9 months it isn't clearing, you could ask for a change ...... but if you are happy with the way it is then leave it as it is and use some creams or enstilar  on the stubborn areas as well

All in all things are looking good for you  

[northcoast]

That's great Dave although far from clear the Humira must be working as your scores have dropped significantly, although you still have the stubborn spots that it's struggling with... it's good to know that the flaking is virtually stopped ( one less job vacuuming less often )

It's great you are managing to avoid the bugs when the family get them, as you say it shows your immune system isn't compromised  

The only thing I would say is that if after 9 months it isn't clearing, you could ask for a change ...... but if you are happy with the way it is then leave it as it is and use some creams or enstilar  on the stubborn areas as well

All in all things are looking good for you  

I won't ask for a change at this point... I'm satisfied with the results despite some of the stubborn skin patches.

[jiml]

That's great Dave although far from clear the Humira must be working as your scores have dropped significantly, although you still have the stubborn spots that it's struggling with... it's good to know that the flaking is virtually stopped ( one less job vacuuming less often )

It's great you are managing to avoid the bugs when the family get them, as you say it shows your immune system isn't compromised  

The only thing I would say is that if after 9 months it isn't clearing, you could ask for a change ...... but if you are happy with the way it is then leave it as it is and use some creams or enstilar  on the stubborn areas as well

All in all things are looking good for you  

I won't ask for a change at this point... I'm satisfied with the results despite some of the stubborn skin patches.

I can understand that as you may be moved to something that doesn't work as well, and the time to consider that is if it ever starts failing

[Fred]

I'll just throw this in here, too -- I recalculated my psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis scores now having been on Humira for 9 months and I went from a 23 to a 7 and 22 to a 3 respectively.  Pretty darn good. 

Oh, and last week, both my wife and 2 year old got sick with a cold... and I didn't get it.  I guess either the Humira is successfully targeting the right part of the immune system, or it is just so active that the Humira is not weakening it to the point where I'm that much more susceptible to getting bugs.  Either way, I was glad I could avoid that one.

That's sounding good.

Long may it continue, and yes I wouldn't ask for a change yet. A couple of years time if it's not as good as it was, or if you have a problem with it yes. But stay on a Bio as long as you can would be my advice.

[northcoast]

Update time for those interested:

My wife got sick almost two weeks ago - sinuses, throat, and then into the chest.  I followed with it 3 days later.

Having a tough time kicking it.  I haven't felt bad enough to call off work (gotta be careful calling off work with my job - if I do, someone needs to cover for me), but I've only been at 70-80% now since the middle of last week.  This ends up being another case, however, of not knowing if it's the Humira, or just the nature of the beast.  My wife hasn't fully kicked it either, so anyone's guess is as good as mine.

[Fred]

I would say it's not the Humira if your wife has it too.

The Humira could make it last a little longer than with your wife, and it's only if you get problems and no one else around you does that you should have it looked at. As you probably know the Bio's can weaken the immune system in some people, but I have never had a cold or bout of flu any worse than my wife.

Having said that if you still have it after a couple of weeks or it gets worse then you should probably mention it to your GP or Dermatologist to get their opinion.