Humira did it work for you?

[yorkshire_lad]

Hi everyone,

Took my loading dose of humira  a week and a half ago so just thought i'd see what other peoples experiences with the drug are.

I had to stop cyclosporine just after xmas as id been on it for too long, i was gutted about this as it had worked for me with amazing results. Instantly had a MASSIVE flair which has only just calmed down.
I've really struggled this past couple of months mentally, i think having been used to being psoriasis free for the best part of a year it was such a shock to the system to be covered head to toe  within a couple of weeks of stopping. I really took it for granted being clear, its hard to explain how it effects EVERY single thing you do in day to day life.

Anyway enough of the depressing stuff, I'm trying to stop feeling sorry for myself now that I've started the new medication but I've seen no difference whatsoever, i know its only been couple of weeks but there has been nothing, the cyclosporine worked so quickly!

I realise I'm just being very impatient but was just wondering if there were others that had tried humira and if it had worked for them?

Thanks for reading
Jamie

[jiml]

I've never been on a biological drug Jamie ..so can't help, but I can well relate to the taking for granted being clear ....it's probably my biggest fear when I go to the hospital and they talk about changing my treatment, after 5 years clear....I'm sure I would feel depressed like you .

I hope the Humira works well for you, but I don't think it's the fastest worker from what I've read, but I'm sure some of the bio people will have answers for you

Good luck

[Fred]

Hello Jamie,

I was on it for a while and it did help, but unfortunately I had a reaction to it and ended up with a week in hospital looking like a cooked lobster.

But don't let that put you off as I had a similar problem with Remicade and they decided I could no longer use the TNF treatments, some people have done well on it but it's not one of the most widely used today and I don't know of many that have got past a couple of years.

Welcome to Psoriasis Club by the way.  

Regards.

Fred.

*By the way I changed your subject to "Humira did it work for you?" as we have a lot of Humira threads and it will help it get noticed better.

[Turnedlight]

Hi, I'm afraid Humira did nothing for my skin and they took me off it. I didn't have any side effects either though, and I think it was actually improving my psa a bit.

Now I'm on Stelara, only just started but I think I can see an improvement already. I think the different biologicals go for different t-cells or something, so if Humira doesn't work it doesn't mean another biologic won't work.

Good luck with the Humira!

[briancohen]

Hi Jamie - your ps story sounds almost identical to me (also Yorkshire!) - was 99% clear with csporin, then had to stop due to side effects, than massive flair up. I tried (on the recommendation of my dermatologist) a non-bio treatment called Apremilast - absolutely didn't work, so started taking Humira about 12 months ago. Really good results - but not as good as csporin - but this is to be expected, *but* you can stay on Humira long term with far less risk of side effects (I'll leave out the potentially very dangerous (as in death) side effects as they are uncommon compared to kidney damage from csporin) - and none of the splitting headaches I used to get on csporin.

The injections feel a bit odd at first but you soon get used to it.

Good luck - and don't forget, if Humira doesn't work or you get side effects, there are at least 6 biologics cleared for NHS use for psoriasis.

Cheers,

Brian

[yorkshire_lad]

Thanks for the replies everyone..... Not really sure if it sounds promising or not!

So i had my second jab on thursday and saw quite a big improvement straight away, the Psoriasis patches were no longer sore and they felt smooth again.
the improvement seems to have slowed right down since so I'm guessing there is an initial reaction straight after the jabs then it slows right down.

I hope it continues to improve anyway.... finger crossed!

I have a UVB bed at home and am wondering if i can speed the process up by using this a few times or is this a bad idea when on humira??

Thanks 

Jamie

[jiml]

Good luck Jamie I hope the Humira is beginning to work, I will mkeep my fingers crossed for you, I'm sure someone here will know whether it's safe to use your uv lamp with humira
Good luck

[Caroline]

Hi, I'm afraid Humira did nothing for my skin and they took me off it. I didn't have any side effects either though, and I think it was actually improving my psa a bit.

Now I'm on Stelara, only just started but I think I can see an improvement already. I think the different biologicals go for different t-cells or something, so if Humira doesn't work it doesn't mean another biologic won't work.

Good luck with the Humira!

That is correct TL.. some biologicals go for getting down the TNF (Tumor necrosis factor) levels, other bios block certain receivers on the cells, like IL-17 (Cosentyx) or IL-23.
Both approaches lower the expression of psoriasis in its two forms.

Did you ever do Fumaderm, Jamie?
It seems often to be skipped why the results are often very good.

[Fred]

Two things about using UVB with Humira.

#1 You won't know if it's the Humira or the UVB that is clearing the psoriasis. Some people do have two treatments at once, but I don't recall anyone having UVB and Bio's together.

#2 You shouldn't be self treating with UVB. (That's just my personal opinion)

[Grizzly Bear]

Hi there Jamie.

I was on Humira for a while after my body had gotten use to the Enbrel i was on.

Humira is good but when i lived in west yorkshire, the dermatology dep't at Halifax use to give me UVB treatment too at the same time.

Please DO NOT use home UVB because you could do more damage to your skin than good.

As for side effects, i think i had one or two minor things but nothing major.

Good luck with the Humira Jamie

GB