My journey using Stelara

[Darcy]

I made the decision to start with Stelara after reading many posts on this forum of others who have gone down this road. My psoriasis is primarily on my lower legs and tops of feet. My first injection was on July 6, 2017. So far the only reaction I've noticed was stinging at the injection site for about 2-3 hours afterwards. Today I feel a little tired but it could be due to having to get up in the middle of the night with our new puppy. My husband wondered if becoming easily irritated was one of the side effects?

Next injection will be in 4 weeks.

My insurance denied the request from my doctor for Stelara treatment and wanted me to use Humira first. Dr. insisted this was the best treatment and Janssen (the manufacturer) approved me for "free" injections through the end of the year...what's the catch? Dr. said many times the manf. will do this, show that this treatment is working and then the insurance provider typically will support the treatment going forward, i.e. not deny a treatment that is working...hopefully!

[Caroline]

Hello Darcy,

Good to read from you that your doctor seems to be a very good one, insisting on a good treatment for his patients.
Also very good to start this log of your journey, so we can learn of your experiences with Stelara.
I hope you will do very well on it.

Good luck!
Caroline

[jiml]

Thanks for starting this record of your journey I'm sure it will be good for you to look back on, and help others trying to decide on a treatment ..
I'm glad the only side effects you have had are minor I thought all wives got easily irritated mine does with me

Great that your doctor was insistent on Stelara and Janssen are funding it for the first year ....I'm hopeful it will be a give you clearane fast
I look forward to the next instalment
Jim

[Caroline]

Thanks for starting this record of your journey I'm sure it will be good for you to look back on, and help others trying to decide on a treatment ..
I'm glad the only side effects you have had are minor   I thought all wives got easily irritated   mine does with me

Great that your doctor was insistent on Stelara and Janssen are funding it for the first year ....I'm hopeful it will be a give you clearane fast  
I look forward to the next instalment
Jim

Wives are never easily irritated !!

[Grizzly Bear]

Good morning Darcy

to the madhouse

OK, let me see if i can help / advise on what you have written, I 'm on stelara

You said : So far the only reaction I've noticed was stinging at the injection site for about 2-3 hours afterwards.

Did you inject or was it a doctor / nurse ? The reason i ask is over here in the UK, most of us administer it ourselves.

Now, because I've been injecting myself with stelara and things like humira, and enbrel, 80% of the time, I get it right but there are the odd occasions where I insert the needle at the wrong angle and I get the burning stinging that you mentioned..............don't worry, it goes away

As for feeling tired, I cannot remember if i was tired but there should be a leaflet inside the box that the stelara came in Darcy.......have a read of it and see if that comes under possible side effects

We are all different with all our treatments on psoriasis etc but try not to worry, ask on here or ask your derm doc if you are concerned.


As for hubby noticing that you are irritated, that's normal for you girls because us boys can't do right for wrong in your eyes !

Only kidding (again, look at the leaflet Darcy on side effects )


OK, your next injection is in 4 weeks, around then and thereafter you should notice your P fading, like I said above, we are all different so it could fade before or a couple of weeks after your 2nd jab but the main thing is, bear with it Darcy, OK.

Do not expect miracles within 5 mins

Insurance, I'm afraid I cannot help you there because we brits don't have the American system ( thank goodness in some ways ) but I'm sure that some of our American members might be able to comment on what you have written

So, that just leaves me to say, keep us updated, join in the banter, OK and enjoy yourself on here, OK ?

GB

[Darcy]

Thank you, everyone for your encouraging words!

I had my Dr. give the injection...sounds like that's what we do here in the States, which is ok by me cuz I'm a little squeemish when it comes to needles, etc. It may be changing, though. Dr. said there may be a chance for self-injection in the future.

Before I could start on Stelara, I did have to get a TB test and blood work for Hep A & B.

I'm glad I didn't have to try Humira or other treatments...I wasn't comfortable with their side effects & neither is my Dr. She said if she had P, she would be on Stelara.

It's been about a week since the injection and still have itching but it seems to have subsided. That's about all I've noticed in skin changes. I realize this isn't an overnight sensation so taking it a day at a time.

I'll work on that irritation thing !

Back to work....

[JohnB]

Hi Darcy welcome to our Club   .
As always we treasure personal experiences on the drugs out there. As well as an aide memoire, it is also valuable to others who are likely to be put on Stelara and I am looking forward to following your journey.
Feel free to dive in and ask your questions and don't forget the off topic section where you can indulge in some idle banter.

[Fred]

Good luck with the Stelara , I'm a big fan and was on it for 6 years.

The stinging can be caused by using it too cold or injecting it too fast. Best to get it out of the fridge 20 mins before using, and stab the needle in quick but push the plunger slowly. However as your doctor is doing it for you, you don't have a lot of choice but the stinging will pass.

Tiredness is something I used to feel when first starting it, but your body will get used to it and the tiredness will get less as time goes by.

I would say being irritated is a mixture of the puppy, the apprehension of using stelara and the tiredness. I wouldn't think it's anything to do with the Stelara aloe, so your husband will soon be safe again.  

I see some of the others have welcomed you, they really should subscribe to new threads in [forum=2]
[thread=5001]

[D Foster]

Hi Darcy, welcome to the forum, I am on Stelara and I can tell you it's been fantastic for me. I found that after the second injection at 4 weeks it started to kick and I also have a bit of tiredness for a few days and It's not a problem. I don't get irritated at all though Mrs Dave would contradict that statement as she say's that I am an akward so and so at times whereas , never mind what Caroline say's , that is the provence of the wives as we men all know.
The one thing to bear in mind is that we are all different and everyone reacts at a different rate and in their own way.

[Turnedlight]

Hi Darcy, I started Stelara this year too - I must admit, I think I feel more tired than without the drugs. My skin cleared up nicely but I have all sorts of aches and pains which I think are connected but my docs don't.

Interesting what you say about Humira - I tried that last year for a few months, I had no side effects and felt really good on it. Sadly it didn't actually work on my skin!