Kelly’s Humira experience
March 1, 2013Kelly has a great video here describing her (bad) experience with Humira. This is a drug that many of you take, or might take in the future. Before I had surgery, I don’t believe this drug was yet approved for ulcerative colitis, so I have not tried it.
Even though she’s had a really bad experience, she stresses that not everybody will react like this: far from it. It’s still good to know, though, that things don’t always work out the way we have planned with chronic illness.
Keep fighting,
~Dennis
Question: Have you had any really bad reactions to any of the medications you’ve taken? Please share your story with the rest of us!
Hi Kelly! I had a horrible time with Humira, too and I was even on Prednisone, at the time, in order to suppress any autoimmune fight with it. My joints swelled up and I had trouble walking. On top of that, I believe I had a major reaction to the Prednisone, as well. It was horrible. I then tried the Imuran/Remicade combo and was almost hospitalized during the last infusion, due to my reaction. I took Cimzia, as a final-ditch effort and became cover in head to toe hives. So, my body “threw antibodies” at every biological/immunosuppressant I took. My doctor hinted at the fact that folks with a diagnosis of moderate to severe, left-sided U.C., were the most “drug resistant” and the most difficult to treat. That was my diagnosis. I’m wondering if you had the same diagnosis.
By the way: I am now seeing the first advertising for Humira, on TV and I notice it is suggested for Crohn’s patients, only.
I do believe that it not only attacked my joints, but made my UC much worse. I agree that everyone should try it, but know the signs of a bad reaction and stop treatment immediately, if side effects are present.
Hi Ru,
Thanks for commenting, but Kelly doesn’t work for this website. In the post, click the link to her YouTube page to contact her directly. I often repost other peoples’ videos as a way of spreading the word.
Sorry to hear about your struggles!
~Dennis
Ha! Sorry, Dennis! Someday I may actually figure out how to use your website! ;)
I’ve had my fair share of adverse reactions to medication. I’m the type of person that tends to not only react to some meds, but when I do, I get the really rare adverse reactions. When I was first trying to figure out a decent treatment plan for my primary illness (Ehlers Danlos Syndrome) we tried Lyrica for intense nerve pain as it’s worked wonders for lots of people, including my mom. Well, after the second dose or so, I started having trouble seeing. My vision went really blurring and kind of hazy. It was so scary! Another really weird adverse reaction was when I was taking Mestinon, a drug to treat Myasthenia Gravis but shown to manage the symptoms of autonomic dysfunction. My doctor told me to expect some muscle twitches, but what actually happened was severe muscle contractions. I was laying in bed and felt my muscles starting to spasm, which is actually normal with Ehlers Danlos. I decided to go get one of my muscle relaxers that at the time were downstairs. When I managed to get the medicine, I was already really stiff and having trouble walking and instead of trying to walk back up the stairs, I crawled (again, pretty common for me when I’m having a bad day). By the time I got to the top of the stairs I couldn’t move at all. My hands were contracted in claw-like positions and I hurt so bad. Thankfully, I have a service dog that in situations like these he is supposed to get help. I was living with my boyfriend at the time and told my dog to bark to wake him up. The spasms were so bad that I couldn’t get me into our bed, the guest room was closest and he put me in that bed with an electric blanket to try to calm the spasms. Ugh. Anyway… those are two of my adverse reaction stories!