Re: Humira

[Guest guest]

Hi Yasmin,

Fiona's description of the drug is spot on. However, by contrast, I had a very

good reaction to the drug. I am still taking it and I haven't experienced an

side effects. And for quite a while, I was able to get off the steroids

completely and just take humira. Couple things to note:

1) Everybody is different. I handled humira well. Some people like Fiona did

not. You won't know which one you are until you start taking the drug.

2) Fiona is right that its brand new and that there isn't long term data about

its usage. That does concern me greatly but I determined that this was better

than taking steroids or risking another flare up. But that's just my own

cost-benefit analysis for my health. I have had crohn's for over 10 years. Every

drug out there seems to have serious side effects. Its always seemed to me that

there are never any drug treatment options for crohns -- just less bad ones.

That's why I started SCD -- I hope diet can get me off the drugs. You'll have to

make your own judgment on that obviously.

3)It is super, super expensive. A normal dose is two pins (each 40 mg) that you

take once every other week. That's 1,500 dollars. Unless you have good

insurance, this may not be an option. However, if you don't have any

prescription drug insurance, you may be able to apply for hep through abbot

laboratories (they are the ones that make the drug).

>

> Does anybody know anything about the drug Humaira (sp???)

>

> thnks

> Yasmin

>

[Guest guest]

I'm in the insurance approval process to begin taking this medication--Humira or

adalimumab (generic name) for Crohns. It is similar drug type as Remicade which

began as a medicine to fight arthritis, another autoimmune disease like Crohns.

I am excited to begin it because even with the diet and my moderate Crohns I

still had a flare several weeks ago that took me a week to get over (still

wondering if was 8/9 SCD anniversary?)

My GI asked me to do the research behind it and so you are welcome to google

Humira and select Abbott Laboratories/Pharmaceuticals to read the medication

guide--this will share all side effects, use, etc. Others who have posted are

correct in that any Crohns medications have side-effects and some are severe,

depending on your body. The corto-costeriods seem to do okay with me but the

immune suppressors such as Azathioprine were not good--this is also the reason I

was looking for a diet/food way of controlling my Crohns.

A friend of mine who has lived with Crohns for over 20 years has been on

Remicade for 10 years and believes it to have changed his life. A second friend

of mine also uses it and does very well. Remicade and Humira are both TNF

blockers (you can google TNF blockers as well).

Although there are many side effects, one has to make the decision for herself

(or himself) what the goal for the self will be. I am determined to NEVER have

surgery and I will do whatever it takes to stay away from that. My Crohns was

diagnosed not by a biopsy from the colon but from a blood test that showed all

four Crohns antibodies in my blood. My GI said without controlling this disease,

I will be a candidate for surgery in 5 years. I am 33--no thank you. Because my

goal is to avoid surgery, then I am willing to try medication, along with the

diet, to control this disease. I am hoping it goes well.

It is expensive and I just switched over to a high deductible insurance plan,

but the drug company and a non-profit are helping me. Plus I have a GI who will

let me pay as I can. To me, this is worth it. I want to work, be with my

children and husband, etc in full capacity.

Please take the time to look it up and decide what's best for you and don't

forget to talk to your doctor. Good luck!

>

> Does anybody know anything about the drug Humaira (sp???)

>

> thnks

> Yasmin

>

[Guest guest]

>>> I'm in the insurance approval process to begin taking this > medication--Humira or adalimumab (generic name) for Crohns. It is > similar drug type as Remicade which began as a medicine to fight > arthritis, another autoimmune disease like Crohns. I am excited to begin > it because even with the diet and my moderate Crohns I still had a flare > several weeks ago that took me a week to get over (still wondering if > was 8/9 SCD anniversary?)>> My GI asked me to do the research behind it and so you are welcome to > google Humira and select Abbott Laboratories/Pharmaceuticals to read the > medication guide--this will share all side effects, use, etc. Others who > have posted are correct in that any Crohns medications have side-effects > and some are severe, depending on your body. The corto-costeriods seem > to do okay with me They will for only so long; they have many rather nasty and long-term side effects which will show up eventually if not sooner.but the immune suppressors such as Azathioprine were  > not good--this is also the reason I was looking for a diet/food way of  > controlling my Crohns.>> A friend of mine who has lived with Crohns for over 20 years has been on  > Remicade for 10 years and believes it to have changed his life. A second  > friend of mine also uses it and does very well. Remicade and Humira are  > both TNF blockers (you can google TNF blockers as well).>> Although there are many side effects, one has to make the decision for  > herself (or himself) what the goal for the self will be. I am determined  > to NEVER have surgery and I will do whatever it takes to stay away from  > that. My Crohns was diagnosed not by a biopsy from the colon but from a  > blood test that showed all four Crohns antibodies in my blood. My GI  > said without controlling this disease, I will be a candidate for surgery > in 5 years. I am 33--no thank you. Because my goal is to avoid surgery, > then I am willing to try medication, along with the diet, to control > this disease. I am hoping it goes well.>> It is expensive and I just switched over to a high deductible insurance > plan, but the drug company and a non-profit are helping me. Plus I have > a GI who will let me pay as I can. To me, this is worth it. I want to > work, be with my children and husband, etc in full capacity.>> Please take the time to look it up and decide what's best for you and > don't forget to talk to your doctor. Good luck!> If you haven't tried LDN that's the place to begin. I personally wouldn't any longer take Humira, Remicade or any other Crohn's drug except LDN for all the tea in China. I don't mean to criticize you, but looking at a pharmeutical company's website is not particularly a good, non-biased place to look for side-effects related to a particular drug. Incidentally, for myself I've had two Crohn's surgeries, one in 1987, one in 1995. I guess we all have certain priorities, but I consider having had those surgeries to have been a far better choice than staying on the drugs I was on each time.    About LDN (low-dose naltrexone): LDN is inexpensive -- it's a generic drug -- has no toxic side-effects, and mostly no side effects at all -- unlike every other Crohn's drug out there -- and it will almost certainly improve any other auto-immune symptoms you have, such as asthma, allergies, arthritis, mitochondrial dysfunction., etc. The reason is that it spurs your body to regulate its immune system by making your body produce endorphins (all people with auto-immune conditions are very low endorphins), and endo-phins play a very important role in the immune system.The only downside is that there are way too many gastroenterologists who haven't heard of it and who are not interested in learning about it, so they won't prescribe it. That, however, can easily be gotten around, as there are plenty of doctors who know its worth and efficacy and who will prescribe it; and it is also obtainable offshore without a presecription. The SCD has helped me a lot, but my life would have turned around as it has without the accompaniment of LDN with the diet. (I've had Crohn's for 30+ years, and other gastroentestinal problems before that since I was in high school.)If you want to learn about LDN start looking at www.ldnscience.org -- and there are a lot of additional links at that site.Since I've had auto-immune and gastrointestinal issues for pretty much all my life it's saying a lot when I say that with the diet and LDN together I can't remember ever feeling better IN MY LIFE than I do with that approach.n A funny, touching gift book for cat lovers. Signed copies, free shipping (U.S., reduced elsewhere): Confessions of  a Cataholic: My Life With the 10 Cats Who Caused My Addiction by n Van Til www.wordpowerpublishing.com  

[Guest guest]

for those currently using Humira, what is your dosage? I am 40mg every week.

joe

> >

> > Does anybody know anything about the drug Humaira (sp???)

> >

> > thnks

> > Yasmin

> >

>

[Guest guest]

I did Remicade (almost same as humira) for about 8 months and it worked - it's

really miraculous how fast your D and bleeding stops -within 48 hours.

The drugs really are a godsend and kept me from surgery, BUT they can fail and

that's what happened to me. After remicade stopped working, out of desperation,

I googled and found SCD and have never looked back.

I've suffered from IBS/D and Crohn's for so many years, but SCD was even a

bigger godsend.

I think the trick might be to stick with the diet and wean yourself away from

the drug. Use the time on drugs to heal your body and your psyche and gear up to

wean off. If you look on any of the legal class action suits on the web,

you'll see there is a huge risk of getting fungal infections and lymphomas.

Just my 2 cents, hope it helps.

SCD - 5 yrs.

CD - 5 1/2 yrs.

>

> >

> >

> > I'm in the insurance approval process to begin taking this

> > medication--Humira or adalimumab (generic name) for Crohns. It issimilar

> > drug type as Remicade which began as a medicine to fightarthritis,

> > another autoimmune disease like Crohns. I am excited to beginit because

> > even with the diet and my moderate Crohns I still had a flareseveral

> > weeks ago that took me a week to get over (still wondering ifwas 8/9 SCD

> > anniversary?)

> >

> > My GI asked me to do the research behind it and so you are welcome to

> > google Humira and select Abbott Laboratories/Pharmaceuticals to read the

> > medication guide--this will share all side effects, use, etc. Others who

> > have posted are correct in that any Crohns medications have side-effects

> > and some are severe, depending on your body. The corto-costeriods seemto

> > do okay with me

>

> They will for only so long; they have many rather nasty and long-term side

> effects which will show up eventually if not sooner.

>

> but the immune suppressors such as Azathioprine were

> > not good--this is also the reason I was looking for a diet/food way of

> > controlling my Crohns.

> >

> > A friend of mine who has lived with Crohns for over 20 years has been on

> > Remicade for 10 years and believes it to have changed his life. A second

> > friend of mine also uses it and does very well. Remicade and Humira are

> > both TNF blockers (you can google TNF blockers as well).

> >

> > Although there are many side effects, one has to make the decision for

> > herself (or himself) what the goal for the self will be. I am determined

> > to NEVER have surgery and I will do whatever it takes to stay away from

> > that. My Crohns was diagnosed not by a biopsy from the colon but from a

> > blood test that showed all four Crohns antibodies in my blood. My GI

> > said without controlling this disease, I will be a candidate for surgery

> > in 5 years. I am 33--no thank you. Because my goal is to avoid surgery,

> > then I am willing to try medication, along with the diet, to controlthis

> > disease. I am hoping it goes well.

> >

> > It is expensive and I just switched over to a high deductible insurance

> > plan, but the drug company and a non-profit are helping me. Plus I havea

> > GI who will let me pay as I can. To me, this is worth it. I want towork,

> > be with my children and husband, etc in full capacity.

> >

> > Please take the time to look it up and decide what's best for you and

> > don't forget to talk to your doctor. Good luck!

> >

>

>

> If you haven't tried LDN that's the place to begin. I personally wouldn't

> any longer take Humira, Remicade or any other Crohn's drug except LDN for

> all the tea in China. I don't mean to criticize you, but looking at a

> pharmeutical company's website is not particularly a good, non-biased

> place to look for side-effects related to a particular drug. Incidentally,

> for myself I've had two Crohn's surgeries, one in 1987, one in 1995. I

> guess we all have certain priorities, but I consider having had those

> surgeries to have been a far better choice than staying on the drugs I was

> on each time.

>

>

>

> About LDN (low-dose naltrexone): LDN is inexpensive -- it's a generic drug

> -- has no toxic side-effects, and mostly no side effects at all -- unlike

> every other Crohn's drug out there -- and it will almost certainly improve

> any other auto-immune symptoms you have, such as asthma, allergies,

> arthritis, mitochondrial dysfunction., etc. The reason is that it spurs

> your body to regulate its immune system by making your body produce

> endorphins (all people with auto-immune conditions are very low

> endorphins), and endo-phins play a very important role in the immune

> system.

>

> The only downside is that there are way too many gastroenterologists who

> haven't heard of it and who are not interested in learning about it, so

> they won't prescribe it. That, however, can easily be gotten around, as

> there are plenty of doctors who know its worth and efficacy and who will

> prescribe it; and it is also obtainable offshore without a presecription.

>

> The SCD has helped me a lot, but my life would have turned around as it

> has without the accompaniment of LDN with the diet. (I've had Crohn's for

> 30+ years, and other gastroentestinal problems before that since I was in

> high school.)

>

> If you want to learn about LDN start looking at www.ldnscience.org -- and

> there are a lot of additional links at that site.

>

> Since I've had auto-immune and gastrointestinal issues for pretty much all

> my life it's saying a lot when I say that with the diet and LDN together I

> can't remember ever feeling better IN MY LIFE than I do with that approach.

>

> n

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

> A funny, touching gift book for cat lovers. Signed copies, free shipping

> (U.S., reduced elsewhere): Confessions of a Cataholic: My Life With the

> 10 Cats Who Caused My Addiction by n Van Til

> www.wordpowerpublishing.com

>

[Guest guest]

When I was on Humira (and doing pretty well with it) I discovered SCD. Knowing

that the Humira magic would only last a year or two, I decided to do a

preemptive strike and start the diet. All in all, I spent about 10 months doing

the Humira/SCD combo, and have been 10 months with just SCD (and Pentasa), and

have also been on LDN for several months. I was at my best with the Humira/SCD

combo, but SCD alone definitely works better then Humira alone. LDN hasn't

really done anything for me, but I'm still holding out a little hope that it

might kick in. It used to make me sleep really well, but for the last week, it

hasn't even done that.

Holly

Crohn's

SCD 12/01/08

>

> I did Remicade (almost same as humira) for about 8 months and it worked - it's

really miraculous how fast your D and bleeding stops -within 48 hours.

> The drugs really are a godsend and kept me from surgery, BUT they can fail and

that's what happened to me. After remicade stopped working, out of desperation,

I googled and found SCD and have never looked back.

> I've suffered from IBS/D and Crohn's for so many years, but SCD was even a

bigger godsend.

>

> I think the trick might be to stick with the diet and wean yourself away from

the drug. Use the time on drugs to heal your body and your psyche and gear up to

wean off. If you look on any of the legal class action suits on the web,

you'll see there is a huge risk of getting fungal infections and lymphomas.

>

> Just my 2 cents, hope it helps.

>

>

> SCD - 5 yrs.

> CD - 5 1/2 yrs.

>

[Guest guest]

Holly, I've been on LDN since last October. With the reading I've

done, it can help fairly soon. Or not. I've read about some things taking

upwards of a year to help. I have gotten help on several small

things, but not yet for biggies like fibro pain. But OK, I'll just

see how it goes. I would urge you to keep it up and see what happens in

the longer run.

When I was on Humira (and doing pretty well with it) I

discovered SCD. > Knowing that the Humira magic would only last a year or two, I

decidedto > do a preemptive strike and start the diet. All in all, I spent

about10 > months doing the Humira/SCD combo, and have been 10 months with

justSCD > (and Pentasa), and have also been on LDN for several months. I

wasat my > best with the Humira/SCD combo, but SCD alone definitely

worksbetter > then Humira alone. LDN hasn't really done anything for me,

butI'm still > holding out a little hope that it might kick in. It used tomake

me sleep > really well, but for the last week, it hasn't even donethat.

>

> Holly

[Guest guest]

n, I'm taking 3 MG right now, based on the formula of .03 times your

weight. I did try taking 4.5 MG sometime ago, but it made me feel awful. I was

so tired I could barely function. I don't have that problem at 3 MG. I don't

think I have a candida problem. Looking at the long list of symptoms it causes,

I only have fatigue and brain fog. I've also taken coconut oil, garlic, oil of

oregano, and grapeseed extract without negative effect. Maybe diluting 50 MG

pills in water isn't as effective as compounded LDN?

, I do intend to stay on LDN for at least a year. The 50 MG pills are fairly

affordable, so I won't be out much by hanging in there. Maybe it's doing a good

thing or two that I'm not even aware of.

Holly

Crohn's

SCD 12/01/08

>

> > When I was on Humira (and doing pretty well with it) I discovered SCD.

> > Knowing that the Humira magic would only last a year or two, I decidedto

> > do a preemptive strike and start the diet. All in all, I spent about10

> > months doing the Humira/SCD combo, and have been 10 months with justSCD

> > (and Pentasa), and have also been on LDN for several months. I wasat my

> > best with the Humira/SCD combo, but SCD alone definitely worksbetter

> > then Humira alone. LDN hasn't really done anything for me, butI'm still

> > holding out a little hope that it might kick in. It used tomake me sleep

> > really well, but for the last week, it hasn't even donethat.

> >

> > Holly

> > Crohn's

> > SCD 12/01/08

> >

>

> I'm very surprised to hear that you feel LDN hasn't done anything for you.

> That's certainly an atypical response. How much are you taking and have

> you changed -- upped -- the dose any if you aren't taking 4.5 mg/night? I

> assume you know that any candida overgrowth can impede its working?

>

> n

>

>

> --

> Now available. A fine gift for cat lovers:

> Confessions of a Cataholic: My Life With the 10 Cats Who Caused My

> Addiction

> by n Van Til

> www.wordpowerpublishing.com ; signed copies; free shipping in U.S.,

> reduced shipping elsewhere

>

[Guest guest]

Holly,

I think giving it a year is a reasonable thing to do. In one of the

LDN groups, there has been some interesting stuff, which I'm sorry I

didn't save. But at first, decades ago, Dr Bihari (and maybe

others) felt that everyone should take 4.5 mg, that that was THE dose,

unless you have MS and it made something or other worse, in which case

drop back to 3.0. But now some doctors are thinking that we should

take the minimum dose that works for us. I tend to agree with that one

more, and I suspect it may be because now it's being used for so many

other problems. I have mine compounded so haven't tried diluting

the pills, but my understanding was that your diluted pill maintains

potency for about a month. I think diluting the pills is definitely

the most economical way to go.

n, I'm taking 3 MG right now, based on the formula of .03 times

your weight. I did try taking 4.5 MG sometime ago, but it made me feel

awful. I was so tired I could barely function. I don't have that problem

at 3 MG. I don't think I have a candida problem. Looking at the long list

of symptoms it causes, I only have fatigue and brain fog. I've also taken

coconut oil, garlic, oil of oregano, and grapeseed extract without

negative effect. Maybe diluting 50 MG pills in water isn't as effective

as compounded LDN?

, I do intend to stay on LDN for at least a year. The 50 MG pills

are fairly affordable, so I won't be out much by hanging in there. Maybe

it's doing a good thing or two that I'm not even aware of.

Holly