My sister,Betsy, started taking Humira years ago for rheumatoid arthritis. It did a wonderful job in relieving the pain. Several years ago she developed lung cancer and histoplasmosis at the same time,both side effects of Humira. She had the cancer removed and the problems from histoplasmosis subsided . Two years later the cancer returned and quickly spread through her body,killing her in a matter of months. Humira had completely relieved her pain. It killed her.

I began humira injections in march of this year, As desperate as i was to rid my hands and feet of the painful pustulates I excepted some possible side affect, I received I special form with my first dose. The form was to be signed and returned. IT stated that I understood all the possible side affects of this medication. Tossed it in the garbage. I now have severe pain in legs and heels of feet. Walking causes my hands to tremor. I tire easily and have sinus trouble continuously. My dermatologist informed me that I have no problems, Humira was working . HMM! guess i should inform my body how lucky I am. When I talk with Humira they tell me talk with the Doc, THe doc says talk to Pharmacist, It is Pass the buck. I have A simple procedure this thursday. I stopped taking humira cause no one wll give me a straight answer. I also have to small holes in right calf, they heel over and reappear They burn and are painful deep into the muscle.

I was diagnosed with crohns in Sept of 04 . I of course had to take prednisone and other meds (don’t remember wihich ) Things went well for quite a while . I then fell into the “donut whole ” with medicare and couldn’t afford the asacol . I was put on other meds and suppliments folic acid and b12 shots once a month . Everything seemed fine until about 18 mo ago . I had a crohns flare . ( and still flaring ) I was so tired all the time ; I asked to have my potasium checked . They called me with results when I walked in the door . My potasium was so low , I was to take 1 dose right away and a 2nd one before bed and another in the AM and come back for another blood test . I did feel better , but still flaring . Another round of prednisone . Which wasn’t helping . In Dec 2010 my GI doc started taking about putting me on Humiro . They gave info on it , PLUS Abbott was sending me stuff in the mail . I had to change my medicare plan to make it affordable ( Dec 2010 ) I read some of the side affects .I dragged my feet , scared to try injection ( FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE ) I did start the Humira in late Jan 2011 . By March/April , I was having trouble getting up off the couch , and the toilet , My legs and arms seemed weak . sometime in late April I noticed this weakness seemed worse on the left side . Stairs are a real problem . My left leg gave out at the top of basement stairs . I went to my knees , I crawled across the floor to where I could pull myself up Had to sit for a while cause my legs were shaky . Then it happened again outside . I talked with my GI doc and wondered IF the Humira was the cause . One side affect I read about was ” muscle weakness ” . My GI said NO , that symptom was way to rare a 1 % cxhance . Then on Memorial day ; My left leg gave out again ( on stairs) I broke my foot in 4 places and a very severe sprain to my ankle . I again called my GI . He thought maybe I had developed some kind of under lieing muscle disease .Refered me to Rhum and did some blood work . My muscle enzimes were off the charts , over 700 . I stopped the Humira right away . The doc said it was safe to stop . My muscles still seemed to be getting even weaker .My rhym doc ordered a act scan ,MRi and an emg ; All that added up to a muscle biopsy ; Which showed I have Polymyositis An auto ammune muscle disease . Which promted a 4 day trip to the mayo clinic in Roechester MN . After reviewing my records and a councletation . The GI doc there asked me WHY my GI wanted to put me back on Humira . She said the only reason she saw for that was to prove or disprove the Humira . And that she wouldn’t do that to me . My rhumy here had put me on that mexo (?) 8 pills once a week . Which made me sick for days . The docs at Mayo thought my body would tollerate it better in a shot and I could take a larger dose with less side affects . And it would treat both the crohns ( not working ) and the polymyositis . Which was killing off my muscle tissue . I felt like I was dieing from the inside out . I have lost so much muscle that I have to take physical therapy to try and rebuild my muscles without hurting myself . I lost my job as a grocery cashier ( which I truely loved ) because I’m to weak to work . I’ve lost like 30 lbs , None of my clothes fit and my skin kind of hangs from losing so much muscle . The docs tell me IF I’m able to work again it will be atleast a yr . The GI doc at Mayo told me she planned to contact Abbott about me . She also said that ,becuase this is so rare , that it doesn’t mean I’m not the first one . She thought it was the Humira also . When they did a colonoscopy I have asemi blockage in small intestine and my colon was full of diaverticuli .I read here that Humira also causes this . This has dramatically changed my life . Our bills are piling up and no money to pay them . I can’t do a whole lot cause I wear out quick . Stairs are out of the question . I can do maybe 4 then the pain in my low back and hips is to much . We are raising our 6 yr old grand-daughter . I don’t want her to remember me as always sick . This has been very hard on her . I cry quite often now , and she is so sweet ;She’ll bring me atissue for my tears and tells it will be OK . This doesn’t just effect me ; it affects her and my husband . Several people have told me to get an attorney , but don’t know where to start . I wouldn’t want anyone to go threw what I have or what you all have been threw . I do see there was some people here who have benifitted from these drugs but not many . They only listed “muscle weakness” as a side effect . Not a muscle disease for the rest of your life . I think Abbott should pay threw the nose to us people that now have to live with these so called side affects . I’m thankful that my muscles have stopped dieing , but doesn’t change the damage it has done . I also think the FDA should pull it from the market . Atleast till more testing can be done . Abbott must spend millions in advertising , their money would be better spent on testing these drugs better . I am only 53 but feel like a 90 yr old women .

I have been on Humira for a little over a year for Crohn’s and arthritis. Within two months of taking started having severe side effects. While communicating these symptoms to my Gastro he said couldn’t be from the humira and as long as I was seeing a neurologist he wasn’t taking me off of it. I have now tested positive for MS, have sever headaches that will not go away even with medication,severe unexplained muscle pain and swollen Lymphs .Now I have lost one eye due to neuritis. My gastro still would not believe these were side effects from the Humira .There is no other explanation. Finally my Primary forbid me to take Humira though some symptoms have eased I have permanent nerve damage. I would recommend You consider very carefully before taking Humira

I have been diagnosed with transverse myelitus. I was on humira for about 2 years. On march 5 2011, I became paralized and that’s when I was diagnosed. Since then I’ve had 3 infections in my blood and urine. I basically don’t have an immune attempt this drug messed my system up. Has anyone else experienced any of this? It looks like I will be parilized the rest of my life stuck in a wheelchair because of the transverse myelitus.

I have chron’s disease and have been on Hunira for a few months. On August 2nd I had surgery to reomve a small portion of my small intestines that was causing an obstruction. The surgery was successful. 10 days later I was back in surgery (emergency) with a massive inflammation blockage that caused me to lose 30 inches of small and large intestines. I have had 3 previous bowel recession surgeries in the last 10 years and have never had post surgery issues, of course no obstructions. The only difference with this surger ywas the addition of Humira as a medication of use for me. I was scheduled to have an injection Aug1st one day before surgery and my doctors agreed to stop taking it and that I should go back on it soon. After the emergency surgery all the doctors had no explanation of the cause of massive inflammation that clearly was not there before my first surgery. It seems to be a mystery to them. Now they are all very serious about me starting the Humira injection immediately. Does anyone have some insight for me or similar issues of inflammation post surgery due to possiible drug? All I know is that I had a an unnecessary second surgery, lost more intestines, and am facing seriouls recovery time. I would just like to know how this all happened for clairty and closure. I appreciate any comments and information.

I was diagnosed with RA in August of 2009 and have been treated by my rheumatologist with Methotrexate and Folic acid since January of 2010. When I started with this treatment I could not even open my right hand. I also was diagnosed with Dupretrens disease-a disease, as I understand it , that caused my hand to contract severely. At this time I can at least open both of my hands most of the way. But recently I have been having joint swelling and stiffness in my hands, feet, and knee. My rheumatologist suggested that I take Humira injections every 2 weeks. I injected myself at his office and had no adverse reactions. In two weeks I gave myself a second injection and did not have a reaction until 36 hours later. Suddenly I became extremely dizzy and slightly nauseated. I had three more “waves ” of nausea and dizziness that turned into vertigo that became worse with each wave. The vertigo became so severe that I could not open my eyes. I struggled to get to the bed with the second wave so I could lay under my ceiling fan . At that point I became so sweaty that my hair which is long was completely saturated —I looked like someone threw a bucket of water at me. I laid on the bed praying for this episode to pass. When I started the third wave I became so nauseated that I had to crawl with my eyes closed to the bathroom. I was never so scared that I was going to die or have a stroke as I did at that time. It took an hour before the episode was completed. I felt horrible afterwards and for 6 days the whole top of my head hurt. When I finally got ahold of my rheumatologist, his nurse gave me the message that the Humira could not have caused this reaction and that if it happened again with my next injection (next injection???Is he kidding me) to call my PCP because there was something going on that needed to be looked into but that it was not the Humira. Really???? Well I have been an RN for many years and I know that a sudden increase in the blood pressure can cause dizziness, sweating, nausea and headache. The Humira drug can cause hypertension. 1+1 still equals 2.. I am not taking these injections again especially after reading all the other comments. Doctors need to quit listening to the drug reps and start to listen more attentively to their patients. I wonder if we are all guinea pigs. It is scary. Permanent damage is being done and the drug companies do not seem to care. They have to recoup their “research” money. I feel that some day this drug will be called a “bad drug” along with all these other wonder drugs that are now known to be dangerous. My heart goes out to everyone who has had bad results but I wish to thank them for taking the time to write to this address so that we can share info with each other

My mother died from lymphoma, bone and lung cancer in June 2011. She had been using Humira to control arthritis and psoriasis. She had previously used Enbrel and Methotrexate which caused her to developed a benign lung tumor. Humira killed my mom. This drug needs to be taken off the market and I would love to sue the maker of Humira for wrongful death. I don’t have any money but would love to put Abbott pharm. out of business.

I am 35 I have as and ra. I was on humira for a little over a year. Back in march I had a numbing tingling sensation in my legs. A week later I became paralized and broke ankle in 2 places. I’ve been diagnosed with transverse myelitus. Has anyone else gotten paralized or diagnosed with transverse myelitus.

After taking Humira for just a month, I was hospitalized with acute gallbladder infection, which could not be treated through regular medications. My gallbladder was so infected after taking the humira, it adhered to my liver.After several(3) week long stays in the hospital, I was no better. One doctor attemped to remove my gallbladder. To no avail. I was sent to a liver transplant specialist in Houston who was finally able to remove it. I was cut into twice during this ordeal, 2 ten inch incisions! And had to have a gallbladder drain tube for 2 months. Very, very painful !

I just found this site today and I have been reading all of the comments here with tears in my eyes at the suffering people are experiencing and also with the knowledge that I am not alone in my struggles with this terrible drug. I have been an AS patient for 35 years and went through the NSAID route until ulcers prevented their continued use. In late 2008, I went to a new rheumatologist to see about any new treatments and he introduced me to Humira as a wonderful new drug for AS and PA. After considering several options, I began the Humira injections in February of 2009 every two weeks and did experience some moderate relief in my joints right away. However, I began feeling very sluggish and tired, as though I had the flu, and within a little more than a month I collapsed on the stairway at home, unable to breathe. I was hospitalized with atypical pneumonia and the emergency room doctor advised that I discontinue the Humira as it might be adversely effecting my immune system. I went back to my rheumatologist and he convinced me to restart the Humira with the explanation that “these things sometimes happen while your body is getting used to the drug.” I continued to struggle for a few months with the flu like symptoms and began to suffer from confusion and memory loss. I had a very difficult time finding the words I wanted to use. I was laid off at work because I was unable to concentrate and was sick so much. I again went to the rheumatologist and stated I believed Humira was making me sick. He somehow managed to convince me that I was suffering from fibromyalgia and the Humira was not the cause of my problems. Unfortunately for me, I didn’t listen to my better judgment and continued the Humira injections. I was very ill with a high fever over Thanksgiving of 2009 and my husband came home from an errand to find me completely incoherent with a fever over 105%. He rushed me to the emergency room. I do not remember the next two days. I was diagnosed with sepsis and came very near to losing my life. My husband was told to go home and get my health care directive. The doctors then innundated my system with antibiotics and I slowly came back. I was in the hospital for 10 days and it took a long time after that for me to gain my strength and mental capacity back. I discontinued the Humira at that point when I went back to the rheumatologist and expressed my anger at his disregard of my concerns, he told me that I needed to speak up and tell him when I was having problems! Needless to say, I found a new rheumatologist. I still struggled with infections and cognitive issues and a general lack of energy for a couple of years until April 2011 when I woke up in the middle of the night in excrutiating pain in my kidney. Again my husband rushed me to the hospital. The ER doctors found a 1 cm kidney stone and when they opened me up to put a stent in, my kidney was full of pus. I again was diagnosed with sepsis and again, the ER doctors saved my life. During April, May and June of 2011 I was hospitalized 4 times in 6 weeks with out-of-control infections and very high white blood cell counts. I again lost another job due to continued health and cognitive issues. I now control my AS with Celebrex and pain killers and am not sure I will ever be completely well again. To all of you who have been through so much, my deepest sympathies go out to you. I want to pursue legal action against Abbott and my rheumatologist (who turned out to be one of the FDA board members who approved this drug). The most important thing we can do as patients is to be responsible for our own care. Keep hanging in there and I will too.

I first posted my story of neuro issues with my use of Humira back on this thread in 3/2010…not long after that post I was seen by many different neurologist, many more test…I was diagnosed with Humira Induced Multiple Sclerosis shortly after post. I’m currently under the care of one the nation’s leading MS neuro specialist. It has been one year from hell for me…I’ve been hospitalized now 8 different times for a week each…MS flares are terrible, I get paralyzed completely from head-to-toe on my left side, loose my ability to speak …and on top of it my psoriasis & psoriatic arthritis are both raging, as with all these lesions on my brain there is not effective safe method of treatment along with my MS. This class of rx’s needs further FDA warnings & Dr.’s need to be speaking to patients about these risk much more seriously & know the warning signs to be looking for in patients.

I did a lot of research on humira before starting it. Since I´m a medical student I was perhaps even more scared of potential side effects than anyone not involved in the health business and therefore carefully went through all published material on pubmed concerning humira and other TNF´s. I did this together with my father who is a well thought of MD in our country. We did observe that most studies performed with humira were founded by abbott themselves, which of course raised some question marks in our heads. From what we read, humira seemed to be the least associated with devastating complications like multiple sclerosis(MS) and cancer among the available anti – tnf alfa drugs (although I now realise from what I read on this website that abbott industries might have consciously under – reported side effects in their trials in order to make their own drug more appealing compared to other Anti tnf – drugs). I started taking humira for my crohns(that was in remission at the time) and severe sacro- iliac pain. Both my Rheumy and GI said that this was the most suitable solution at that time since it would treat both these conditions. I took humira for 6 months(12 doses in total). The actual reason I stopped treatment was due to a leukocytoclastic skin reaction which was present during the whole treatment (spots appeared 1 day after first injection and then gradually worsened). 2 months after my last humira injection I unfortunately enough started experiencing MS like – symptoms. I wont make a list of them here. This resulted in an appointment with an neurologist who after examination and history immediately scheduled me for an MRI which I will go through shortly. I live in Northern Europe where to my knowledge there is no established routine to perform MRI scannings prior initiation of TNF – antagonist therapy. Since I had not experienced any evident symptoms of MS prior taking humira no procedures investigating this were performed. Although I might have had clinically silent CNS lesions that I was not aware of even before humira. If an MRI or lumbal puncture had been done initially I might therefore not have developed what I am sure will turn out to be MS since anti tnf alpha can trigger a latent MS disease/aggravate an active MS disease. I want Abbott industries to put a warning label on humira that states that any neurological disease must be ruled out by MRI and/or LP in all patients, including asymptomatic ones, prior initiation of anti Tnf alpha therapy. Taking history and going through a standardised form with questions about previous neurological symptoms is not enough from my point of view! From a cost – benefit point of view this is problably favourable in the long run when considering all the different kind of support most MS patients eventually demand to be able to stay alive. And of course my life is completely devastated because of this new disease. /”Scott”

7 months ago I found a dr that could tell me what was wrong with my 21year old son’s sore and stiff joints psoriatic arthritis ,his right Wrist has fused bones in hand deformed , his elbows fused at an angle he can no longer straighten his arms, arthritis in his lower spine( not fused all the way ) can only bend and touch his knees now is ankles are swelling has a hard time walking the dr thinks they are fusing to he has been on humira for 7 months the dr wants to change his med’s to Embrel to see if it will help, at this rate he will be in a wheel chair before he’s 25 . The only thing the med’s have done so far has help a little with the pain .Is their anyone out their with joint fusion ?

My mother was taking humira seven years ago for rheumatoid arthritis. After three months taking it, she experienced left sided weakness to her hand and leg and a brain abscess from toxic plasmosis was diagnosed. She took numerous antibiotics, had extensive physical and occupational therapy, was left wheelchair bound, and then relapsed six months later. She had to have another craniotomy and brain biopsy which showed she still had the toxic plasmosis. More medication prescribed that was very expensive for her fixed income as a senior citizen. She was on the medication for the rest of her life and was left permanently disabled until she died in May 2010. I have reported this incident to Abbott but the have neither followed up with me nor done anything about what happened to my mother. Her physician put her on this very dangerous medication but did not even take the time to report this incident; so I did with no result. As a health professional myself, I am angry about what happened to my mother and I want to alert everyone to the potential risks with any medications your physician prescribes. These risks are not always on the label and must be reported to regulatory agencies, i.e. FDA, so that pharmaceutical companies will add them to their labels to warn the general public. I am contemplating suing the company at this point for leaving my mother permanently disabled and because they did not offer any compensation for her care for those six years disabled until her death.

Someone please tell me if my mothers doctor is knowingly putting her in danger for profit. My mother has been struggling with severe psoriasis plaque. s that cover most of her body, for as long as I can remember. She would never wear shorts or a bathing suit, and she was very self conscious of her skin. I can’t put into words how severe her condition is. It’s absolutely horrible. However, my mother has a heart condition. She has an electrical misfire in her heart that caused her to go into congestive heart failure. She is a paranoid schizophrenic. Her condition could possibly be surgically corrected, but that just isn’t an option in her mental state. As we all know, these shots cost thousands of dollars. My mother is on medicaid. It pays the entire cost of her Humira shots. The shots started clearing up her skin the first month. She has been using humira for 4 months now. Last month, they started coming back. There is very little improvement now. The doctor says this is common. It may stop working for a while, and then go right back to working again. My father and I have repeatedly told the doctor to please take notice that she is beginning to swell again. Her stomach is so swollen as if full of fluid now, that she has no belly button. Her belly looks pregnant. Her heart has been racing. She runs out of breath often just walking around the house. The doctor says she is fine and acts as if we are both crazy. My mother cannot think for herself. She insists the doctor wouldn’t give her something that would hurt her, if there was any danger. We have repeatedly asked her about mom’s heart problems, and that we are afraid for her being on this medicine. Are we being unrealistic here? Why do the warnings say not to give this drug to people with a history of heart problems, or congestive heart failure? She is also an insulin dependent diabetic, and uses 3 insulin shots per day. Are these doctors recieving large kickbacks to push these expensive shots? Enough they would knowingly put a very sweet mentally ill woman in danger? please help!

I was diagnosed with RA 15mths ago and have been on Arava, Methotrexate etc for most of that time. Have tried a couple of other options to no avail and Specialist is about to put me on Humira. After reading all the side effects etc I am really worried whether to go ahead with the injections or not. Can anyone shed some light – Proceed or Not!!!!

I received Humira injections four years ago. I now have neuropathy and gastroparesis. Im only thirty four years old and my body has been destroyed because of this drug. If anyone has info on filing a lawsuit I would greatly appreciate any info I could get.

i have taken Humira for 8 months now, my RA is much better but my liver and kidny are in worst condition and am having abdomenal pain but my doctor says i should keep taking humira but i dont think so

Hi, i thought i would share our story with Humira. My 16 yr old son was diagnosed with very severe Crohn’s in Oct. 09. He worked his way through prednisone, 6mp and on to Humira. The 6mp was holding him steady, but not pushing him over the hump into complete remission. He went on Humira in Dec. 10. Any remaining Crohn’s symptoms he had cleared up rather quickly. However, beginning early Feb. he began to have what we thought were unconnected symptoms. He started feeling joint pain/cramping, especially in the knees and feet He also got super severe tailbone pain without a cause. He had to have an epidural injection, but it did not work. He became extremely fatigued and irritable. He got weaker and had leg tremors and felt llike his legs would give out. He is a varsity golfer and his game fell apart (went from shooting low 70’s to mid 80’s). Just thought he was in a bad slump. At the same time, his grades started slipping. By the end of March, he was in tremendous pain, had weak knees/legts with leg tremors, grew clumsy with his eye hand coordination and had difficulty concentrating and remembering things. I did my research and finally put it together that maybe this was all connected and had to do with the Humira. We saw his gastro doc and I told him my fears and that i was taking him off the Humira immediately. My son saw a spinal orthopedic doc and a neurologist. When asked to count backward by 7, he counted 57, 52, 55. His brain wasn’t functioning well. He also started spacing out and not responding when talked to. They also did a blood test for possibility of other autoimmunes because he was showing signs of MS. He did not have MS, but did show high antibodies to Epstein Barr (which can mimic MS). We took him off the Humira right when he was supposed to have his 2 week injection. So, he had not had a shot in 2 weeks. By 2 more weeks off, he was showing dramatic change. By 6 weeks off since last injection, he was getting back to normal. It is now the end of April and all symptoms are pretty much gone. He returned to golf 3rd week of April for the first time since end of Feb. and shot a 72. We are more than convinced that the Humira caused all of this and just wreaked havoc on his system. Interestiingly, the Crohn’s got the best it has ever been. It definitely helped with that. He had a colonoscopy/endoscopy and it showed pretty much complete remission. However, because he was off the medication for about 2 months, his Crohn’s relapsed just a little. We are putting him back on 6mp with the hopes that it will maintain him at this level. I will never put him on a TNF blocker again. Especially because of the neurological symptoms. It was scary what happened to him so fast. He was on the Humira for about 3 months total. I pray that there are no lasting side effects that we haven’t seen yet. Also, our doctors think that the Humira created such stress on the body that that it caused the Epsteins Barr to flare up. My son never had mono, but apparently has the virus dormant in his body. I’ve read about 95% of the population does. It was very clearly the Humira that caused it all. The doctors think that if we had kept him on it, ultimately our son would have developed another autoimmune disease if not cancer. It seems to open the door for that. Strange when it is being taken for one in the first place. I suppose that if your autoimmune was causing such terrible distress that you did not care how bad the side effects could be, then it’s worth considering. But certainly for us, the risk is nowhere near worth the reward. What helped me put it all together was reading all of your’s and other sites stories. This is why I am telling ours, in the hopes it helps someone who has similar problems. ( On an side note, my 17 year old daughter was diagnosed with kidney cancer at the same time. After going through both together, it is very interesting to find out how eerily similar cancer and autoimmune diseases are.) God Bless you all and I pray for less suffering for everyone!

Tina….I know exactly how you feel. I’m 41, have had psoriasis since about age 12 and psoriatic arthritis diagnosis in Nov. 2010. I am in talks with insurance and Abbott about getting on Humira. After reading all of this, I do not think I can take this medication. I am not immobile or covered with psoriasis, so I am wondering if I shouldn’t find a holistic doctor. Maybe a natural healther dr would be something to look into for you too. I always think there must be something I can do, diet/exercise or herbals that would help me. Best of luck to you and everyone who has posted here, God Bless you all.

I am 28 years old and has had RA since i was 14.I have Humira but have not started it yet.After reading everyones comments i dont think i will either. I have sat here crying because of the stories of the people that has taken it and what it had done. I dont know what to do. All i know is that i want to take a drug that will help my RA but not cause me other health problems or even death. The doctors give us this med to help us but it is really either killing us or making our lives worse than the were before.

My wife has had Croihns disease for several years (22).We have done the entire gambit of treatments from Enticort to Remicade to now Humara. Noneof them helped! She took the beginning injection of Humara about 14 days ago. Within 9 days she has developed joint pain, fatigue and overall feeling miserable. I am so upset with the doctors because they are clueless, they treat the symptoms but never the disease. Abbot Pharmacutecal gives all of these wpotential warnings but really they don’t care. She called to discuss the issues with them nad they referred her to her gastro who recommended this crap in the first place! I would rather her be limited with her Crohns affliction than go through all this! We will stop immediately taking this poison. God wil help us find a cure or give us the grace to carry on. I will be contacting an attorney , not for the money but someone has to stop this type of torture…Someone must be held accountable for the pain and destruction.

I have had RA since age 17 ever since taking the “modern meds” starting with oxaprozin, then prednisone, celebrex, methotrexate and humira, my blood pressure has become uncontrollable….last July while driving home one night ,I had a cerebral hemorrhage rendering me completely unconscious, veered off the road and it a tree head on at 60mph. I blame this on the use of anti-inflammatory drugs for so long. It seems that ibuprofen and light exercise and stretching are the best way to reduce the pain. Sometimes it take until mid-day before I can even walk in any way similar to a human being. Other days my feet wont even fit into my shoes

I forgot to mention that the Physician already has me on opiodes for pain in my back which is Oxycotin and Endocet. However these pills do not seem to be helping with all of the pain I am in. I would think with taking these a long time prior to the Humira, they would take away any pain, but so far they are not.

I have been on Humira for approx.9 mos.now. I do have pinched nerves in my back and have had problems with my left leg due to this. However lately both legs are going number, weakness, fatigue, pain throughout my body. Headaches, vision disturbence (loose vision in one eye) almost like the onset of a migraine. Memory loss, when I want to say something words dont’ always come out properly. Is this something that Humira is causing or could it be a sign of MS or Fibromyalgia. I went to Dermatologist today but she really didn’t answer any or my questions.

I haven’t posted again since May when my fiance’ had shingles. After 7 months off of work with lots of issues. He went back to now have his Chrohn’s back active and severe. The entire time his gastreoenterologist has kept wanting him to start Remicaide. And when he didn’t want too they kept saying think about it and making appointments in 2 months or so. Well they stuck him back on steroids again just over a month ago. But way to late to help. The surgeon from last time did a scope on him 2 days ago and says its bad and at anytime he may have to have the rest of his colon out and have a colostomy bag. And he says maybe we should try the remicaide and hope for a remission. He has already decided no remicaide that he would rather have the surgery. After taking the humira for that little bit and all the problems. He still gets rashes unexplainably, and has the same back pain, and all of his joints ache. We are at our wits end with these doctors around here.

i am experiencing similiar things to what some of you have mentioned. Iwas diagnosed with crohns in 99, surgery the same yr to remove about 3 feet of my bowels…started then stopped remicaide and developed a reaction. the disease came back about 6 or 7 yrs later COMPLETELY includeing voimiting diarhea and severe abdominal pain. Another suregery which removed several absesses and just about three more feet of intestines…i started Humira in 07 before my second resecction. so i have been on it for about 5 years now. it did my crohns situation well. i have had minimal complaints in that area except for many potty breaks but it is tolerable. However, now i have major complaints related to my joints. For the past two years–well is started slow and progressed…i have now been experiencing joint pain in ankles, fingers, back, and wrist mainly. the pain used to come and go but now it is more and more often than not. sometimes i walk around like a 90 yr old woman. I am only 32. i have been getting these nodules on my fingers which can also be painful. my last injection whic was about a week in a half ago, i experienced an extreme rash on my face that almost looked like a welt–it was very strange. sooo, my last GI appt, he says it is not the humira causing this(yeah whatever) and referred me back to the RA doctor that he referred me to before. I then saw her and she immediately thought that i needed to stop due to the nodules on the fingers, joint pain and rashes on face and arms. THANK THE LORD b/c i was stopping it whether she agreed or not. i was hoping that someone on here could shed some light on to how long it takes for it to get out of my body, will the joint pain go away for good? i did not have any of these other issues until Humira-granted i have been on it a long time but i think it is def time to move on. They also want me to start Cimzia but i am giving my body a break and reevaluate at my next doctor appointment to make sure levels have decreased….if they have not i guess they will try to diagnosis me with lupus since all the symtoms i were having is related to lupus. however, humira can cause lupus like symptoms. Also, what is this lump behing my right ear? if anyone can help and has had similiar experiences, please contact me. i hope everyone gets the answers they need. Doctor’s do not know everything, YOU KNOW YOUR BODY, be truthful to them and reasearch everything yourself and have that research to back you if you continue to battle with doctors about your helath. they are not perfect so a litle extra help can do wonders. Blessing of happy healthy lives to you all!

Hi. I had been taking Humira for Psoriatic Arthitis for about 7 months. SOme help with symptoms, but only transientlly. I am 57. Had PA diagnosed one year ago. Suddenly liver enzymes went way up in January, 2011, the Rheuim insists it was from the NSAIDS, then started Plaquenil and increase Humira. Severe rash few weeks ago, dermatologist bx, probably a drug reaction, stopped Humira and Plaquenil. Rash was severe, finally cleared. Re started Plaquenil, no rash for weeks. The rheum insists the rash (which he never even saw) was from Plaq. He attriblutes any side effects to everything but Humira. Now I read here about so many people with rashes and liver problems from Humira. Thank you for all your posts, I was thinking of restarting Humira, but very reluctant about dying like from anaphylaxis, got an epipen. However, the rash was severe, and NOT from the other meds. So, I think I will have to NOT take Humira, afraid of rash, liver, and even worse. This drug has not been out long enough. My mom died sudden death while taking Vioxx (now off the market). THank you all again for this page of comments. From the pharmacist to the rheumatologist, no one want to blame Humira for anything, especially the severe rash, which by biopsy was a drug reaction. This is weird !!!! If you get a bad side effect from a drug, you stop the drug.. and they all are defending it. I hope I dont already have a tumor in or near liver, or llymphoma..

taking Humira 6 months. Something just not right. Eye Twitching and the foot problem everyone is talking about.I will stop now not later.

TO: SHAZIA I can honestly say I’ve not had any real side effects from Humira. I feel the same way in that it has made me feel so much better as if I felt before the onset of RA. In addition it’s helping the bad knees that I have from prior sports injuries. I self inject with the pen every two weeks and usually one or two days before I inject I notice some stiffness in the AM. Sometimes I will take an aleeve tablet one day or both days before injecting.

I’ve been receiving Humira injections for almost a year for RA and taking Methotrexate at the same time although I’m continuing being decreased in the amount of MTX I take. My liver enzymes have been consistently good throughout this time however I do not now have regualrly scheduled appointments with my rheumatologist. I’m not sure how frequently my liver enzymes should be checked. The last lab work I had done was in November 2010. Can someone tell me how often the blood work should be checked? Thanks.

hi. i have now been on humira for 4 months. i find that this month my eye sight is deteriorating drastically. i dont know if anyone else has had this problem? my hands are very weak . however, i must say that since i have started humira i have been feeling much better. i jump out of bed in the morning. it doesnt take me a long time to get up. my stiffness lasts about 10 mins compared to about 5hrs which was before humira. my evenings are also not bad at all. i still say the positives outweigh the negatives….i am suffering with severely bloccked nose each and every day and headaches due to chronic sinusitis….does anyone feel ths same?

it does somthing to the brain matter and nerves doc told me today already had every thing everyone else has but no wounds of the skin i have been on it for 4 months shot every 2 weeks so do i stop the meds and more then likly stroke in a few months or stay on it and rot my brain already done every other option for meds what to do

I have RA an i had two shots of HUMIRA one a month.. my blood platlits went down to 16 an there supposed to be at 140 to 400 (approxemetly) and my skin has changed colors because the staroids i was takin to help the platlits come up. and my daughter an my husband and including some othe poeple noticed that i was not finishing my setences ansometimes i would be sayin one thing then i would be sayin another not relizin what i was doin.. ive been in an out of the doctors there was several points where i couldnt go to work because if i even got a scrach i could of bleed to death very easily so i stayed home without pay. i am still fightin to get them up to where there supposed to be. the doctors dont say its the humira except one doctor but ever since i took the humira ive never been the same. I started taein humira 6/29/2010 an stoped after two months of the shots, to this day i still havent gotten my platlits stable. if you have had the same problem your not alone..

My 59-year- old husband has RA. He takes 4-6 mg. of medrol daily, and in an effort to stop the steroids he began Humira in Deceber. After his last humira injection I noticed he was acting different (forgetting, thinking noises were much louder than they were, reality was off for him,) He made a rash decion to overdose on 70 Ativan 1mg and 60, 10mg. Ambien. Thank God he is alive. The doctor believes it was the mixture of Humira and Steroids that caused him to go off mentally. He is currently in a psych unit held by the Baker Act.

I have suffered with psoriatic arthritis for 15 years tried methotrexate stopped working so I tried humira very successful psoriasis gone joints feeling good,but after six months noticed painful lumps under my skin and losing weight fatigue ,my dermatologist did a biopsy and ct scan showing I had sarcoidosis an auto ammuine condition and on top of that tested positive for lupus as well stopped taking humira 18months again but still suffering side affects now

WOW!! WOW. I’m scared after reading all this! I have Chron’s disease. Have for awhile. I ended up having a fisure and an abcess in my intestine, luckily a small one. I was in Georgetown University Hospital for 5 nights and treated with antibiotics. I took prednisone for 6 months until I got health insurance and then I was put on humira. I take a shot every 2 weeks and it has been about 1 year. So far, I have not had bad side effects. My vitamin B and D levels were low so I take supplements for them. I did have crazy itchy legs for about a week, maybe 2 but they just cleared up. No scabs or marks. The pain before I went to the hospital was excrutiating, I couldn’t eat, lost so much weight, had no energy, and wanted to die. Since I got out, took steriods, and then humira for the past year I have gained all the weight back and have been free of pain. However, reading this page and posts makes me want to cry. I would rather have Crohns disease that die of a fungal infection, get cancer, lupus, ms, etc… I must say that my doctor does want me to see her every 6 months, and get blood work. She did warn me of these side effects but I didn’t know there were so many cases of them! My heart goes out to each and every person writing on this page!

It would be helpful to me if this thread was moderated in some way, ideally by a physician and / or researcher who could add some perspective to all these horror stories. I have been taking Humira for RA for about six years now and have not noticed any negative side effects so far. It appears to have arrested the effects of the RA on my skeleton–no noticeable advance in joint damage. I am 60 years old. I know a couple of other people taking TNF blockers, also APPARENTLY free of adverse symptoms. I go in every 3 months for a checkup and blood panel and have gotten to know my doctor pretty well. He was formerly a researcher at the Mayo Clinic. I talk about Humira with him–many of his patients take it–and he says he’s seen “very few problems” but that the frequent checkups are vital, no doubt for all the reasons mentioned in this thread! I feel those who come to this forum deserve to know if there’s solid evidence of incorrectly interpreted safety studies or…WHATEVER. The FDA has removed many medicinal products from the market, even though they were effective for most people, because of risk factors that were considered too high statistically. Are we saying you can’t rely on the FDA or do the drug manufacturers manipulate the watchdogs or…what ARE we saying, about the SCIENCE?

I have RA and just took my last shoot of Enbrel tonite, my doc is switching me to Humira. Wondering if some people had some other underlying health issues, and that’s why they had these horrible side effects! I hope I will be ok starting my new meds in a couple of weeks.

My husband has been taking Humeira for 2 years for psoriasis. The dermatologist held a town meeting to intorduce the wonder drug and went on about how safe it was. In Oct. my husband went for a physical and mentioned to the doc a place on his neck. He was sent to the surgeon and in a week he had surgery to remove the lymphnode. Tests came back positive for mantle Cell lymphoma. Now he has been through 4 chemo treatments at approx $35,000 a time. Time off work and medication expenses gallore. Who would ever want to take a drug that woudl give you a “Rare” and hard to treat cancer. The avg. remission for MCL is 4 years. We followed the doctors advise when he siad thay had nto seen any adverse side effects. Thinking that it would be a one in a million chance….he took the drug. reading all the above problems is unbelievable. The FDA still considers that the benefits out way the negatives. One person to die of cancer is enough to pull this drug. If they came out and shoot someone to death they would get jail time. Why are they allowed to kill people and be able to get away with it just because they make a disclaimer in a brochure that everyone ignores because the docs say it is safe. No child should have to watch a parent suffer from cancer ….ever. The shot costs $2800..why are insurance companies willing to pay for it. Who all is benefiting financially from this. My husband is to undergo a stem cell transplant because he also has a cancer cell that adds more complications to his case. He has to stay at vanderbilt with a caregiver for 1 month. We live 3 hours from there, with school age children and elderly parents. How will we manage this…maybe someone from Abbott can come and help us out.

does anyone know if it is ok to take humira if you have hep c i too was a test tube

I have severe RA and was given my first shot of Humira back in late July last year. By the first week of Aug I had pain in my left ear and was suffering persistent headaches. I have never been prone to headaches. I didn’t make the connection initially. I went to the doctor several times and ear drops and antibiotics didn’t help my ear at all. Then I started to have pain under my right ear as well. I am now going to an ENT doc though nothing has alleviated my pain. I have not taken anymore Humira and my RA has me practically crippled. I would appreciate any and all advice. My rheumatologist is not very sympathetic unfortunately. Thanks.

This stuff is scary….and who ever says it’s not a risk is well just “lucky” it working for them. I use to feel that I would rather live 3 months feeling good while taking any of these medication to help relieve symptoms but I have sense changed. I don’t like pain just like the next person but to have a drug administered to you by a doctor, someone you put your life’s quality into their hands and they ignore your symptoms is DECEIVING. I was diagnosed with AS a year ago and have been on Humira for 3 months. I am going to stop taking it because I break out with these bumps (blisters) that itch and burn in different places like stomach, legs, wist, belly. I called my doctor and told them about this and they said to continue taking it and stop my anti inflammatory only use Tylenol for the inflammation..Now I have terrible anxiety issues on top of that. I still have severe spinal pain. My neck is stiff and I have no energy to do anything because I feel like I am dying while on this drug. I am Not going to take it anymore. My advice to anyone out there “listen to your body” Don’t let a doctor tell you something is good for you when you are obviously suffering from other symptoms related to the drug they have you on.

Has anyone started and stopped HUMIRA numerous times? I am supposed to start back on it again after being off it for over a year due to surgeries. This will be my 4th time starting it. My Crohn’s is way out of control and has been in a severe state for over 3 years. Nothing seems to get it under control, and I do not want the risk of starting HUMIRA again if I am going to have a massive reaction to it. But I am forced to comply with my GI doctors instructions since he is the only one I am authrozied to see.

I took humira for ulcerative colitis for about 3 months. Before that, I was able to exercise on a daily basis. Now, I find it hard to walk across the house. I am tired all of the time and sometimes my heart races so hard it actually wakes me up at night. I blame humira and wish I had never taken it. The tightness in my chest is at times unbearable. It did nothing for my colitis but has ruined my life.

I’ve had psoriasis for approx 30 years. Last winter it covered approx 70% of my body and i was having painful flare ups. I had dealt with all the uncomfortable situations that this disease causes. I started on humira in March of 2010. It took about 2 weeks and I could see that it was working. After 4 weeks it was totally gone including clearing up finger and toe nails. I have noticed that my eyes feel different sorta tired and heavy feeling. My vision seems worse. I feel more fatigue and tiredness than before. Also feel that i have aged more in the past 9 months since taking this. I have always been very healthy and alot younger looking than my age. I have to say i can wear shorts and have my shirt off now and no longer have scales and blood caused from the psoriasis lesions! I wonder if anyone else has had these symptoms and is this the start of something far worse? Thanks

Lewis, my husband, took Remicade, Enbrel, and Humira for RA. In February 2005 he was diagnosed with monoclonal protein in his blood. Then, on March 8, 2007, he was diagnosed with Non Hodgkin’s Mantle Cell Lymphoma. He began taking the drugs before Johnson and Johnson, i.e. Centocor, Abbott, and Amgen/Wyeth announced that TNF Inhibitors could cause Lymphoma. Upon diagnosis, my husband was given 6 months to live; however, he had a Stem Cell Transplant on August 27, 2007, at Wake Forest Medical Center, Winston-Salem, NC. He continues to take Chemo for this deadly disease. His last CT Scan did not show any tumors in his abdominal area. Our family and especially Lewis, have been and are still going through a nightmare over these drugs. All RA victims need to be aware of what these TNF Inhibitors can do to them. The doctor knows these drugs caused deadly Lymphoma in my husband. Remicade, Enbrel, and Humira are KILLER drugs. This is not fiction; this is a man’s life. One life is One too many.

I started Humira, I’d say, 6 months ago or so. I was astonished! I was diagnosed with Psoriasis when I was 14 and it got soo much worse over the years. I just turned 26 and through the years with my psoriasis, I would never wear t shirts, shorts, bathing suits…I was so embarassed. I had tried everything…creams, ointments, light treatment, etc. It would help for a small amount of time but once I got immune to it, it stopped working. I started the Humira and my skin cleared within 3 weeks. I was so happy. I wear t shirts and everything now. Never had any bad side effects or anything. Then, a couple weeks ago, I had this horrible lower back pain that shot down my hip and made my right thigh hurt all the time too. Didn’t think anything about it, just thought something happened. Then my left thumb started hurting really bad, like I broke it. I didn’t think anything happened, but I went to the dr and nothing. I just thought I jammed it on something. Then last week I had other fingers that hurt like that, and my wrist. Yesterday my ankle was bursting with pain, again, out of nowhere and I didn’t do anything to it. This morning I woke up with the pain in my right shoulder. I can barely move my arm, can’t put it up or hold anything. to move it, I pretty much have to use my left arm to move it! I didn’t know what the heck was going on, and I just had the thought of “I wonder if the humira is causing this” I didn’t think so, but I came on this site to read peoples comments and now that I see I am having the same symptoms as a lot of these people on here, I am FREAKED out! I am going to go talk to my dermatologist tomorrow and see what he says…and then probably go on to the hospital or something to make them test test test. I am so scared. ugh.

hi. i just had my second shot of humira exactly a week ago. i have severe RA for 18mnths now and have started getting deformities in my fingers and toes. i have experienced tremendous pain relief which went from 8 out of 10 to now 3 out of 10. my stiffness has gone up a lot more than it was and i am continuously tired, especially the first week after the injection. my sinuses are troubling a bit more than normal. i am due for a blood test next week and will report to you again. i am feeling more positive and happier since i started the humira but i am also a bit more out spoken, aggressive (if someone upsets me) and more forgetful since i am on this medication. my nurse says it will get better after the third injection…i have yet to see….will keep u posted. so far the positives outweigh the negatives…..