Humira Newbie

Hello everyone. I was diagnosed with Crohn's in the beginning of 2012. I was placed on Entocort EC and also for a little while tried Pentasa. I would go a few weeks with minor symptoms and then all of a sudden I would have a terrible flare up.

A few weeks ago I was experiencing a flare up, and I am still having one. My GI doc wasn't sure if it was my IBS acting up or Crohn's, so I went in for a third colonoscopy. Turns out that the Entocort EC is not strong enough. The results showed that there are plenty of ulcers and inflammation in my small intestine.

Next step, is increase my treatment. My doctor prescribed Humira. I am very nervous about giving myself injections...I have a needle phobia, but I just have to remind myself that I'm not the first one to go on Humira and it will be worth it in the long run if this treatment helps control my symptoms.

I am so happy to find a forum like this because this is not an everyday topic to share with everyone I know!

Hello and welcome!
If it helps ease your mind at all, with the Humira Pen, you never see the needle, so just don't think of the needle when you do it. I hope you start to feel better soon and you get this flare under control. Humira did wonders for me and I will be restarting sometime this summer. If you haven't already check out the Humira sub-forum and the Humira support group, there are a ton of people in there that can help you through it! here are the links :
http://www.crohnsforum.com/forumdisplay.php?f=59
http://www.crohnsforum.com/showthread.php?t=6500

Hi and welcome to the forum! :welcome:

I'm sorry to hear that you're struggling. I myself have not used humira or remicade. But, some of my friends on here have. I hope this medicine will work well for you and that you'll feel better soon. Please let me know if I can answer any questions. Take care.

hi there, fellow newbie. i was diagnosed with crohn's back in february and humira was the first treatment my GI recommended. last summer i had a pretty awful stint in the hospital for a surgery that left me pretty needle-skittish so when my GI first started telling me about the humira and how i'd have to give myself shots, i freaked out a bit.

now, about 4 months out, it's not so bad. it stings, i won't tell you it doesn't, but it's not the emotionally traumatic and physically scarring experience i thought it was going to be. i take my shots every other thursday (i'm actually due to take a shot this afternoon) after work. i go home, take a shower to help myself calm down, then snuggle up on my bed, take a deep breath, and hit the button. for about 10 seconds i swear and say nasty things, then it's over. the hardest part for me at first was remembering to hold it tight to my skin and not instinctively pull back when the needle first goes in.

they should send you out a nurse to show you how to do it, and hold your hand through the first dose. it was a big help to me to have them there, to physically walk me through it.

i have a rather gigantic scar from my surgery last year, so i prefer not to use my belly, but using the fleshy bit of your belly or upper thigh is what they recommend. shooting straight into the muscle on my thigh surely hurts more than the fleshy bit of my stomach would, but i can't seem to get a good enough grip on the skin on my belly, so i find that i have an easier time on the thigh.

i've been told that you can numb up the area a little with an ice cube or something before you do the shot. there's also novacaine lotion stuff you can get, but i've never bothered looking into it.

yes, the first couple times i was very scared and nervous. i kept wanting to push the button but i was afraid to do it. now, just 4 months later, it's not such a big deal. the best part is that about an hour later, i feel soooooooo much better. i feel relaxed and hungry! oh, gosh! i feel so hungry afterward! lol i have to keep from over eating during those times.

dgold18 said:

Next step, is increase my treatment. My doctor prescribed Humira. I am very nervous about giving myself injections...I have a needle phobia, but I just have to remind myself that I'm not the first one to go on Humira and it will be worth it in the long run if this treatment helps control my symptoms.

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Hi dgold. My wife has Crohn's and has taken Humira for a little over a year. She also was very, very nervous about given herself the injections.

They started her on a big dose, I think it was like 3 or 4 injections. She did those in the doctor's office with a nurse; the nurse gave her the first one, and then she practiced by giving herself the other ones with the nurse's help. I think that got her off to a good start.

After that she did it at home. I helped her with the first couple, I think it was just mostly moral support and a little hand holding.

When she first started doing them, she did them in her leg. At some point she switched to her abdomen and she says those are actually less painful. And it isn't very painful, it just kind of stings for a few seconds. Early on she would put an icepack on her skin before she did the shot; it supposedly helped the discomfort, but I don't think she does it any more.

It is now so much not a big deal that I don't even know the details of her current method.

And the biggest thing is that it has helped her a lot.

Wow your story sounds like mine.

I just went to youtube and searched Humira. It looks super easy....

Maybe it will help if you can see it.