So I started Humira June 6, 2012 and really haven't looked back ever since. My first post on Humira was about 3 months after taking it here. I still remember feeling much better a week or so after. The worst probably time in my Crohn's timeline was in May of 2012 (my initial visit to the hospital wasn't too bad considering I had someone always monitoring me). I actually can still remember being up to 2 A.M. in the bathroom and actually vomiting. My GI had put me on Asacol when I was first diagnosed and Prednisone. However, the Prednisone was always a spare tire (and I think made my hair a little flatter even to this day). In retrospect I wish I would have started Humira earlier in my treatment plan.
The only thing that derailed my Humira treatment was my c diff which sucked (and I had to go to my internist to actually get fluids) and ended up getting a fecal transplant which luckily cured it. The only side effect I have noticed from the fecal transplant is that I am a little heavier than I usually am-and my thighs are a tad bigger. The one thing I learned about Humira is to make sure you hold in the Humira pen long enough to make sure you get the medication. If there is any fluid leaking then you are not holding it long enough and not getting 100% of your medicine!
If someone had told me I would have gone two years with very little pain I would have thought they were crazy. When I was first diagnosed with Crohn's I thought I would have a pain for the rest of my life. When I was initially diagnosed with Crohn's I did have some what I would call light depression (of dealing with a new disease). This study from 2013 showed that patients can go 4 years and more on Humira. This Japanese study showed that Humira was effective for long term use in patients with moderate to severe Crohn's. These days I am more positive given how much has changed (even since I was diagnosed) and new drugs continue to get developed. People always seem to come up with ideas and products that we haven't even thought of or could never imagined. Hopefully, the future will be bright with new discoveries and eventually a cure to a disease that impacts so many people and families.