Crohn's Disease & Ulcerative Colitis Support Group

Crohn's disease is a systemic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) of unknown cause, that results in chronic inflammation of the intestinal tract. It can affect the entire gastrointestinal tract from mouth to anus, and can also cause complications outside of the gastrointestinal tract. There is no known medical or surgical cure for Crohn's disease, but there are many medical...

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sleeplover 05/13/2015

Has anyone ever switched from Humira to Remicade? I have ulcerative colitis and IBS. I have been in Humira for about 2 years. The Humira was working great and I felt practically normal, but lately I'm feeling sicker than usual. I am going to tell my GI doctor about this next week. I'm not sure what she'll say, but I am wondering if she'll want to try Remicade next. Before I began Humira, she told me my last options were surgery, Humira, or Remicade. If you've switched from Humira to Remicade, were you able to achieve remission? Has Humira stopped working for anyone else?

Also, has anyone had any bad side effects with Humira? I have been having vision problems, migraine headaches, and for lack of a better description "chronic goosebumps." These symptoms started about a month ago. I am not sure what's causing it.

DaltonUC 05/13/2015

I switched the other way from remicade to humira because of a bad reaction to remicade after a year. the humira worked great for me for over a year and I started having symptoms again and thought I was starting to flare. It turned out I had a C. diff infection so you may want to discuss with your doctor. Also you may want to consider Entyvio as an option. I hope you feel better soon.

sleeplover 05/13/2015

Thanks DaltonUC. Sorry about your C Diff infection. I just googled it, and it sounds pretty miserable. I don't think I have that, because my symptoms are not non-stop. Maybe once a week I'll get extreme pain, at a level 10 and run to the several times that day. The pain can last for almost a whole day, and then for a few days after I will still feel inflammation (but no pain with it.)

sleeplover 05/13/2015

I meant to type run to the bathroom several times that day.

rcaschbacher 05/15/2015

I have not done a switch, but I am on Remicade for UC. I know that these biologics can stop working, so I am glad that there are a couple options for us. For me, if Rem stops working I will try Humira. Thus, if Humira has stopped working for you then Remicade would be a good option before trying surgery. Only you and your GI can decide if the Humira has stopped working. I believe there is a blood test, something about antigens, to determine if the biologics have stopped working.

If you are worried about Remicade...I suggest trying it if it is what your GI recommends. I, and many others, have had good results with it. Some people do not respond well to it. All you can do is try.

I hope you start to feel better soon. Feeling bad is not fun. Who knows, your GI might suggest something else. Do you take other meds with your Humira? Your GI might just add some pills along with your injections vs an entire med change.

Good luck and keep us posted. :)
Rachel

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