Humira is certainly worth a try. Usually dosed as one injection every 2 weeks. Drawback is sometimes the shot can sting quite a bit. It helped to put a little lidocaine in with the injection (my son was on it for Crohn's and JIA). Good luck to you and your son!

This is a difficult decision to make! Today is Remicade day for my son, and our routine is that I pick him up after school, and we go straight to the hospital. By the time he's finished, it's usually about 7ish. I think the hassle component depends on how often your son will have to go in. At first, (at least in my son's case) he had infusion every 2 weeks, then 4, 8, 10 and finally 12. son made it to week 11 this time before beginning to feel symptoms again. When we go, we see kids who are MUCH worse off than my son---kids there with cancer, etc. It is eye opening, for sure, but makes my son feel glad he doesn't have a worse disease. The humira does sound easier, and if it works, it sounds like a good choice. I think our doc wants my son to try
humira this son because he wants to find another maintenance medicine besides remicade. Apparently, people build up a resistance to remicade over time (I'm not sure if that's also the case with humira---I haven't looked into it)

Good luck!

mom2jesse,

My heart goes out to you and your son. He is fortunate to not have had the severe pain episodes, so often associated with Crohn's, especially with inflammation and strictures. I completely understand where you are coming from with not wanting your son to wonder "what's going on, what's wrong with me." That said, kids are pretty resilient and can adapt to these situations well when they see your confidence in the treatment.

My son is 12 and started Remicade when he was 9. Remicade was such a blessing! Remicade was the first medication that gave my son true relief from the Crohn's. The infusions were fine. We live two hours from the infusion center and had to drive through Los Angeles rush hour traffic to get there. We just planned ahead for infusion day. I communicated with his teachers and he either did work ahead or brought it with him. The center was wonderful...personal video players, video games, crafts, etc... He did see kids who were there for other treatments, like chemo. It actually helped him to realize that he is not the only kid with a big disease.

When Remicade stopped working after about a year and a half, we switched to Humira. It was nice to avoid the drive and the day commitment for the infusion. The Humira pen is easy to use. However, Gus absolutely hated getting the injections. They really hurt. We tried icing the area first and using lidocaine, but nothing seemed to help much. We started with injections every two weeks, then had to go weekly. We used Humira for about nine months before it stopped working.

From my personal point of view, I felt Gus' best period was when he was on Remicade. That was the period when I really felt like he had a break from the disease and was in remission. For my money, the Remicade infusions were absolutely worth the effort.

Best wishes to you and your son. Let us know how it works out!

Bless you all! Just been diagnosed and GI is putting him on Humira. Of course it's our choice. BCBS has a procedure for us to go thru bc they won't automatically cover Humira.. Without them, it's $6000/month and he will take 4 shots the 1st treatment and 1 every 2 weeks.
My GI talks like the shot is nothing at all. But I have read the total opposite on here. It's easy to sit in their shoes and give out this information them go home.... It It our lives... Most importantly our children's lives.
And sure I speak for everyone that I would take his disease in a heartbeat if he could lead a normal pain free like that am 11 should live. With no meds, doctors, test or surgeries.
Christy