I just started humira last week and can share a little about my experience.

Prior to staring a biologic, you need to have a TB test, since one of the primary side effects of this class of medications is a weakened immune system. If you've ever been exposed to the TB virus, and if it is in your body, but your immune system has kept it at bay, then taking a biologic may be all the virus needs to infect your body. You will therefore need to take a TB test before starting your biologic. If in fact you do react positively to a TB test, then you will probably need to be on an anti-TB medication for a few months before starting your biologic. Last year, I took tested positive for TB, but it was inactive. I had to take a regimen of medications for 9 months, which have the effect of encapsulating the TB virus to prevent it from taking hold, after starting my biologic.

I dont' know about Remicade, but the information from my RD about humira / enbrel is that the type of side effects you reference are very rare. The one advantage of an Enbrel / or humira, is if you do get sick with a virus, these medications have a very short life (ie. that is why you have to take them so frequently). So if you catch a cold toward the end of one dose, you would just postpone the subsequent does for a few days until you've recovered.

Hope this helps.

Hey Cas - I really didn't have a choice thanks to my insurance. I had to start out with Embrel first because it was cheaper than Remicade. It helped for a while, and I did give myself the shots (it's not too bad, once you get use to it...) but after a while it stopped working. Then I stepped up to Humira. I had some bad side effects with Humira. It is also a shot you give yourself. Some people do great on Humira, but I had bad burning while administering the shot, as well as nasua and headaches. So, the next logical step was (and finally approved by my insurance) Remicade, which I actually start tomorrow. My Rhuemy doc. did a TB test and made sure my blood work looked OK, before we could begin. Now for tomorrow, I'm suppose to take 1000mg of tylonol, and 10mg of claritin, why I don't know...I guess to prevent any reactions. I am suppose to drink 32oz of water and have no caffene at all before my appointment. I excited and a little apprehensive...I don't know what I would have done if I started with Remicade and it didn't work, I think I might have felt I would have been stepping "down" to weekly shots. My body adapts to meds quickly, I wish Embrel still worked, It was a great med. I hope this helps and all the best to you! Take care - JB

I had the choice, and I chose Remicade because the research I did indicated a better success rate with Remicade. I don't like injecting myself, either, but that wasn't a factor, at the time.

I don't know of any of these drugs offering remission, but that doesn't mean they won't or that spontaneous remission isn't possible.

The RB test is a skin prick. You come back after a specified period (I believe it was 2 days), and if you haven't reacted, you don't have TB. Obviously, th reason you're tested is that Remicade can cause issues if you have TB.

The risks... always the risks. All the RA drugs have risks, and you need to weigh them against the benefit you might receive. I don't mean to scare you, but there is always a very small population that will be sensitive to these drugs and react badly. I've reacted badly to methotrexate (BOOP) and Remicade (drug induced bone marrow suppression, which suppressed production of white blood cells). These are very rare reactions, but they happn. But, notice that I'm here to tell you about them.

In my experience, methotrexate was just beginning to look like a wildly successful drug when it failed me, and Remicade was my favorite, because it brought instant relief. I'm now taking Rituxan, which for 4 months out of 6, it's the same as not having RA. However, I'm trying to assess if it's the cause of a 3 1/2 month old rash.

I only mean to say that there are risks with all of these drugs, but they onlt affect a small percentage of people using them, and the benfits generally far exceed the risk.

Good luck.

Thank you all so much for your advice.This makes it so much easier for me to start the medication knowing I am not alone. Thanks again.

The only experience I have to offer is that a friend of mine tried Humira, low dose antibiotics, Prednisone, ect. ect. and she has reported to me that she feels the best she has ever felt on infusions of Remicade. She said that she finally feels like life is worth living again. She was very depressed at the progression of her disease. She tells me that she has to have the infusions in the cancer treatment center, so that it is kind of depressing to sit with patients that have cancer :( Also, she said it is kind of inconvenient to sit there for an hour or so, but it is well worth it to her. So.... I don't know if that helps, but when I have concerns it helps to know that there are others that have had similar experiences and felt MUCH better in the long run.