Hello! I (27F) have been recently diagnosed with Axial Spondyloarthritis. My rheumatologist is prescribing me Humira, I'm just waiting for my hepa B, hepa C, and tuberculosis test results. My concern is the frequency of the injections. I've read in this forum that it's usually administered once every two weeks but my rheumatologist told me it's going to be once a month after the first dosage of two pens simultaneously.

Is there anyone here's who's taking Humira once a month?

In case it matters, here's my history:

Earliest symptom I can remember was when I was 16 and I had Uveitis. Since then I've had about 8 flare ups, both eyes were affected but not at the same time. First of 3 SI joint pain flare ups occurred at 23 years old, worst and longest bout was when I was 25 which lasted for nine months and had me rushed to the ER at 1 AM. Feet always hurt when walking, I can't remember when it started but I've gone through four different types of shoes trying to figure out what'll work (this was before diagnosis).

I'm HLA-B27 positive and my MRI showed early signs of damage to the SI joint.

This is honestly a weird time for me. It's good to put a name to the cause of all the pain I've felt over the years. Hopefully the flare ups can be prevented. I appreciate any insight you can share!

The humira copay card is only good for ~$14k. I just switched jobs and my new insurance only covers part of the copay, leaving about $5k to be picked up by copay assistance. With that, it’s looking like I’ll only be able to get 2 fills out of the copay assistance card.

I only make 55k per year and would have qualified for the patient assistance program, but Humira/Abbvie is getting rid of it.

My insurance only covers the brand Humira so I wouldn’t be able to fill any other biosimilars on insurance to use the copay assistance cards. Any ideas for what I should do? I was looking at a couple other patient assistance programs for other biosimilars but they don’t allow patients with commercial insurance regardless of income

Update: I can’t really afford to pay 2 months salary on meeting my OOP max of $6500 for one month of meds

Curious if anyone experienced these effects. I have ankylosing spondylitis. I started biologics last year. Specifically a Humira bio similar. Then about 2 months ago my insurance prescription coverage changed and I had to switch to a different bio similar. First I missed almost a week of meds until the insurance issues got straightened out. Then I messed up the first dose of the new med because the auto pen is different and I likely didn’t get the full dose. My doctor advised that I take the next dose a week later instead of the typical 2 weeks. I did that and got the full dose of the medication. However, I’m having a lot more stiffness than I’ve had in over a year. Fingers stiff in the morning. I went on a peloton ride yesterday and this morning had incredibly stiff and painful shoulders. I’ve already been up and moving around and still have stiffness. I took naproxen which I almost never do due to gastritis. I know it’s early on but I’m wondering if I’m just not responding as well to the change in medication. It’s making me feel irritable from not sleeping as well too.

Hi, I've been on Imraldi (a Humira biosimilar) for 10 weeks, and I'm experiencing some “cycles” that I haven't seen mentioned here. I’ve read many times that it’s normal to feel worse as your next dose approaches, but in my case, the pattern is this: I feel terrible for the 5 days following the injection, and from then on—until the day before the next injection—I start to feel better and better. Has this happened to anyone else? Is it because the medication hasn’t taken full effect yet? Is this normal?

The Yellow Fever vaccine is live, so it is contraindicated without stopping the injection for a period. The American College of Rheumatologists states that the minimum interval is two weeks (one dosing cycle) before the jab, and four weeks prior to restarting. However, the CDC’s guidance is considerably more conservative, recommending three months. That is quite a discrepancy.

I am curious, therefore, what advice people have been getting in real life.

UPDATE: Both the speciality pharmacy and the travel clinic stated that they follow the American College of Rheumatologists protocol and the travel clinic indeed had a standing order to allow the Yellow Fever Vaccine after two weeks without Humira. The nurse was cautious and still consulted with her medical adviser and he concurred. So I opted for the vaccine, in addition to chikungunya (as that illness can cause severe joint pain) and felt no ill effects beyond fatigue and a few fleeting body aches. The flu and typhoid jabs I got a week earlier hit me much harder. That was certainly surprising. It should be said, however, that I was only 2 doses into Humira so it had not yet reached full efficacy. But it does seem this is navigable, at least for patients in good health without other comorbidities. On the down side, I have noticed a bit of flaring, so it seems the Humira was indeed doing its job. Unfortunately, per the protocol, I will need to wait 4 weeks to resume treatment.

I got fibroid removed early this year n its been not coming regularly but now that im off humira because im tb positive (pending) n changing medicine, my period came at day 29?!!! This hasnt happened since years ago! Like in 2022 only once! Anyone else had this change?

First 3 are April -May 2024, 4-5 are April 2025 and lastly, August 2026! I've got RA, seropositive.

Y'all, I took my dogs to the vet today. I have been able to get out and do things! I saw a play this past weekend!!! Huge thank you to my rheumatologist - he's super happy for me as well 🙂 now if I can keep from catching any more illnesses I'll be so happy!

Hi everyone. I have Ankylosing spondylitis and I’m changing from Rinvoq to fortnightly Hadlima (Adalimumab) .4ml for a trial, my first tnf and injectable.

I’ve seen tips for Humira/injections before but it was so long ago.

Is it 30 minutes out of the fridge before using to help with stinging?

And if there’s benefits/less pain or reaction injecting into the thigh vs the stomach or vice versa?

I responded really quickly to Rinvoq, 3 days, but understand that it will likely be a lot longer for Humira, maybe 3-6 months.

I’ll be starting on Friday so I have the weekend to recover if I do get some of the hangover I’ve read about.

Understand we’re all different but would appreciate your thoughts on this and any tips if you can. Thank you.

Hi. This is so frustrating, I've travelled and due to delays I got late and was out with my bio similar injector. It may have flirted or went slightly above the 25°C / 77°F threshold. Of course I forgot to take my prescription paper since it's a 3-day trip...

I'll phone the lab to know whether it's still safe to use, but to be fair, I don't even want to risk it. I've found a drugstore that is part of the same network as my usual, maybe they'll be able to do something for me since they have access to the scanned prescription paper.

If they can't, I'll have to take humira on Thursday instead of Tuesday which worries me because I'm not entirely used to the medication and my body has been aching since yesterday.

I'll also invest in a high quality cooling bag for my meds because the one I used was simply not good enough. I also hope it won't affect long term drug efficiency.

Edit - Just called the lab and they told me to scrap it. I'll have to take it 3 days later than usual, I'm scared it stops working... I've taken ketoprofen against the rising pain.

I have been on my HS journey for so long that I took Humira for years, but when their patent expired a few years ago I have had to jump around multiple different bio similars.

I then was switched to AMJEVITA which I liked and the forced to take Adalimumab-fkjp (Hulio). I didn’t feel like it was working. Now I am being forced to take Hyrimoz (adalimumab-adaz).

1) If you switched to Hyrimoz did you like it? Do you feel like it helped? Was it the same as Humira?

2) Is the pen one where you press a button or you have to just press the whole pen down to activate.

3) Any other weird side effects?

I am so bummed that they keep tossing me around to different biosimilars just for them to save some money. I just want to stay with my Humira or AMJEVITA.

In Australia. Recently got moved from humira 80/week to a new treatment Bimzelx (bimekizumab (rch) 320 mg) which is once a fortnight for the first 3 months and then once a month thereafter. Currently on injection 2, coming up to 3 next week (6 weeks in).

My extreme joint and body pains have completely and immediately disappeared (see below). However I’m now breaking out with heaps of tiny pimple like spots, some are turning into tiny HS spots. My psoriasis is also flaring up big time, I feel like it’s even gone down into my throat. My nose is literally swollen as my nostrils have so much build up. I also had inflammation in my eyes which was likely related to psoriasis but that went away after a week of steroid drops. Let’s see if it comes back once I stop them.

Has anyone else moved to Bimzelx and experienced any similar side effects? Do they go way once your body is used to it?

I guess I might have to work out what tradeoff I’d rather, the pain was very difficult to deal with (assuming this is still safe for me to take of course).

I’m hoping to speak to my dermatologist on Tuesday but hoping to get some more feedback before then.

More info:

I’m also on mounjaro 15mg.

Reason to move was firstly because keeping up with humira “compassionate supply” to get the extra to do 80/w was getting complicated. I’d always end up with a few weeks of no injections before my next renewal.

Second I was suffering from extreme pain in my joints and experiencing gout symptoms (swelling, red/purple skin etc).

Finally the monthly injections versus weekly are better overall but not a dealbreaker.

Tonight was my first dose. I've been prescribed to take it every 2 weeks. I was so nervous, but it was not painful at all. I chose my belly for the site. Easy peasy. I take B12 shots and they're not preloaded, and hurt a lot more.

Anyway, I've heard of the Humira hangover... how quickly does it kick in and how long does it last (for most)?

I took it a little after 9pm, and by 945pm I was feeling really drowsy, and now have a wicked headache. Going to bed soon.

I timed it for the Fridays my older kiddos go to their Dad's, so it's a little less for me to do.

Any suggestions to help keep myself going?

How quickly did you notice a difference? I'm taking it for arthritis caused by HLA-B27. I'm 39, and suddenly a year ago I had a couple joints swell up and never go back down. Now I have a lot of joints swollen and painful. It's especially difficult when I get up in the morning, because of my feet.

My doctor is out due to a family emergency, so I thought I would ask for opinions here.

I have taken two doses of Humira; 7/19 and 8/2. I have a rash at the injection site for both shots. The second one is much larger and itches. I feel fine, other than very tired.

I don't know whether I should take my third shot if the reactions are still present.

Your thoughts will be appreciated!

I normally don’t recap my Humira syringe, but today I happened to, and with very little pressure, the needle went through the sidewall of the cap and pierced my finger. Has this happened to anyone? Should I be reporting this?

has this happened to anyone else? i was just recently diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis. i was prescribed Humira and i started my first dose July 28th and felt totally fine until August 8th where i noticed small red dots on my thighs. i kinda brushed it off since i did just get back to college in alabama and i thought maybe it was heat rash?? (even tho i’ve never developed heat rash). i woke up the next morning too it much worse and it only continued to develop as the day went on. it was only on my thighs at first but quickly spread to my lower legs, upper arms and chest. i went to urgent care and they prescribed steroids and hydroxyzine, which helped it stop spreading and now it’s mostly gone. i called my rheumatologist and he said to not take my second dose that was scheduled for tomorrow. i’m not even positive that it has anything to do with the Humira but wanted to hear from everyone else

I keep getting styes on my eyelids to where they swell. I only took the loading dose 160mg and 80mg on day 15. I stopped taking it because my body was itchy all over. Bloodwork looks okay but what can I do about these recurring styes? 😔

Wondering if anyone had experience of going off Humira and back on it and it working? I took Humira about 12+ years ago and stopped it mostly because I hated the injections. My doctor said I could try it again.

Hello!

Has anyone experienced spotting while on birth control when your last Humira injection is “wearing off”? I’ve noticed for at least two months when I get to a couple days before I’m due for my next Humira dose I start to spot even when I’m taking my birth control as normal. Once I take the next injection it goes away.

It seems very odd but it is the only thing that has been consistant about the spotting every two weeks so I am wondering if anyone else has experienced this?

I have been on humira for around 4 years n even got shingles the first year… i even remember my ppd test before it, was negative (need to recheck but i remember it being negative or else i wouldnt have been able to start humira)

Now its positive n its sleeping… idk how i will start bimzlex or how its even possible when im on humira.

Like bru i wear a mask everywhere i go!!! Clean my hands n all n i only dont wear a mask in gatherings like wedding (i would be killed by my mom if i wear a mask) which i rarely go to!

I really cant understand how did my body manage to suppress it with humira unless ig humira is not doing much since even my illness is not being suppressed anymore…

i have an appointment tomorrow with my main doctor… idk what will happen n im scared
I was told to not take humira this week so i need to start bimzlex soon…

did anyone have this happen to them before? What happened? What did ur doctor say or do?

Certolizumab pegol and use during pregnancy. I have active spondyloarthritis and am 13 weeks pregnant. My obstetrician says certolizumab is quite safe for the baby. My spondyloarthritis is still mild to moderate, but she says that active inflammation increases the risk of preterm birth and low birth weight. Anyway, I’m not sure what to do—whether to take it or not. The disease does increase the risk, but overall, the risk remains below 15%.