Hi, I've had my pouch for a year now and have had several outbreaks of pouchitis resulting in hospitalisation for intravenous cortisone treatment. At the moment I'm taking cipro, Zinnat, and 40mg of prednisone. My doctors say I am cortisone resistant and want to put me on Humira within the next few weeks when I've reduced the prednisone. Has anyone taken this drug? I know it's new and only experimental in UC and pouchitis. I'm also interested to know if anyone finds that smoking helps reduce pouchitis outbreaks. Thanks!

My understanding of the smoking issue is that it MAY help control symptoms ONLY if you were previously a smoker. Not sure if this is true for pouchitis, but definitely is what I was told about UC symptoms.

When we were discussing this with the drs during my UC flare (I had one 6 month flare ending in surgery) there was some debate over whether you actually have to smoke or if the patch might provide the same result. My Mom asked the drs about giving me the nicotine patch as a possible treatment, but they said that if I had never been a smoker, the nicotine wouldn't help. If I had been a smoker, it might have helped, but all of the drs agreed that the potential harm from smoking was not worth the possibility that it might help control some of the UC symptoms.

Don't know anything about Humira...

Thanks for your reply! I was a smoker and gave up 8 months before my first UC outbreak which lasted 6 months and resulted in surgery. The doctors are pretty sure my giving up smoking was a factor in my UC. At the moment I've had pouchitis for the past 6 months and am willing to try anything to sort it out as I am corticoid resistant and a permanent illeostomy is now a possibility. My doctor reckons nicotine patches wouldn't help...has to be tobacco!

Good luck with figuring it out. BTW, I have a perm ileo after failed J-pouch (3 1/2 years battling pouchitis was enough for me) and couldn't be happier.

I tried a course of Humira in my UC days but it didn't help. Have not tried it for pouchitis. It is similar to Remicade except made with human antibodies , where Remicade is mouse antibodies. So in theory there are less adverse reactions to the Humira. The other advantage is that humira is an injection you can do yourself vs Remicade IV infusion. Both are TNF blockers, I believe. I'm a little late posting....am curious if you tried the Humira and what kind of results you have had. Thanks.
LoriP

I take Humira for Crohn's (I have a Jpouch) and it is the only thing that has helped.

Humira was my last resort drug before having surgery for UC. Unfortunately it didn't help me and boy do those shots in the stomach sting!

Why did they give them in your stomach? I always got them in the arm. I guess it doesn't matter where ...as long as you get them.
LoriP