My son has been on Humira weekly injections for 8 weeks. Saw small improvement after the 1st 4 shot loading dose, but gotten worse since. Symptoms are not any better and scope still shows a lot of inflammation. Dr thinks we should have seen an improvement by now and wants to move to entyvio. I just don't want to give up on Humira too soon as I know once we cross it off that is one less med in our pocket.
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12 weeks is the window for maximum benefit. But, if he is not sustaining an initial improvement with the maximum dosing, I would talk to the doc about moving on. Is he on IV steroids to try to get that remission going?
Jan
He is on iv cipro an iv flagyl, oral budesonide, and rectal uceris. He will not do prednisone again as he had horrible side effects when had a colon. I think it made him worse and he was left with these huge stretch marks on his back
How old is your son? He may need a combo of Imuran or methotrexate with a different biologic.
Jan
My is 18. Isn't there a risk of cancer when combining immunosupressants with biologics in boys? He is getting his 1st Entyvio infusion tomorrow.
I too tried Hurmira - I am not sure if you can build anti-bodies to Hurmira but I did to Remicade (a blood test confirmed this, I still had anti-bodies against Remicade 10 years Later) and had trouble with any other anti-TNF Blockers including Hurmira. I started feeling ok with the first couple doses then got progressively worse with each additional dose.
If it makes hime feels worse I think he should stop, and try something else.
I had trouble with Enytvio as well. I hope you son has better luck. I am using Stelara - No side effects for me and helps some.
I hope your son feels better soon,
Carolyn
You can develop antibodies to any biologic, but they are specific to the biologic, just like immunity is specific to individual viruses. Using Imuran or methotrexate can help reduce the risk of antibody formation.
That said, it is true that young males (35 and younger) are at a higher risk for lymphoma with combination therapy with azathioprine (Imuran) and similar drugs. Methotrexate (MTX) combination therapy does not seem to have the same risk profile, but is not as effective. No easy answers to be sure!
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2950663/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4123358/
Jan
From my personal experience Humira and MTX was good but I needed an extremely clean diet for better results.