Humira

I know that I haven't posted a blog in a long time. Life gets busy and I don't find time to write down my thoughts and feelings. Much has happened in the last for months. Good and bad. At least the bad haven't been as bad as they could be. There have been some new developments with my Crohns that have put me in a very serious position.

In February I came face to face with a decision. My husband and I had the luxury to plan a trip with friends to watch the super owl in Vegas. This was going to be second time and first with just friends so I was pretty excited. A couple weeks before the trip I started noticing some weird things going on. I had developed a painful lump in my groin. Now this wasn't very unusual as my glands tend to get irritated often. The strange thing was that the closer to Vegas the larger and more painful this lump got. This doesn't usually happen. Usually the swelling goes away on its own. So I decided that I would wait until after Vegas as I really didn't want the doctor to tell me not to go. As the weekend went the worst the situation got and by the end if the weekend it hurt to wear tight pants and in some cases walk. This was starting to remind way too much of my abscess that sent me to the hospital in 2012. When we were on our way home I was very relieved and dead set on seeing my doctor ASAP.

Luckily I was able to see my doctor that week. I told him all about my symptoms. He too was concerned about an abscess so he laid out a plan that started with an exam. It turned out that the lump in my grok. Was nothing but an inflamed gland. But the inflammation was the worrisome part because that means that another part of my body was no in good shape. Now I have been dealing with a fistula or two so my doctor thought that maybe there was an abscess that had formed stemming from the fistula. I had an exam, CT scan and an appointment with a surgeon to determine what was happening and what needed to be done. The bad news is that the fistula has tunneled to another organ in my body but the good news is that the fluid from the abscess is draining so I'm in no immediate danger and that surgery is not an option. The next topic for discussion was treatment. By no means is having an abscess a good thing so I need to fix that.

My Naturopathic doctor suggested that I see a GI doctor within his network so that he could be in the loop of my treatment better. I went to see Dr. Tobin of Seattle Gastroenterology. He was nice enough doctor who talked to me about treatment. What he suggested was that I get on a biologic drug which show to be more effective in treating more complicated cases of Crohn's, which I happen to have. (lucky me) So we went over the different brands basically. We settled on Humira because it was a self administered drug. I already take B-12 via IM injection so I thought yeah this will be easy. I left with a good outlook on things. I had to wait 2 weeks for the medication to get approved and mean while my naturopathic doctor had prescribed some antibiotics to bring down the abscess so that A I would get relief and B so it wouldn't get worse when I started Humira. Humira is an immunosuppressant drug that inhibits your body to fight infections. If I still had a raging abscess while on this drug then it would do more harm then good.

Also while I waited for approval from my insurance I started searching Humira on line more. I wanted to know how it was administered and what people had to say about it. My doctor never covered the the details about each drug. Turns out that a lot of people say the medication stings pretty bad going in, some get a large welt after and some even have to take a Benadryl because of itching and rash. Someone described the feeling as battery acid being injected in her leg. I heard that this is because the liquid needs to be refrigerated and warming it up to room temperature helps. Other tips were to numb the area with an ice cube before injecting. I also found out that the first time you take it you have to take 4 syringes, then 2 two weeks later and then 1 every two weeks. WOW.

The more I found out about this drug the less and less I like it. I don't want to take something every two weeks that i'm going to have to ice my leg down for and have it feel like i'm injecting fire in my leg or stomach for 30 seconds. 30 seconds is a long time for pain. So I called back my doctor and said you know what Remicade isn't sounding that bad right about now i'd like to switch please. The doctor approved of my concern for switching and so we waited again for the approval from Premera. (side note- Remicade is also a immunosuppressant but it is given via IV injection. You receive it over a couple of hours time every 3-4 months. I have had this before in 2012 before my surgery. I know A I am not allergic and B it has been around for longer and has more research.)

After a few weeks I got a denial letter in the mail from Premera because I didn't try Humira first they would not approve Remicade. I was very upset about this. I called my doctor and spoke with his nurse about what could be done. She said that the doctor talked with the insurance and tried to fight for me but the insurance wouldn't budge on their decision. My secondary insurance said that the medication was approved under my plan but they couldn't tell me until they were billed. That means that what ever percent would be covered after the procedure was don't.However I wasn't given a 100% answer of assurance since they can't tell you  unless the procedure has already been done. So I am siting there with weighing the option of just getting the Remicade and possibly paying 5000 out of pocket plus other costs. After talking to the nurse and medical billing 3-4 times, calling Premera 3 times, crying and having a full on nervous break down, and discussing things with my husband I caved in and decided that Humira was my only option. I felt let down and angry with my insurance for forcing me to take a drug I wasn't comfortable with or taking not treatment at all. I was hopeless and very very angry.

Fast forward 2 and a half weeks and I am less than 24 hours away from taking Humira for the first time. I pick up my starter kit today which cost 100 dollars and tomorrow morning I meet with a nurse who will explain how it works, demonstrating on me and then letting me try. A training then call it. My husband will be there to support me as I do this even though I really don't want to and I think I might have him inject me with one so that later on if I don't want to do it then he can for me.  I am nervous for what it will feel like and what will happen to me afterward. My hope is that I will go into Anaphylaxis so that I won't have to take the Humira anymore and be switched to Remicade or at the least I have some kind of allergic reaction even on a very small scale to complain about. Things could turn out fine and I am just being a big baby about it. Speaking of babies, Humira and babies don't mix so as long as I am on it I won't be able to breast feed but that also tells me that I shouldn't be pregnant and on this drug. Not that I am planing on having babies anytime soon but you never know whats going to happen.

Life just keeps getting more and more complicated. hopefully I can update about the outcome of the Humira before another 3 months passes.

XOXO