[…] has been used by more patients world-wide than the other medications in the same class, Enbrel and Humira, combined. It is a blockbuster drug for the pharmaceutical giant, Johnson & […]

My fiance was put on Humira for Chrone’s disease 2 months ago and has since had a stent put in his heart a month ago and has had breathing problems since. He has since been hospitalized and the doctors cannot find his breathing problems. We are considering if the Humira drug has had some bad side effects as he is 50 yrs. old and has never had any heart problems. We are confused and don’t know if the Humira drug has altered his system this way. Two weeks after the Humira shots he had a hard time climbing up one flight of stairs and his body turned to stone like on steorids. He was also short of breath and I insisted he see the doctor. The doctor took him off the Humira and 2 weeks later he was in the hospital having a stent put in his heart. I would like more information if anyone out there has had the same conditions and if there is somewhere else I could turn to find out more information as this is puzzling and distressing to us.

I have crohns disease and was put on humira after I had Intestinal surgery done. I was on the medication for near 5 months and began to get these large scaly spots on my legs and stomach. I went to my GI doctor he said it had nothing to do with my crohns. I then went to a dermatologist and she said just by looking at it, that it was psoriasis. She did not no how I got psoriasis while on humira because it is a drug used for psoriasis. She gave me many different cream and such and it did nothing but get worse. I then went to get another opinion from another dermatologist and she did a biopsy and said it was a reaction to some type of medication, the only meds i was on was humira so she took me off it. A month went by and it com even worse my entire legs wore covered my stomach was covered I have three large spot on my head that look like giant scabs and my hands and arms were being to be the same. I then went to university hospital to see a dr. who deals with just psoriasis because the dermatologist i was seeing said thats what it looked like but her biopsy said otherwise. I went to university hospital met with the doctor and he took pictures and did a biopsy and later told me it came back suggestive to psoriasis. I was not going to be able to be treated by him because he worked out of cleveland and i lived way to far away to travle there everyday. I went back to my the last dermatologist i saw before him, she was the one who referred me to him and began a light box treatment. The light box as helped keep my legs from getting large scales on then but new spots keep coming. I met with her yesterday and she told me that she told me that she had talked to my GI doctor and he had found that there were more cases like mine. She said that the light box is helping the spots i have but not curing it because i keep getting new spots. She told me that she thinks the humira did this to me and she is going to do another biopsy and call out to university hospital and talk to the doctor i saw there. She said she is very confused and does not no what to do because she has never seen anything like this. And from the conversation me and her had last it sounds like she is going to want me to be a ginii pig for them. They have no idea what to do to calm this reaction down. Mean while i have to walk around with this rash all over my body which is extremely embarrassing because of HUMIRA. This has been going on since august it is almost Christmas and they still can not figure out how to stop it. I struggle to get up every morning it is so hard to go about my day with this on my body and knowing that no one has an answer for it. I thank my doctor everyday because she is working hard at it but can not come up with any answers. If anyone can help me please do

I have Rheumatoid Arthritis and have had since aged 2, I’m now 44, I was looking forward to going on humira as I read some people had found some good results, my arthritis count did start going down, so I was pleased, but I got an itchy leg then an itchy foot, the next thing I have a full blown fungal infection, I take a course of anti biotics and fungal tablets and it goes, I have another shot with Humira, and here we go again, so I thought I may not have given the first infection time to go from my body, I wait a month all clear, I have just had a jab today and my leg and foot is itching like mad, I know it’s gonna be a fungal infection again? Something just is not right.

My husband took humira shots for 3 months and was hospitalized in july with fungus infections and was in and out for 5 months until he died.

I’ve been taking Humira for 4 months now. After going away at the outset my plaque psoriasis has completely come back . As for those with infections I recommend taking colloidal silver. Available in all health food stores. It’s so effective it’s used to purify water in the International Space Station. If it’s good enough for the astronauts then it’s good enough for me!

My story is the exact same as David’s. I was diagnosed with incurable Lymphoma in 5/2008 after taking Humira..

I have Crohns disease. I was on Remicade for years wich I ended up with pneumonia . After that I was put on Humira which I had to stop. Sence I was put on Remicade I have had to put up with headaches, muscles and joints huting, and the lower part of my back hurting. My doctor said that it was nothing to worry about. The headaches have been pretty severe that I have passed out several times and blacked out several times to. I feel that we should come back and sue the company for what has happen to us.

My 66 year old sister has taken Humira for several years for rheumatoid arthritis. Four months ago , while checking for histoplasmosis , the doctors found she did have histoplasmosis but also found a tumor in her lung. The tumor was removed but now the cancer is throughout her body and she has been given less than a month to live.

I have been on Humira for about three years and after about the first year the bottom of my foot began to itch. I thought Oh gosh, I have some kind of yukey athletes feet or something. Went to dermatologist who said it was just a generic allergic reaction to something. After many creams lotions, steroid creams and all that, it is still spreading and only on one foot. It will start to heal and I get exited only to have it start to peel/scale again and turn red. It is embarrassing and it will not go away. I did not even link it to Humira until I just happened onto this site. I don’t know what to do about it.

I have RA but was put on Enbrel to treat a photopathic rash (hives and rash from sun exposure). It didn’t help much with the hives but my RA really went into remission. Started in 2003. Switched to Humira in 04 because of some shortness of breath. Dec. 08 dx with Non hodgkins lymphoma, mets to my long bones. I blame Humira. When I asked my doctors if they wanted to report it they all said it was an administrative nightmare with 24 pages of paperwork and they said it wouldn’t matter. If we don’t report the cancers, who will?

I have been taking Humira for approximately 4 years and just recently was diagnosed with MS and Lupus. I am curious to know whether anyone else has been diagnosed with this problem. The rheumatologist had no idea that this could be one of the side effects, and I have numbing on my left side which I went to my family doctor for. Thank god she ordered an MRI which suggested MS. I was then referred to a neurologist and after more tests and another MRI (2hours) it was confirmed that I do indeed have MS. Also vitamin D levels are down so I have to take a supplement for that. I had numbing 2 years ago which everyone said was nothing and no tests were ordered, even though I asked for them and told them the family history of MS. They stated that this did NOT run in families and I would be fine. Apparently not. The neurologist said that any TNF blocking agents could cause MS. Why did the rheumatologist not know this? I am seriously upset that the doctors do not listen to patients when they have concerns then try to cover their butts. Anyone with further information would be greatly appreciated. Now I can hardly move because there is nothing else to take for the arthritis and the drug that he wants to put me on is not covered by insurance. Now I have pay for the MS meds and get the third degree by the office staff about being in pain and needing them to do something about it.

Toni on 16 April 2009: Your story hit a nerve. I have hep C, was in remission, been on Humira 3+ years. Had to stop due to hep virus’ return. 2.25Million Viral Load, was ZERO!
Since stopping the Humira, My Psoriasis is back in force & I can barely walk, my joints hurt so bad. My upper back & neck feel like they are on fire and broken. My Right arm & shoulder are useless. My hands feel broken.
I am afraid I may have MS. I see doc tomorrow! Wish me luck all!
I don’t understand it if it is so, But I will Deal with it!

I have psoriatic arthritis and psoriasis been on Humira for several years. I seemed to get a horrid pain in my neck all the time after taking shots for a while. When I questioned the RA doc about it he said what I was feeling was the damage that had been don by the arthritis in my neck now that the inflammation was gone because of taking Humira. About 5 month ago I got something like the flu, low grade temp. and constant ringing in the ears and it has never left. My family doc cannot figure it out from blood tests, but he did find a urinary infection. So I took antibiotics for a week, but I am still sick all the time losing energy feeling ill. I too have had temp from 97 to 100 except a couple of times it shot up to 103. I went back to the RA DR and informed him that since I have not been taking the shots for several months my neck does not seem to hurt now. So he contradicted himself from what he told me the first time. Now he says that the Humira would not cause me to have pain in my neck. I told him that I am having flu like symptoms and problems finding out what is wrong… all he said is that he wanted me to start taking Humira every 15 days instead of every 10 days like I was.
HELP!! Can someone tell me what one of these infections is like? I need some kind of treatment to get over whatever is wrong with me.. I cannot work and I do not know where to turn. I am not going to start the Humira shots again… I am pretty sure it is at the base of my illness. The FDA should be sued for allowing this kind of thing to be approved so quick while they know it is a big concern. I think the medical community, drug mfg’s and FDA stick together to make a big pie for themselves.

My brother-in-law has had psoratic arthritis for 4yrs (he’s 30 now). He has tried Humira, Enbrel and is currently on Remicade. Humira was stopped due to blood in the stools about 6 months ago. He was recently hospitalized with diverticulitis and a hole in his colon which caused a severe infection in his abdominal cavity. He had to have part of his colon removed and now he has a colostomy bag for 2 mos until the infection clears up then he has to have another surgery to put his colon back together again. He has been in the hospital for 9 days and has to stay another week at least. Has anyone heard of similar problems after taking these meds? I can’t believe there could be any other reason for his condition other than the medications since most people in his condition are elderly. I have tried to talk to his doctors about the possibility this was caused by the medications, but they won’t speculate even though the FDA warning labels list diverticulitis as a rare but severe side effect.

Has anyone suffered any ear infections that may be linked to Humira? Husband has had infections that won’t clear up after being on it almost a year? Have not seen this discussed…ENT says fungal, looks like that could be a problem on other parts of the body, any thoughts?

My husband was on Humira for Crohn’s for the past two years. He has had a lot of issues with foot pain and toe fungus. He just stopped taking Humira two weeks ago because his triglycerides were 599. After talking with the Accredo specialist, he learned that this was a side effect of the drug, which led to the discontinuation. Now, his two middle toes on each foot are turning dark brown. I was wondering if anyone else has had any of these side effects. Not sure what the brown toes means, but he will be seeing the doctor tomorrow. I am very concerned.

my wifes was on humira for about 2 months she got a rash all over her body after being in the sun now her joints hurt her they are slowly going away but moving around noe only in hands, feet alittle and knees really bad they are maybe thinking lupus because some count was high i think it was a ANA test and also how long does this stuff stay in your body

My husband was on humira for several years. Enbrel before that. The enbrel caused a rash so he was switched to humira. I wish we had never seen this drug. He developed severe breathing problems and no cause could be found. Stopped taking humira and he had a stroke within a couple of weeks. He has had several tias and a major stroke in June. This drug should be removed from the market immediately before it destroys anyone elses life.

I am so sorry that everyone has gone through so much with this drug. I would be interested in a doctor getting on here and commenting and seeing what his comments would be. Are they informed of all the risks with this drug when they prescribe it to the general public. Who should be held accountable for this. Two years ago my rheumatologist should have known that when I was having symptoms of numbness and tingling that something neurologic was going on. Instead he says “It’s nothing, just increase your Folic Acid”. My question is that as the “general public” should we be informed of ALL the side effects or at least have physicians “well” informed from the drug companies about what to look for and what to do if something happens. I am now seeing a pain specialist because my “Former” rheumatologist does not know what to do. Funny that my Family doc just shakes her head when I tell her the stories about what I have been through. She has since gotten an appointment for me with another rheumatologist. Wish me luck.

I had been on Enbrel and Methotrexate for many years for severe RA. In April 09 I started getting sick and very short of breath. When I finally saw a doctor I had Bronchial Pneumonia and was treated with Levequin and steroids through IV. Little did we know at that time I would test positive for Histoplasmosis. I am now on Sporanox for the Histo. The only RA med I take at this time is Celebrex and Aspirin. I am in terrible shape with lots of swelling, redness, and pain. This is in all joints.
What drug can I safely take for my RA now?? I checked out minocycline and can’t take it due to the Histo. What in the world can I take now so I can try and get my life back?????????

Linda

I previously mentioned I got a skin rash, since then, my ankles have been swelling really bad, my GP said it was my RA, but when the rheumatologist saw me he sent me for an ECG and an echocardiagram, and xray and blood tests, he now tells me I have fluid on my lungs, which could indicate heart failure so I am undergoing more tests, I have never had any heart problems in 44 years and this is very worrying, I have now stopped taking Humira, not because my rheumatologist told me to, just because I cannot cope with anymore side effects.

I have a close relative. He has suffered from Crohn’s for more than 25 years (got it since a young boy). Since a couple of years ago, he is also suffering from pyro-derma (wounds on the legs). Remicade didn’t help that much. For the last three months he is on Humira( first every two weeks; for the last two weeks once a week). It is helping in closing the wounds, however, he is getting completeley short of energy, and is now going through flue symptoms and fungus problems. Feels nausea most of thew time. Finds difficult to walk even a block and quite cumbersom to climb a few steps in the house stair-case. Could it be that Humira’s frequecy is increased, Humira itself or what?

Anyone who may have gone through or seen such an agony experience and would like to suggest/recommend some relief-giving measures?

My husband died 7 months after starting Humira one week after his 55 birthday from septis. Dr told me the night he died Humira was the only thing he was taking that could have destroyed his immune that fast. He was a waiting surgery for hip replacement. I have a lawyer and my case has been excepted. He also had a rash develope on his back.

Wow! Although I realised there were potential problems with anti TNF’s, all these comments have got me worried now! I have been on Humira for almost two years for ankylosing spondylitis and up until a month ago, have never felt better. I now have constant headaches excactly as described by other humira users (extreme pain on one side of head and involving ear and jaw). Nothing seems to be able to lessen it much. I called the rhumatoligist nurse here in England who informed me that there was no way it could have been caused by humira after all this time and to see my GP to test for other causes! Not sure about that now after reading others’ comments who have experienced same thing it seems! Almost afraid to go off humira now since it seems other problems pop up after it is discontinued! What to do!!