Humira, Day 2

So besides a minor snafu with FedEx, overall my Humira loading dose experience went very well. Humira comes as an auto-injectable pen, and less commonly in the US, syringes. For Crohn's and Ulcerative Colitis, the first loading dose of Humira on day one, are four doses (4 pens), followed by another 2 pens on day 15. These six first doses come in a cute little starter kit, along with a practice pen that talks. For other conditions such as RA, the loading dose is slightly different, requiring less of a start up dose. My doctor required an appointment with his NP to educate me on how to inject. Some physicians do traveling nurses, some do nothing.

Another thing that is important to remember is that it must be refrigerated. This is the major issue of shipping/receiving the drug. Did I mention it's ridiculous cost (my 6 dose starter pack cost my insurance $7,866.19)? Yes, seven thousand, eight hundred sixty six dollars and nineteen cents. So typically your prescription drug insurance coordinates with a speciality pharmacy to acquire and distribute the drug once the insurance approves it (which due to cost can be a major process). I am blessed to have fantastic insurance, where from submittal of pre-approval forms from my doctors office to having product in hand was less then a week. The speciality pharmacy gets the go ahead, and schedules with you how to ship/send the product. It must be overnighted due to being refrigerated. Also, I had to coordinate with my doctors office to have an appointment with the NP on the same day to administer.

After the second loading dose, I will take one dose every other week. I will then follow up with my doc in six weeks, to either continue with every other week or to go to weekly injections. My inflammation is severe enough that my doctor wants to do weekly injections, but due to my severe liver issues we are unsure if my liver can handle it at this time. We also have to keep an eye on the tumor on my liver as well, since Humira tends to enlarge tumors.

I'm sore, swollen, and feel like I was hit by a bus. Being in the middle of a flare sure does not help, but I haven't felt this sick in over two years. Hopefully in a couple days I will be feeling better.

I'm willing to do anything at this point to control this illness. I had a mini break down yesterday driving to my doctors. I'm 25. I have survived a moderate traumatic brain injury. I now, completely unrelated have a disease that is eating away at my intestines, causing severe inflammation everywhere. My joints are so arthritic. I now also have chronic liver disease, and a failing liver. I see my friends, peers, sorority sisters, classmates getting married, having kids, buying houses. On the other hand, my life consists of doctors appointments, sleeping, struggling to make it through work and trying just to survive. The past ten years of my life since my TBI, I have felt like a lab rat, running and running in circles but never getting anywhere.