Kickas.org Forums Treatments, Drugs and Alternatives Anti TNF and other biological medications Starting Humira - Pen or Syringe?!

Hi,

This wil be my second time on Anti-TNF. I didn't get on well with Enbrel, but am now starting Humira in a few weeks. My AS is not good at all at the moment so I'm hoping it will help keep it controlled.

I've heard that Humira is A LOT more painful than Enbrel...I found Enbrel painful..well it stung but compared to AS pain it was bearable.

Is the pen or syringe for Humira best? Is any less painful than the other? Does one cause more likelihood of site reactions? One quicker?

I'm a bit nervous, and I'm 25 and live alone so have to be brave and shoot myself!


Grateful for advice.

Hope you're all managing well.

Helly x

I use the pen and won't lie, it is painful for me, but as you said, worth it.

I've never used anything else, so no comparison for me.

Rumble may see this and respond; she likes the syringe better than the pen, says it hurts less cause you can inject it slower.

Since I do have someone to shoot me (my husband), I figure the pen is quicker so we can get it over with faster. But yes, it hurts.

It hurts less if you ice first and if you pinch the fat like they tell you to. The nurse that showed us didn't pinch the fat. So we weren't at first. And some shots bled a lot and bruised me a lot. So I called the Humira nurses and they told me to go to their website and watch the video. So we did. And now we pinch the fat on the thigh. Not only does it no longer bleed nor bruise, but it hurts less now. But it still hurts. I won't lie. But too, its worth it.

I'm on the Humira pen as well. The pain is something like a bad hornet sting. It HURTS. Just like Sue, won't lie there. It isn't fun. I have to shoot it myself because husband has Essential Tremors and his hands shake continually and I don't want to look like a pin cushion. But, I do have him watch because he tells me when the little yellow thing pops up in the window and the fun is over. I usually close my eyes and grit my teeth so I'm not watching.
Not trying to scare you. Humira is working for me. No one offered the syringe to me, just the pens. Things that make it easier is relaxing my leg. stretching it out instead of resting on my foot. Do it in the leg. Stomach was way worse!
The relief is well worth the biweekly pain of 30 seconds.

Hi Helly

Don't be afraid, I have used a Humira epipen for about 3 years now and with no side affects. Within a week my quality of life changed dramatically and I just couldn't go back. The pen needle feels like an ant bite but nothing you couldn't handle. Small price to pay for relief. I inject about 4" either side of my belly button and honestly there is no significant pain. I wish you all the best with it.

Cheers
Alan

Yep, I see the post, Sue22.

Definitely, prefer the syringe to any auto-injector. For 2 reasons (and I've used 2 different auto-injectors and watched my hubby use Humira's):

1) (especially with Humira, which stings due to the citrate in it) I can go as slow or as fast as I want to inject. On my first dose, I just pushed the syringe all at once and nearly jumped out of my skin. With Humira, the sting was such that I wanted to slow down and push it in as slowly as possible...about 5-8 little pushes over 5-10 seconds instead of one big slam/sting.

2) (I've had Enbrel's injector misfire on me) Syringes never misfire unless you cause it yourself. Auto-injectors can misfire, but it is rare, I've heard. You cannot just give yourself another shot right then, but have to wait till time for the next dose. Depending on your particular biologic, that could be 4 days or a week for Enbrel, 2 weeks for Humira or a month for Simponi/Cimzia. Enbrel replaced my injector (after I sent the bad one back to them) so I wasn't out any money, but I still missed that dose and it was just as I was getting a response after starting the drug. If I screw up with a syringe, well, it's my fault and I probably deserve to miss the dose...it's not hard to do once you get the hang of it. (unless you are a needle-phobe.)

The same nurse who does your training with an auto-injector will teach you to shoot a syringe. Enbrel's auto-injector was worst of the two I tried. Simponi's was the best by far....no pain, either from the spring loaded gizmo or from the preservative. But I didn't want to chance a misfire and stuck with syringe. Hubby didn't like Humira's at all because of the sting. He and I both had to stop Humira, but for different reasons. I'm on Cimzia and he's off all biologics due to CHF. Both of us have PsA.

Sorry this was so long, but I wanted to explain fully.

I too, will be starting Humira TOMORROW... I'm quite nervous about the injection, but I know that it could yield amazing results - I hope. I am not looking forward to the stinging of the pen injector, but I can't seem to swallow the idea of injecting the syringe (not a needle person).

How did you all feel the initial days after starting Humira? How soon after starting did you (or those you know) feel relief?

//paul

It helped me right away, within a few hours my feet were feeling much better as I stood in the kitchen to prepare my lunch. By the next morning, my chronic constipation was letting up. By the next day my bowels were A+ perfect and I was feeling pretty good.

For me, I'm the best in week one, week two can be a challenge. The rheumy and I are toying with injecting more often.

This last time, I had to wait three weeks total due to a UTI and antibiotics and did really well all three weeks, so I never can tell.

But normally works right away, within hours, and keeps working really well for at least a week, then it starts to die off.

Today i started my first shot of humira with the pen injection. To be honest, I built this whole injection pain more than I should have, especially because I made the mistake of watching videos of people injecting themselves with the pen. Don't bother with this.

I pinched a bit of fat on my thigh and pressed the pen somewhat firmly to my leg and released the injection. The initial poke of the needle did not hurt at all and the only real pain associated with the injection was the uncomfortable feeling of the drug spreading down the side of my thigh. This was not extremely painfu but more like a heavy feeling of something pressing on your leg. It hurt less than a freezing shot during a dentist visit for a filling!

I will be starting an online diary of my journey with humira in a separate thread for those of you who are interested.

///Paul

Yeah the sting doesn't actually bother me that much. After a couple of misfires, I welcome the sting as it means the medication is actually going in rather than running down my leg! My rheumy's nurse who showed me how to do the injection said to press harder if it hurt? The "click" used to make me jump a bit though...

Another tip I'm not sure I offered:

After the shot, I don't move at all for awhile until the drug has absorbed a bit.

If I try to move the muscles right after the shot, the area hurts!

But if I just sit there, things are better after the initial sting.