Kickas.org Forums Ankylosing Spondylitis General Discussion #1 AS Web Support Group Humira? Worth it?

Upon my recent visit my doctor has recommend Humira for unknown arthritis I have going on.

He isn't sure what it is but will diagnosis as AS to get insurance to cover it.

My question is if I have reactive arthriti will this help?

What about ill side effects like heart failure, should I worry?

Thanks

As I understand it, Reactive arthritis, if not caught early or treated fully may eventually turn into AS, or something resembling AS.

I'd suggest you give Humira a try. Theoretically, I imagine that an TNFa inhibitor could worsen Reactive arthritis if there was an infection going on, but I think you mentioned testing negative for all infections yet still have symptoms.

This class of meds has a good safety profile... I've been on one for 11+ yrs.

If it doesn't prove to help - then you can always choose to stop and try a different treatment approach. It is does help, then bonus!

I agree. TNF would make ReA worse. But why other test exists. I've been check for everything and taken pretty much most of antibiotics.

Urethritis / Prostatitis will not go away.

Prednisone made things worse.

However, Humira would stop inflammation so other organs are not impacted..

One by one my organs are being impacted if I don't reduce inflammation somehow.

This is super unprofessional from your doctor and you should find out what your condition is before starting strong high risk medicaiton like Humira.

I'm on humira for a spondyloarthropathy. That's the dx my doctor wants to keep as I have the joint inflammation, a mild case of psoriasis, and GI inflammation.

For insurance purposes, he can't just say spondyloarthropathy, but also has to list the GI inflammation as IBD, list the psoriasis, etc.

But for my "general" spondyloarthropathy, the Humira has worked wonders.

However, I will caution you that in one way we are definitely different; the methylprednisone also worked wonders on me. It was my first wonder drug, but of course it has long term side effects so it couldn't be my permanent solution. But it worked well enough that my doctor and I were confident that a biologic would be a good choice for me.

However, just because steroids didn't work for you, doesn't mean a biologic wouldn't?