Humira (Adalimumab) is an antibody-based drug used to treat rheumatoid arthritis and other conditions. Read our review to find out everything you need to know about Humira.
What is Humira?
Humira is an injectable antibody that combats the inflammation caused by rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, and Crohn’s disease in the intestine.
Specifically, Humira is designed to prevent the inflammatory effects caused by tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF Alpha) related to these diseases. This type of inflammation is a natural response by your body to injury, and it’s one of the most important ways in which your body repairs injured tissue. Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) is produced by our bodies when the body is experiencing too much inflammation.
You take Humira under the supervision of a doctor. You can inject it underneath your skin at home using an at-home pen device, or you can visit a rheumatologist for on-site injections.
How Does Humira Work?
Humira is a synthetic antibody. It was created in a lab to mimic your body’s natural antibodies. Antibodies are molecules that help your immune system go to work.
The antibody binds to tumor necrosis factor in the body, and thereby blocks the effects of tumor necrosis factor.
When Humira is injected into the body, the primary ingredient adalimumab goes to work. This is a type of human monoclonal antibody. Adalimumab works by suppressing part of the immune system and then modifying the process of inflammation.
Ultimately, Humira works by mimicking the effects of a natural human antibody. Like other antibodies, it latches onto invasive molecules within your body, helping your immune system fight back and attack these molecules. The end result is a reduction in inflammation throughout your body.
How to Buy Humira
Humira is not an over-the-counter drug. It’s only available through a registered specialist at treating rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, or Crohn’s disease.
That specialist will administer Humira subcutaneously (under your skin) weekly or bi-weekly (every two weeks) depending on your disease.
Doctors may also instruct you how to inject Humira at-home. In this case, you should use the medication exactly as prescribed.
Benefits of Humira
Humira is approved by the FDA to treat the following seven conditions:
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Ankylosing spondylitis
- Crohn’s disease
- Chronic psoriasis
- Juvenile idiopathic arthritis
- Ulcerative colitis
- Psoriatic arthritis
Side Effects of Humira
Humira has been associated with some serious side effects, including all of the following:
-Injection Site Irritation: Redness, itching, pain, and swelling may occur around the injection site.
-Infection: Signs of infection including a sore throat that doesn’t go away, a cough that doesn’t go away, fever, chills, night sweats, breathing troubles, painful or frequent urination, unusual vaginal discharge, white patches in the mouth (oral thrush)
-Serious Side Effects: Swollen ankles/feet, unusual tiredness, fast and irregular pounding heartbeat, blood in the stools, mental/mood changes, severe headache, easy bruising or bleeding, leg pain or swelling, numbness or tingling of the arms/hands/legs/feed, unsteadiness, explained muscle weakness, difficulty with speaking/chewing/swallowing facial movements, vision changes, joint pain, butterfly-shaped rash on the nose and cheeks.
-Death: Humira can cause fatal liver disease in people exposed to hepatitis B virus. Prior to undergoing Humira injections, your doctor will require you to give a blood test. You will also be constantly monitored throughout your Humira treatment.
-Contact Emergency Medical Services if you experience seizures or chest pain
Remember: Humira is a drug associated with serious side effects. However, your doctor has prescribed Humira to you because he or she has judged that the benefits are worth more than the side effects.
WebMD.com reports that “many people using this medication do not have serious side effects”. However, they caution that “this is not a complete list of possible side effects”, and it’s possible that other side effects will occur while using Humira.
Does Humira Work?
Humira is one of those drugs that appears to either work very well – or not at all. Drugs.com’s review page for Humira shows that most of the reviews are either 9 or 10 stars out of 10, while the second most common reviews are 1 star out of 10. The overall average rating is 7.0 out of 10.
Users praise Humira for being the first drug they were able to use to successfully treat their disease. Some claim that symptoms of joint pain were gone within 24 hours of their first injection.
Others claim that Humira had no effect on their rheumatoid arthritis or other joint pain conditions.
Ultimately, like any drug, Humira works differently on different people. Some people report a total prevention of all joint pain and RA symptoms, while others report no effects whatsoever. Some patients also claim that they experienced relief from joint pain, but the side effects made it difficult to recommend Humira.
However, like most reviews on the internet, there’s no way to verify their legitimacy.
Should You Take Humira to Relieve Rheumatoid Arthritis?
Humira is an antibody-based drug that may treat rheumatoid arthritis in some patients. Like all drugs, it comes with pros and cons that might make it unsuitable for you. Instead of reading an article on the internet to determine whether or not you should take Humira to treat your RA, talk to your doctor to see if Humira is the right choice for you.
