I’ve been waiting for a fourth of a year to be able to take this picture:
At long last, I have some medication that has a chance of being effective. As I alluded to in my silliness yesterday, Humira is an injectable antibody for a cytokine called tumor necrosis factor alpha. TNF-alpha is used by the immune system to mediate inflammation. As I have inflammatory bowel disease, I am producing far too much of it. Humira will, hopefully, inhibit this.
As it happens though, I will have to wait a little longer to find out. After nearly four months of being on broad immunosuppression while I waited and fought for my more targeted medication, I have finally gotten sick. I have an absurd cold or something that has me feverish and voiceless. Meanwhile, Humira is a medicine that some people have adverse reactions to, so when I start on it any side effects need to be closely monitored. Unfortunately, one of the common side effects of starting on Humira is…wait for it…cold-like symptoms. So until I’m over whatever I have, it will be impossible to isolate my health variables sufficiently to safely start my new course of treatment.
But hell, I’ve only been waiting to start this treatment for all of 2009. What’s another week at the outside? At least I have my drugs now.
Nicole
April 3, 2009 — 8:34 pm
Mouse antibodies! At least they are in your hands, now. Here’s to hoping you get well soon, so you can get effective treatment in you.
Eugene Fischer
April 3, 2009 — 10:05 pm
These are actually not mouse antibodies. The mouse antibodies are a competing product called Cimzia. It turns out that part of my insurance company’s resistance was that they have a deal with Humira to use it as a pre-requisite treatment, despite the two being roughly equivalent medications.
Tracie W.
April 7, 2009 — 10:06 am
Mouse antibodies?
Amazing. Calls to mind the moment when I read and fully comprehended the implications of the key ingredient in the blood thinner I used to be on: “porcine intestinal mucosa.”
Actually, it’s only derived from that, but it still sounds gross.
Nicole
April 7, 2009 — 8:03 pm
Aww, damn. OKAY FINE. As long as Humira is “equivalent”, I am happy!