Humira - Allergic reaction

Hi Jean:

First I wanted to let you know we have forwarded your question to our Expoert, Dr. Todd Eisner.  We hope to have an answer back to you soon - he should post a response directly to your question. 

In the meantime, I searched our site and was able to find a good amount of drug information on Humira.  Our section covers its uses, side effects, and dosage info as well as a bit more general fact and guidance.

I hope this is helpful to you and your daughter.  Looking forward to hearing back from you soon on any developments you'd like to share or advice you've received from her doctors.

All the best, sue 

There is a fair amount of research on this which our dermatologist found on-line for us.  It IS a very rare reaction to Humira, but documented, much of which I have read.  The people at Humira most certainly should know about this!!!!  I will tell you that my daughter even went to the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, and this was all new to them, too. 

The research I read indicated that most people who stopped the Humira eventually saw their psoriasis clean up.  My daughter did the creams and ointments (about 5 different ones) with little success, and is now on Raptiva for the psoriasis, since, you guessed it, it did not clear up after she stopped the Humira.  She went backwards in Crohns treatment to 6MP.  Will proably try to get off Raptiva after year end and see if psoriasis comes back.

Good luck to you!

Well, I wrote the first post here, and this sounds oh too familiar.  Really - just like my daughter's case last year (at 19 years old).  She stopped the Humira and went back to 6MP for Crohns.  That is only kind of working now as she is still taking 5-10 mg of prednisone daily, too.  As to the psoriasis, she went through about 5 topical treatments and light therapy before going on Rapitva last July which cleared it up...however, 3 people recently died from brain infections while on Rapitva so the FDA just pulled it off the market last month, March 2009.  So for the moment, we are simply praying with our fingers crossed that it doesn't come back - otherwise there is not much left to try that my daughter hasn't already been on either for the psoriasis or the Chrones.  I soooo empathize about prom ....  Jean

Oh Jean- I cannot believe you wrote me back.

My daughter went to the prom covered with blisters and patches of psorasis like plaques. Now her MD ( a real quack--but touted as the BEST at Vanderbilt) has taken her off Humira for 4 weeks. We are still getting lots of blisters( itchy) but the latest is they have moved to her throat and espohagus and vagina. Everywhere there is a mucous membrane. She even has one in her right eyelid. She cannot drink and her bowels are ( of course) diarrhea since off Humira....Vanderbilt keeps trading us around to different specialists( now we are at an adult derm there) she has biopsied her twice again to send off to a leading pathologist who is ( world-reknowned in blistering diseases).

Her GI has taken a ( I'm not a dermatologist stance and pass the back attitude) -- the adult derm thinks it is a blistery Humira induced reaction but has never seen it inside the mouth and other sites. I am not sure she ahs ever seen a skin reaction to Humira either. He tells us we have to stay on biologics and cannot go backwards. I think he is not giving us all our options....why can we not try 6MP or methotrexate. She ahs went from pan colitis to just distal and is much better than she was......do you have a MD I could ask that you trust?

 I am very angry and feel so helpless. There is no one who will help her with her pain and they all seem like they are helpless.....we get passed around like a patient no body wants and I am ready to get an attorney.

My daughter is strong but this is ridiculous!! Do you have any suggestions? They are now pushiong us to use Cimzia to treat her UC but we are scared and it's on hold. If Humira has done this to her ---what could this Cimzia do!!

I need to know any resources or advice that you have any MD's who actually give a crap.Vanderbilt loves to act like they care but when a pateint is not doing well---it's a different story. I'm so scared...for her.......Thewy are testing her for phempigus now even though I KNOW its the HUMIRA!!Are there any pending lawsuits on this?

I developed a severe hypersensitivity reaction to Humira. After months of painful outbreaks, a 6th biopsy finally showed leukocytoclastic cutaneous vasculitis. This is an inflammation of the blood vessels in the skin. It has been extremely itchy and so painful when it flares. Excruiating. Still can't wear closed shoes to work. It's crazy. It causes severe skin damage with blistering, then purple to black skin of the lesions, pins and needles (my nerves are damaged) and joint swelling and pain. I developed 4 lower leg ulcers due to the worst of the skin lesions that broke down. Been having wound care treatment the last month to see if that will help. Was put on medium than to high doses of prednisone. Went off after 3 months, no back at a lower dose. I've been off Humira for 5 months and I'm still having chronic issues. It doesn't appear that this reaction is going away even though the Humira has been out of my system since August 25. Very upsetting as the doctors keep trying to help me. I refuse to stay on another immunosuppresent. I'd rather be on 15 mg prednisone (I'm on that reduced dosing now) for months than the other horrendous drugs they have proposed. Am going to be speaking to a top attorney to see what he has to say about my chances for any potential lawsuit against Abbott Corporation or my doctors. So I relate to your daughter's plight. It's just awful. You take the drug for one thing (in my case - Crohn's disease) and the darn thing gives you another horrendous auto-immune disease process. Best of luck with your daughter. I just pray that this goes away eventually. But my pain and suffering has been going on altogether for over 8 months. I don't think my skin will ever recover from the scarring left by burst blood vessels.