Has Anyone Here Successfully Gone Off A Biologic?
When my rheumatologist put me on Humira in December it was initially for a three-month trial, which has worked spectacularly well. I feel like I'm one of the lucky ones.
She'd mentioned the possibility of taking me off it after a year to see how I do. My understanding is that, if you do go off a biologic. there's a chance your body can create antibodies to it so that if you have to start taking it again it may not work as well. So while that's a concern I also very much like the idea of maybe not having to be on this drug for the rest of my life.
My mother, who has RA, took Remicade for three years but then went off of it and had a good six years before her symptoms returned. I was wondering if anyone here has ever gone off their biologic? Did your symptoms return? Did it not work as well once you resumed taking it? Just curious.
I did . I am taking leflunomide and got off of it for kissy about 3 months ? I wanted to see if I really needed to keep taking it . I did start hurting more so I got back on it and it really does not seem to help me now . I was never told about the body creating antibodies to it . I didn’t know . Just in the last 3 weeks I started with a flare up and i am really going thru some pain right now . Been taking prednisone for a few days , doctor didn’t want me to take it longer than 5 days . I hate to start a new med but can’t go on like theis either .
Sorry , don’t know how the word kissy got there 😂
WOW!!! I have been on a biologic for over 15 years. It would be awesome to get off of it.
Thank you,
Diane
Hey Sean, the only time I ever was off a biologic was when I switched from humira to simponi aria. I was without either biologic for almost 2 months between them. I also had a Cholecystectomy in those 2 months, so I would’ve been off of them anyhow. No major adverse side effects during this time other than chronic fatigue. So I don’t know if that counts as successfully going off of a biologic, but I did go off one and start another and had surgery in between so I would say that it wasn’t too awful. it definitely beat what life was like before Biologics.
