Humira is not my friend

My medicine merry-go-round continues. I stopped talking the rituximab a few months ago. Partly because the benefits were wearing off after only about 4 months, instead of 6. Partly because I didn't want to miss 4-6 days of work each year to do the 4 hour infusion in Saranac Lake.

My doc switched me to Humira, and it was only adequate. This is a drug that I inject myself with every two weeks. There was no problem the first few times, but then about a week after one of the shots I got a rash at the injection site. The next week I got a bigger rash a few days after the injection. Talked to the Doc and got some ointment, but it keeps happening. This week, it flared up to a four-inch round circle within a day of the shot, and itched and burned. No fun.

So I came home today to a message from the Doc saying I must be allergic to it, to stop taking it, and he'd get me switched to Orencia. But..... Orencia is another drug that has to be infused. And even though it only takes half an hour, it's going to be a pain in the butt if I have to drive to Saranac Lake every month. I'm hoping he hasn't forgotten that I live 1 1/2 hours away. If I can do it in Potsdam or Canton, it won't be an issue to get the time away from work.

Otherwise, I think the only drug left for me is Enbrel. It's a weekly shot that didn't work so great for me when I tried it a year ago, but it may be my only choice.