Humira: Wonder Drug or Slow Killer?

Could the drug that letting me live my life, simultaneously be causing it to weaken and wither away?

I was on Day 64 since I had re-started Humira treatment when I suffered the worst "allergic" reaction.  I woke up with my thighs and legs covered in itchy eczema-like spots and clusters and my abdomen with what resembled a rash, but was itchy and sore like hives.

Here are some pictures:

This "flare-up" had slowly been progressing for weeks, but it was at its worst and only continued to worsen after I woke up that Sunday.

By the third dose of Humira (Day 22), I was pretty much clear and my the arthritis pain was gone.  The spots on my body had "bleached" and flattened out.  I was happy to be up and moving again.  I was finally at east with my decision to go back on Humira.

On Day 50, I was scheduled to take another shot of Humira and I did, but about 2-3 days later, I started to see spots on my shins.  I also started noticing my psoriatic markers on my face (the spots that appear and appear when my psoriasis flares up again).  I didn't think much about these spots because I was on my period and I just thought it was acne or something.  Plus, I had just taken my dose of Humira, so I didn't think it was psoriasis related.  I also worked out for the first time in months that week and I started having some really, really minor joint pains.  Again, I didn't think any of my symptoms were PsA related.

It wasn't until Day 60, when my seasonal allergies (hay fever) were really bad and the spots from my shins were multiplying and spreading to my thighs and a little rash on my stomach started forming.  I continued to take my antihistamines (Claritin) and made an appointment to see my allergist.  I was just confused because I changed my laundry detergent, shampoo, conditioner, body washes, and lotions to anti-allergen products to eliminate any skin contact allergies.  I also started changing the foods I ate to eliminate the possibility of allergic reactions to foods.

When I saw my allergist (Day 62), she told me that my rashes looked like eczema and that it was simply my hay fever worsening because of the allergy season.  She advised that I continue my antihistamines and that I just put my steroid creams on the itchy patches on my body.  The following day, I was just really uncomfortable and felt like a hundred mosquitoes bit me, so I started 30mg of Prednisone and I added some Benadryl to help ease the desire to scratch my spots.  However, that night was really, really bad and I couldn't resist how itchy my body was.  I barely slept and woke up to Day 64, which are the pictures above.

Day 64 was the absolute worst.  Not only did the spots spread like crazy, but my body was so sore.  A whole day of resting did not make the pain subside.  I was scheduled to take my Humira, so I did (bad idea), thinking that maybe IF this reaction was another psoriatic flare up, then maybe the dose of Humira would help.

On Day 65, I started noticing that I was getting a rash on my left index finger and it would swell up and be so itchy, then it would swell back down.  I was scheduled to see a second allergist because it just seemed that things were getting worse and spreading more.  I was given a strong steroid shot that was supposed to make everything subside, but it didn't.  The following day, I started to notice that my rashes on my stomach were moving upwards towards my neck.  As I drove to see my primary doctor, I had such a bad allergic reaction that I my throat almost closed up.

By Day 67 and 68, I saw my rheumatologist and dermatologist.  There were not definitive answers as to whether or not this reaction was Humira-related because no one had seen anything quite like what I had on my body.  My dermatologist said that she could clinically diagnose that the spots on my lower extremities were dermatitis, but the rashes on my stomach and chest were hives.  I gave 16 viles of blood for tests and almost passed out in the lab.  I was given more steroids and antihistamines.  For the time being, I was advised to stop taking my doses of Humira.

I've gotten some of the results back from my blood tests and they show no signs of infections or allergies, but this was something that my rheumatologist said could happen because I was already on steroids that were helping my body get back to normal again.  Even IF all the results come back and there are no ties to Humira, in my gut, I know that it's what I'm allergic to.