My Experiences With Switching Biologics For AS

Over my 5 years of having ankylosing spondylitis, I’ve had to switch biologics twice. I’ve tried Inflectra (Remicade) and Humira, and I’m currently on Cosentyx.

I want to say that biologics have been so good to me. Before starting them, I experienced flares way more often, and for longer. I had more daily pain and stiffness as well. I am so glad that I’m on biologics and have been for 4 years.

My experience with Inflectra (Remicade)

The first biologic I tried after my diagnosis was Inflectra. It’s a biosimilar of Remicade that they administer through an IV. Initially, this absolutely freaked me out because I've never been great with needles. I can get a shot no problem, but anything to do with veins was terrifying to me.

The first few times I got Inflectra was tough. They took blood simultaneously with putting the IV in, so I found all of it hard to go through. I would get really lightheaded, but I learned to always bring apple juice to my appointments and chug it as they put the IV in. The first time I didn’t, and I almost blacked out.

Inflectra was amazing to me for about 2 years. During the first year, it was almost like I wasn’t sick anymore. I was able to go out and do some of the things I was able to do before! I felt like I was back to being a 22 year old.

After the one year mark, I started to feel a little more ankylosing spondylitis pain and fatigue but stayed on it for another year until I decided that I wanted to switch to another biologic. We had increased my dosage, and it wasn't helping anymore.

My experience with Humira

In April of 2020, my rheumatologist and I decided that switching to a different biologic, Humira, would serve me best. Humira is a drug that is administered through an auto-injector pen. At the time, this freaked me out. This was also at the start of the pandemic, so I wasn’t able to get a nurse to teach me how to give the shot to myself. I ended up doing it with a pharmacist over FaceTime.

The injection didn't feel that bad, but I wish I had someone physically with me. In my opinion, it helps that the injector hides the needle, so you never actually see it. The pain wasn’t too bad either.

Ultimately, after 10 months, Humira didn't really help me. I talked to my rheumatologist about switching biologics again, and he prescribed Cosentyx. It took a few months of processing to actually get my first dose.

My experience with Cosentyx

Cosentyx has been a good drug to me. Much like Humira, it’s administered through an auto-injector pen, and you never see the needle.

It's been a year since switching to this biologic, and it’s helped me tame my ankylosing spondylitis symptoms. At my last MRI a few months ago, my AS wasn’t very active! I’m going to be staying on Cosentyx for the foreseeable future, and hopefully, this is the biologic for me!

What has been your experience switching biologics for ankylosing spondylitis?