Humira hangover and extreme fatigue – Does Humira make you tired?

Today we’re going to address a common question among ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease patients: Does Humira make you tired? Humira is a drug that inflammatory bowel disease patients try in order to get their symptoms under control. As with any medication, one of the first questions a patient will have is what the side effects may be. People with ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease often worry about fatigue as a possible side effect because their condition already makes them exhausted.

Humira, also known as adalimumab, is part of a category called biologic drugs, which are made from, or include components of, living organisms. The drug comes either as a pen or as a prefilled syringe. Patients generally inject Humira under the skin themselves once every two weeks. The medication is usually only prescribed to people who have tried other treatments unsuccessfully. It’s used not only for IBD but also for several other autoimmune diseases, including ankylosing spondylitis and rheumatoid arthritis.

Many people who take Humira have no side effects. And when problems do arise, they are typically mild and disappear on their own, according to a patient information sheet from Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust. Serious issues are less common.

So what about Humira and fatigue? Does this medication have the potential to sap your energy?

Humira Extreme Fatigue – Does Humira Make You Tired?

Fatigue is not one of the common side effects identified by Humira’s manufacturer. Still, some patients do feel that the medication makes them tired.

Some patients complain of fatigue as a result of taing Humira.

Humira maker AbbVie lists several common side effects of the drug:

• Injection site reactions, such as redness, pain, itching, bruises, and swelling.
• Headache.
• Rash.
• Upper respiratory infection.
• Nausea.

Those are by no means the only potential side effects. AbbVie advises that if you have side effects that trouble you, you should contact your medical provider.

And AbbVie mentions “feeling very tired” specifically in three places in its patient information materials. These references are related to serious side effects or infection.

• Hepatitis B. In people who already carry this virus, Humira may increase the risk of a reactivation. Feeling very tired is a potential symptom of this problem. Other symptoms include muscle aches, vomiting, and lack of appetite.
• Liver problems. One of the serious side effects that the drug can cause is liver problems. Feeling very tired is one potential symptom of such issues. Others include skin or eyes that look yellow, pain on the right side of the abdomen, vomiting, and poor appetite.
• Infection. The company says to tell your doctor immediately if you have symptoms of infection. Feeling very tired is one of the possible symptoms to watch for, along with fever, cough, diarrhea, chills, sweating, and several others.

If you feel you may have any of the serious side effects listed on this page, be sure to contact your physician.

The Mayo Clinic lists “tiredness” and “unusual tiredness or weakness” among “less common” side effects of adalimumab and adds that you should check with your doctor immediately if you experience them.

We posted an informal survey on the Colitis and Crohn’s HQ Twitter account with the question: “For those who’ve taken Humira: Does it make you tired?” We received 143 votes, and the yes/no split was about 50/50.

Below is a sampling of the comments we received.

• No, not at all. The humira works very well for me without any side-effects. @kristafixe
• I almost always feel tired. Difficult to say if it’s because of #humira or not @jenfader
• Yes, I would feel tired for the rest of the day after injecting. @Mark_Mumford_
• Its a difficult question to answer as I’m sure the majority of us are feeling very fatigued before starting humira. If anything the boost of taking humira makes you feel more energetic, purely because its treating the pain and other symptoms, i don’t recall feeling tired. @tombartlett88

As you can see, experiences are all over the map! And it’s not always easy to know where the disease symptoms end and the medication side effects begin.

Somnolence, meaning a strong desire for sleep, and fatigue are among the most commonly reported side effects of Humira in patient reviews at AskaPatient.com, a comparative drug and health information site.

Humira Hangover – Day After Humira Injection

If you visit patient forums, websites and social media pages, you might run across the term “Humira hangover.” It describes a certain discomfort that some patients experience after taking Humira — a feeling not unlike what you’d get after a night of heavy drinking, but in this case you haven’t had any alcohol at all. Of course, “hangover” is a vague terms and describes not a single symptom, but a group of them. Some of them — particularly headache and nauseau — overlap with the common side effects identified by the manufacturer. And, as noted earlier, ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease themselves can bring plenty of issues, including fatigue; some of these symptoms are similar to those of a hangover. So perhaps it’s not surprising that some patients would report having a hangover-type feeling.

Still, some Humira users describe the Humira hangover as a distinct experience. Jenna Farmer described it in detail in a post at inflammatoryboweldisease.net. Hers kicked in after the second dose and made her feel as if she’d just done several rounds in a boxing ring. Symptoms included:

• Fatigue.
• Brain fog.
• Achiness.
• “Just wanting to curl up with Netflix.” (Perhaps this could be described as lethargy.)

Farmer wrote that the hangover was most noticeable for the first few days after the injection, but that the fatigue lasted well beyond that. Interestingly, despite being tired, she did not sleep any more than her normal amount. She didn’t feel that the hangover was due to the underlying disease, because she was normally pretty energetic and had not experienced fatigue or brain fog.

The term “Humira hangover” has also appeared in patient reviews at AskaPatient.com.

Keep in mind that people may use the term “hangover” in different ways. While in many cases they mean standard hangover symptoms, there are exceptions. In a post at ankylosingspondylitis.net, the term is used to mean a temporary worsening of disease symptoms — in this case, the pain and fatigue of ankylosing spondylitis.

Humira Side Effects After First Dose

The most jarring aspect of taking Humira for the first time is undoubtedly having to deal with injections, if you’ve never done so before.  And reactions at the site of the injection are the most frequent type of side effect with this drug, according to Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust. About 10 percent of people experience this side effect. The most common symptoms of such a reaction are redness, pain, itching, swelling, and bruising.

Allergic reactions can also occur shortly after you take Humira. Symptoms can include a rash as well as swelling of the hands, feet, and face. You might also break out in hives, and you may experience trouble breathing. It’s important to seek medical attention right away if you have these symptoms.

In the case of serious side effects, it’s possible you’ll need treatment and/or will have to stop the medication. But as noted earlier, you might not have any side effects from Humira, and if you do, there’s a good chance they will be relatively minor and clear up on their own.

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