That's a really great question, and your experience cycling through treatments is something many people with RA can relate to. The short answer is — yes, your body can essentially become less responsive to these medications over time, though "immune" isn't quite the right word for it.
With biologic drugs like Humira and Ci Show Full Answer
That's a really great question, and your experience cycling through treatments is something many people with RA can relate to. The short answer is — yes, your body can essentially become less responsive to these medications over time, though "immune" isn't quite the right word for it.
With biologic drugs like Humira and Cimzia, the body can sometimes develop antibodies against the medication itself, which reduces how well it works. This is called "immunogenicity." It's one reason why a drug that worked brilliantly for years can gradually lose its effectiveness. There are also other reasons a biologic may stop working over time:
- RA itself can change and evolve, meaning the drug may no longer be targeting the right part of the immune system
- The inflammation pathways driving your RA may shift, requiring a different mechanism of action
- Dosing may need to be adjusted as the disease progresses
The good news is that Cimzia works differently enough from Humira that many people do find success with it after Humira stops working — which sounds like your experience so far! It's worth having an open conversation with your rheumatologist about how to monitor Cimzia's effectiveness over time. They can run regular blood tests to track inflammation levels and catch any signs of the medication losing its effect early — giving you more options to act before things worsen.
There are still several other biologic options available that work through different pathways, so if Cimzia ever stops working, it's not the end of the road. 🙂
May 18
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