Some of you may remember me from a few years ago. For 20+ years I was on a regular yearly cycle, then about 10 years ago I skipped a year, and it turned into a cycle every 2 years. And so it went for 3 or 4 cycles. But then......

3 years ago my back pain (completely unrelated to my CH) was finally diagnosed correctly as Ankylosing Spondylitys (I probably misspelled that), which is a form of arthritis, and I was put on a TNF inhibitor called Humira. This is an injection I give myself in the thigh every two weeks, which dials down my immune system and keeps the disease from progressing. It also reduces the pain in my back.

I have felt WONDERFUL from my back pain, have started exercising like mad, been doing crossfit now for almost 3 years I'm stronger and in better shape now at 48 years old than I have been in many many years. And, the reason I stopped by my old home today.....

What I wanted to share here is that I have not had a cycle in more than 3 years. Not sure if the Humira is helping, or perhaps it's the Niacin my doctor put me on when my cholesterol started to climb. Or maybe it's just slowing down as I get older. CH is not an autoimmune disease, so there's no reason for the Humira to be preventing CH cycles from starting up.

Humira is VERY expensive but the manufacturer has a financial assistance program where they cover the entire cost except for $5 per injection. I think my insurance gets billed something like $3 grand for 2 shots, then they authorize it and bill me, then the financial assistance program kicks in and I pay $10 for a box of 2 injections.

For what it's worth, i managed my cycles with melatonin as a preventative, and pure oxygen as an abortive med. My cycles lasted 3 months and started at the same time each time.

PFDANs to all.

Very interesting. Someone should invent a computer program where you enter all the anecdotal successes (and failures) and out comes real useful information. Since CH sometimes takes a vay-cay, even for years, it's hard to tell. But I'll have the connection to Humira in the back of my head. Hope this continues. Kudos on the fitness program. You're taking advantage of riding a wave.