Abatacept shortage

[Hiphopsix]

Hi all. I posted a couple of weeks ago that I was going to start Abatacept as the Tocilizumab didn’t work 🙄. My consultant has contacted me to say there is a national shortage so I’m to start JAK inhibitor tablets instead. Has anyone had good results with these please? 🙏🏻

[Madmusiclover]

Yes! Both with Baricitinib and now Upadacitinib. Good luck.

[Amnesiac3637]

Yes. Baricitinib for three years and when that stopped working after covid, Filgotinib - been on it for a year. I’ve found both JAKs great - started to work within days, no side effects for me apart from slight dizziness to begin with on Filgotinib, easy to take at one tablet daily and out of your system really fast if you run into trouble.

I take them at night as it doesn’t matter when you take them and did that to start with in case of side effects so I could sleep through them but didn’t need to worry as they were so minimal just for a few days I never really noticed.

I can highly recommend them as they’re really targeted and so much less likely to clobber other bits of you. There’s a good few people on here on them and I expect you’ll have more reviews shortly! Best of luck and hope whichever one you go onto is the one for you 😀.

[Hiphopsix in reply to Amnesiac3637]

Thank you! I’m on prednisolone for a few weeks now to help with this bad flare I’m having at the moment! I have previously had Enbrel, Humira & in Jan I started the Tocilizumab. That made me really ill😮. Sad as it sounds, I can’t wait to start the tablets 🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻

[Amnesiac3637 in reply to Hiphopsix]

Great! Little pleasures!

I’ve had everything - all the DMards and biologics - over 34 years and have been on Prednisolone all that time too. Tocilizumab was one of the worst drugs for me and was abandoned in favour of Filgotinib which has worked amazingly well so look forward and if one particular JaK doesn’t suit you, there are at least four others on stream to try and there’ll be many others in future.

[JulieMBrown]

Hi I’ve been taking a daily Filgotinib 200mg tablet alongside weekly Methotrexate since November 2023. It’s been amazing for me, and I noticed an improvement in symptoms within the first couple of weeks. I had side effects for the first month or so - sore throats, cold sores, headaches, nausea - but these all disappeared as time went on. My improvement, particularly in terms of my feet, as a result of the Filgotinib is fantastic - my Methotrexate dose is down from 25mg to 15mg weekly, I rarely need painkillers and haven’t had a course of steroids since I started taking it. My general fitness is significantly better - I’m able to walk distances for the first time in a couple of years and my general mood is lifted.

[nanny_bee71]

Wow didn't know there was a shortage - I'm waiting to start on abatacept but haven't heard when although all the paperwork has been completed

[Hiphopsix in reply to nanny_bee71]

Unfortunately it seems to be true. You’re in the same position I was in. I was just waiting for it to go through and get my first delivery but then I got the message from my consultant 😳

[Fra22-57]

national shortage ! I hope not.just had my delivery so hope it continues

[Neonkittie17 in reply to Fra22-57]

I’ve been told there is an Abatacept injection shortage since I started it September 2022.

[Alice70]

What are JAK please

[Hiphopsix in reply to Alice70]

They are Janus Kinase inhibitors. I’m not able to explain what they do as I’m still learning about them myself!!

[Alice70 in reply to Hiphopsix]

Thank you

[Slinkyminx]

hello. I have had the full works with JAKs, MABs and DMARDs. I have gone back to Tocilizimab as it was the only one that I didn’t have serious side effects and it does work albeit in and off between infections I tried Abatacept but had a flare which was probably brewing before I started it. I hope it’s the one for you. Filgotinib was another one that worked for me but I got too many bouts of pneumonia with it so had to change. Good luck