Bottom Line, I Need my Crohn’s Medicine. 

Bottom line, I need my Crohn's medicine. Before the pandemic, I would call CVS and they fill it right away. I would go pick it up and 20 minutes later, I have my medicine. Nowadays, it can be so much more of a hassle. I experienced this problem when dealing with my Humira. I get my Humira through a specialty pharmacy for injectables. I call every month to get my injectables and they send them to me the next day. Like I stated, it's an easy task. But this month was a hassle.

Needing my new injection supply

I call about 1 week before I take my last needle, so I don't run into trouble about being out of the product. Remember, I must take my injection once a week for the rest of my life. The company sends me 4 needles a month.  When I made the call, I found out that they were about 3 weeks behind with shipping. Three weeks? Why? What was I going to do?

This is a big concern for me. The reason why it was a big concern is that if I don't take this medicine on a weekly basis, I could develop antibodies and these antibodies would block the medication from working. Humira is my lifeline to be able to live and work. It puts my very active Crohn's into remission. It allows me not to have flare-ups. I had to have the medication. Even if I did not develop antibodies, I don't want my Crohn's to start up with a vengeance.

I had to think of a plan. I tried to negotiate with the specialty pharmacy, but it seemed that the customer service lady who took my call was stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Navigating medication shipment delays

Luckily, I had my yearly sigmoidoscope with my GI doctor. I thought to myself, "Maybe he has an idea?" I decided to ask him. He understood my frustration, but he did tell me that antibodies don't form right away. Unfortunately, there was not much he could do. The news about the antibodies did make me feel better.

Now my mother works at a local pharmacy, so I figured I try my luck there. Maybe they could give me an Humira pen to borrow, and when I get my shipment, I could give them one of mine? I knew it probably wasn't allowed to be done, but it wasn't like I was stealing. I was borrowing it until my shipment came in. After a few phone calls, I was able to arrange it. I also put my order into the specialty pharmacy. They said it should ship in a week, but it could take up to 3 weeks to arrive.

I was covered, though. I had my Humira, and I was waiting for my shipment. It would have gotten real ugly if it didn't come within a week, because I would be stuck at square one again.

Thankfully, after all that, I got my Humira shipment in 5 days. I was able to give the pharmacy 1 needle, and I was set for 3 weeks. I hope shipment and pharmacy delays will get easier because this is added stress that no IBD patient needs.