16 Weeks with Tremfya: The Verdict?

August 9, 2017 Huntington Beach, CA. I took this photo just before starting Tremfya in August in one of my favorite spots in the world.

I started my Tremfya (guselkumab) journey on Monday, August 21, 2017. Sixteen weeks is an important point to evaluate as clinical trials use this time to evaluate new medications. On December 11, after three injections (week 0, 4, 12), I reached that interim endpoint.

The clinical trial data shows that more than 90% of patients showed greater or equal to 75% improvement at 16 weeks. When I took that first injection, I hoped my body would assimilate Tremfya safely, while effectively shutting down the psoriasis inflammation all over my skin.

Below I evaluate my experience with Tremfya at 16 weeks. The following “verdicts” reflect a moment in time, and certainly are not final. As a disclaimer, my observations are from my personal experience only, and should not be construed as making any claims or predictions for anyone else who might try Tremfya.

How well is Tremfya working for me?

Quite well! After a roller coaster few months with tapering off of cyclosporine, atopic dermatitis (eczema) flares, and super stressful stretches of work, I’m amazed at the level of psoriasis clearance. I’m still on a small, small dose of cyclosporine, but no other biologic gave me this much skin clearance working together with even higher doses of cyclosporine.

After a roller coaster few months, I’m amazed at the level of psoriasis clearance with Tremfya.

I have yet to see my dermatologist this month (that is another story altogether trying to get an appointment with him), so I can’t say what percentage improvement I’ve experienced. But my guess is at least the 75% clearance, and probably more.

I promised photos in my last update. The following photos from July, October, and and December don’t lie.

Continue reading →

psoriasis, Psoriasis Treatments

14 Weeks with Tremfya: What’s Next?

20 Weeks with Tremfya: Read the Instructions! (4th Injection)

24 Weeks with Tremfya: A Pattern Emerges

I found this photo online that reflects how I feel–looking up for answers into the gray building and sky, not knowing what’s the next move.

For much of the last year I looked forward to taking Tremfya (guselkumab) to treat my severe chronic psoriasis. My dermatologist suggested I hold off on the new IL-17A inhibitors until it was FDA approved.

I continued with a combination of topical steroids, Enbrel (etanercept), and Neoral (cyclosporine). That regimen worked fairly well for some years. But it seemed Enbrel lost effectiveness over the years, and cyclosporine’s long-term side effects started to develop. A little over 14 weeks ago I finally started Tremfya.

Now almost three months into the new treatment I am asking a question I hoped not to need to ask: what’s next?

Skin Condition Update

I won’t make any final or definitive evaluation of Tremfya’s effectiveness quite yet. Week 16 is when the study trials report efficacy anyhow. Charts show the medication continuing to work for weeks after, even though the curve flattens. I can say that overall psoriasis is under better control than with Enbrel and higher dose cyclosporine. Continue reading →

psoriasis, Psoriasis Treatments

Hitting My “Treat to Target” Goals After 6 Months?

I wrote this article for the National Psoriasis Foundation as an update to my Treat to Target experience earlier this year. The editor decided to take excerpts from below as a postscript and republish as An ongoing experiment with Treat to Target. See the postscript below for a brief week 13 with Tremfya update.

Here is the full article:

Psoriasis treatment for me is a series of starts and stops, and then restarts. In the past, I focused on finding something that effectively calms down the inflammation in my body so I can at least function at my job. When a treatment stopped working, or a new treatment proved unhelpful, I moved on to the next one. I find treatment rarely follows a dependable straight-line path for the foreseeable future.

Earlier this year my approach to treatment changed after I read about the National Psoriasis Foundation’s Medical Board’s “Treat 2 Target” treatment strategy. They established the goal of 1 percent or less psoriasis on the body within three months of treatment. An alternate acceptable goal is to maintain 75 percent improvement of psoriasis skin involvement in three months. These treatment goals inspired me to not accept “good enough” and strive for better results.

Of course, treatment decisions are individual and meant to be worked out with medical providers. Knowing I needed to consider change to more effective medications, I talked to my dermatologist about setting goals at my first appointment of 2017.

When I wrote about my first Treat to Target experience earlier this year, I hoped to reach the treatment targets I set with my dermatologist, Dr. Maverakis within the three or six-month time frame. Unfortunately, circumstances did not work out as I wished.

Hitting Targets Can Take Time

Many variables came into play as I strived for at least 75 percent psoriasis improvement. First, I ultimately decided not to do the treatment my dermatologist first prescribed for me. He wanted me to try Goeckerman therapy, a combination of coal tar and phototherapy. At first I went along, but over time I became less enthusiastic about the time consuming and messy nature of the treatment. Several poor experiences with phototherapy in the past proved difficult to overcome as well.

The next option we considered, the innovative biologic Tremfya (guselkumab), would not gain FDA approval until summer at the earliest. In the meantime, I asked if I could try a newer systemic medication. While my dermatologist agreed to prescribe it for me, my health insurance provider ultimately denied covering it. Eventually the drug manufacturer agreed to provide it for free after I applied to their patient assistance program. In the end, receiving the medication took almost six weeks.

The next twelve weeks became a roller coaster ride with the new systemic medication. I managed the ups and downs of challenging side effects and waited day after day to see improvement. My dermatologist and I decided to stop it due to lack of response. In fact, my psoriasis seemed worse.

Hitting those targets took much more effort and time than I expected. But setting the goals kept me focused on reaching them however many setbacks I faced.

Months into my Treat to Target experience I felt disappointed and at a loss what to do next. Hitting those targets took much more effort and time than I expected. But setting the goals kept me focused on reaching them however many setbacks I faced.

—————–

Follow my Tremfya journey!

Tremfya (Guselkumab) Week One

3 Weeks with Tremfya: The Waiting Game

5 Weeks with Tremfya: Biggest Fear?

6 Weeks with Tremfya: Redefining Expectations

8 W eeks with Tremfya: It’s Working!

10 Weeks with Tremfya: One Step Back

12 Weeks with Tremfya: The Third Injection

—————–

New Treatment, Renewed Hope

Around the time my dermatologist and I decided to stop the systemic medication, the FDA approved Tremfya. Dr. M. asked me to come to the clinic the next day at lunch time so he could see me without an appointment. A few weeks later I became the first patient to use the new biologic medication in the University of California, Davis Health System.

Once again, I feel hopeful that I can reach the treatment targets Dr. Maverakis and I set earlier in the year. A few weeks into treatment psoriasis lesions on my arms and legs started to slowly fade, becoming flatter and less scaly. Although I experienced new outbreak in the next couple weeks, those lesions began to disappear soon after. I’m optimistic that clear skin is possible in a couple more months.

Once again, I feel hopeful that I can reach the treatment targets Dr. Maverakis and I set earlier in the year.

The path to clearer skin, however, might take a turn for the worse at the end of the year. I’m losing my dermatologist as his medical group will no longer participate in my health insurance provider’s network. I want my new healthcare providers to continue the goals and treatment I started this year, but I have no guarantees that they will.

I’m not too worried, though, about what comes next. My experience with Treat to Target so far tells me that obstacles and challenges to reach treatment goals come in many different forms and ways. Keeping the goals in mind, while adopting a flexible attitude, gives me the courage and persistence to overcome them one by one.

Postscript: At week 13 on Tremfya I’m seeing a bit more psoriasis breaking out all over, but especially on my trunk and stomach. I am remain optimistic that in the next few weeeks the injection I took last week will start working!

psoriasis, Psoriasis Treatments

12 Weeks with Tremfya: The Third Injection

I took my third dose of Tremfya on late Sunday night. Each box contains one dose.

The last two weeks I waited impatiently for this past Monday. I recently shared how my psoriasis began breaking out before week ten with Tremfya (guselkumab). My dermatologist warned me that sometime before the next injection I might experience a flare as the medicine worked itself out of my body.

Tapering cyclosporine down to a small dose three times a week further increased the odds I would flare. When Monday came I hoped the Tremfya (guselkumab) injection would reverse the reignited psoriasis inflammation. But first I would enjoy, and endure, a long weekend of exciting work.

A Busy Weekend Ends with a Tremfya Injection

This past weekend’s stressful events no doubt contributed to worsening skin conditions. On Friday, Lori and I drove out to Sacramento in the afternoon for a wedding rehearsal. As the officiating minister, I arrived at the church early to get organized. Unfortunately, the bride encountered traffic delays. I can start a wedding rehearsal with almost anyone missing, except the bride or groom. The rehearsal finally started about an hour late.

—————–

Lori and I did enjoy a wonderful Chinese style banquet dinner after rehearsal, although the later ending to the evening left me exhausted.

The bride’s father gives away his daughter to an eagerly awaiting groom. The Saturday wedding ceremony in a Sacramento area church became the centerpiece of an exciting, but long, weekend.

On Saturday, I officiated the almost one-hour ceremony. My ceremonies tend to run shorter, but Chinese translation added about twenty minutes to the overall lenght. The longer ceremony added to the stress of the day. An evening reception fourty-five minutes away left us far from home. That night I worked on the Sunday message until two in the morning.

On about four plus hours of sleep I stumbled onto the stage at church to speak. At first, I could not form sentences properly. Thankfully, my coffee kicked in so I could work through my points. Later in the morning I baptized two students in our new sanctuary baptistery.

Baptism at Davis Chinese Christian Church. I baptized two students on Sunday in the late morning service after speaking in the early morning service.

After a lunch meeting I looked forward to a long nap and evening watching sports. Unfortunately, one of our youth at church landed in the hospital. Lori and I drove back out to Sacramento to visit.

Around midnight I decided to inject the third dose of Tremfya. With the first two injections I felt some dizziness and fatigue, so I decided to take it before bed this time. I let it warm up for about 15 minutes then stared at it for a few more. Something that costs upwards of ten thousand dollars needs to be treated with care and appreciation.

The injection went in quickly and painlessly. I did feel that a bit of dizziness as expected, but slept it off.

[As a reminder, the first dose of Tremfya is on week 0, with a loading dose following on week 4. The next dose is on week 12, with subsequent doses injected every eight weeks.]

—————–

Follow my Tremfya journey!

Tremfya (Guselkumab) Week One

3 Weeks with Tremfya: The Waiting Game

5 Weeks with Tremfya: Biggest Fear?