1. How long does Secukinumab take to work?
Secukinumab(Cosentyx) takes different time intervals for different conditions depending on the dosage. Following are the timelines for treatment with Secukinumab:
- Skin psoriasis (3–12 weeks)
- Psoriatic arthritis (4–16 weeks)
- Ankylosing spondylitis (3–8 weeks)
- Axial spondyloarthritis (16 weeks)
In some cases, the doses might extend up to 52 weeks, depending on the disease severity and your body response.
2. Does Secukinumab lower the immune system?
Secukinumab may lower the immune system and increase the risk of infections. However, this can occur in only 1% of the patients taking the drug. A general thumb rule is not to take it with other drugs or medications that can weaken your immune system to avoid such cases. Examples would be cyclosporine or tacrolimus.
3. Is Secukinumab an immunosuppressant?
Secukinumab is an immunosuppressant as it weakens the immune system and increases the risk of infections. Hence, you should not take this medication if you have any signs of infection unless your doctor instructs you to do so.
4. How do you inject Secukinumab?
Secukinumab can be taken intravenously and subcutaneously. Secukinumab can be injected through a prefilled syringe, a dosing pen or even in a powdered form that can be mixed with liquid and injected directly into the skin (subcutaneously). Initially, Secukinumab is injected once every week for the initial 5 doses and then once every 4 weeks.
5. Is Secukinumab safe?
Secukinumab is an anti-inflammatory biological medicine that treats moderate to severe disease conditions. Secukinumab is regarded as safe and approved by the FDA and used globally. No evidence proves this medicine is fatal. However, please take precautions to take this medication per your doctor’s prescription.
6. Does Secukinumab cause weight gain?
Secukinumab does not cause weight gain. However, weight loss may occur in some cases due to side effects such as diarrhoea or infections. If your weight loss or side effects are severe, consult your doctor immediately.
7. Can you drink alcohol while on Secukinumab?
No. You cannot consume alcohol while on Secukinumab because it is a drug mainly used to treat inflammatory bone diseases. Alcohol might cause more inflammatory responses that, in turn, delays response to the drug. In that case, consumption of alcohol may worsen your side effects and make you feel sick. Consult your doctor before taking this medicine and take precautions accordingly.
8. Does Secukinumab cause belly fat?
Secukinumab does not cause weight gain. There is no proof that this drug increases belly fat. However, there can be weight loss in some cases because of some of the side effects, such as diarrhoea or infections. If your weight loss or side effects are severe, consult your doctor immediately.
9. How long do you stay on Secukinumab?
Secukinumab or Cosentyx is a biological drug given intravenously or subcutaneously. The dosage depends on the condition and severity of the disease. Usually, the dosage takes 3 weeks to start working, and for severe cases of axial spondyloarthritis, it takes up to 52 weeks for the whole treatment. However, the dosage is suggested by your doctor and revised after regular checkups.
10. Does secukinumab make you sweat?
Secukinumab or Cosentyx has several side effects, such as headaches, chills, sore throat and increased sweating. You may consult your doctor immediately if the side effects are severe or do not go away even after 2 days.
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