(BPT) – If you are living with an autoimmune disease, you have most likely spent several years working with your doctor to find the right medication to manage your symptoms. Now that you’ve found a biologic treatment that works for you, what if at your next appointment, your doctor asks you to switch to a new medication? Would you speak up and share your concerns?
With biosimilars now available in the marketplace, you may be told you have to switch from an innovator biologic to a biosimilar — even though you may be stable and doing well on your current therapy. Biosimilars are not generic versions of biologics. Biologics — prescription medications made in living cells — are more complex than other medicines, such as aspirin; they are more difficult to make, and cannot be copied exactly.
If you are stable on your biologic, it is very likely that you have undergone a long journey. You may have tried several other medications — often over the period of many years — before achieving control of your symptoms with your current therapy.
It is important as a person living with an autoimmune disease to recognize that you have a voice in the matter. You have rights, and you can speak up to ensure the decision to switch medications remains one that is made by your physician, in consultation with you.
Finely Tuned is a new educational resource that features the stories of six individuals living with autoimmune diseases and their journeys to find the right therapy. Through these empowering stories, people who are stable on their biologic can gather tips for engaging in a conversation with their doctors about why they want to stay on their current therapy.
These videos, along with a guide for discussing this topic with your physician, can be found on FinelyTuned.com. If you or someone you love is living with an autoimmune disease, please visit www.finelytuned.com today to learn more about why your voice counts, and why it is so important in this matter.
