My experience with Actemra has been very positive.

I've been on Actemra since April 2024 due to a GCA diagnosis; the disease left me severely inflamed, to the point of double vision and severe pain throughout the body (felt like multiple broken bones) with night sweats, severe nausea and loss of weight, fever,...

I started weekly self-injections of Actemra while still on 60 mg/day of prednisone, tapering off the prednisone over a period of 6 months.

Actemra has been very successful, with no noticeable side effects; a lifesaver. Getting off the prednisone and transitioning to Actemra helped tremendously, since prednisone definitely did have multiple severe side effects - most prominently limiting my sleep to 3-4 hours per night. All of that went away with Actemra. At this point, I am down to an injection per month of Actemra and hope to be completely off in a few months.

I was 64 when first diagnosed, very active and in excellent shape with regular cardio and strength training, and extensive outdoor activities. I am getting close to that level of health and activity again.