hi Carolyn,
wow...so much going on!
i can say that it might just be that a lot of the joint pain is actually being CAUSED by the antibiotics.
when i was on heavy AX cocktails, the joint pain got WORSE...that was because the antibiotics were actually "drawing out" the spirochete from the knee joints & synovial tissue. my neurologist even told me that was going to happen.
i really don't know what to think or say about your starting Remicade. i had Lyme for over 10 years, treated for 4 years...but developed RA at age 16. i started Remicade just for RA & crohns but this was long after all my Lyme titers were gone.
does your doc suspect that you will respond from Remicade & MTX? these drugs are for autoimmune diseases. honestly...i never heard of or known anyone who used them for ReA. BUT...not saying that it won't work.
all of my specialists do believe that from my having Lyme that went untreated for so long...that's how the RA developed. sort of like an autoimmune sequela of Lyme disease. it might have been ReA at one point who knows.
i wanna say..."it won't hurt to try"...but if i were you, i would make sure that there was absolutely NO ACTIVE INFECTION present.
what was your last bloodwork like?
i'm still thinking about this....but do write back. my true empathy for you...this sucks i know.
let me know how you're doing.
sincerely,
erin