For those who had bad Remicade reactions.....

RK,
I've never had a reaction in 5 years, but I'm always a bit concerned about it based on the number of folks here that have. I've asked the RN a lot of questions about this and it has made me feel a lot better.
Make sure you ask about premedications. They can give you some medications before the infusion to reduce the risks or lessen the severity of any issues at the time of the infusion.
The RN will/should also give you some information on what signs to look for and what to do if they happen down the road. I know I have been told many times to call a doctor immediately or go into urgent care if X happens.

It's probably a good idea to check in or stay with your folks for a bit since you are starting a new medication. Not sure if one extra day is enough though. I've heard about people having issues a few days after infusions. Not sure if any of them come on fast enough that you wouldn't be able to make a phone call or not.

Keep in mind that while there are a number of people on this site that have had reactions, there are a lot of us that never have had any. It's pretty common to hear more about the down sides of a medication than those that have never had an issues.

I hope your first infusion goes well. Make sure you ask a lot of questions, the more knowledge you have about what is going on, the better you will feel. I've been doing that for 5+ years now and "my RN" as I call her has taught me a lot. So far I can pretty much do the entire infusion on my own, other than the actual needle stick. My infusions are done as a one on one thing, so it's just me and the RN in the room. I've made pretty good friends with her over the years.

I started Remicade in April. I haven't had any side effects from it.  In fact, I've felt wonderful!!

Good luck!!

My reaction happened as I was having the infusion, not when I got home. I was premedicated with Benadryl and Tylenol. What happened to me was that suddenly I felt my heart racing and I got very hot and flushed in the face. I can't really explain it exactly but it felt really strange and like I was having a panic attack, which I have never actually had. I found it kind of hard to breath and felt some pressure on my chest and neck. The infusion center was very busy that day and I was in a little room off to the side instead of the large room. I was with a man who was getting chemo and he was sound asleep. I didn't want to wake him or alarm anyone and didn't really think what I was feeling was due to the Remicade. It was all very strange and passed in about 5 or 10 minutes. I told the nurse when she came in and she seemed unconcerned. This was some years ago when Remicade was still quite new.

The next time it happened again but with more intensity and for longer. This time I immediately told the nurses who stopped the infusion and all the symptoms stopped. When it was started again the symptoms started up again. It was slowed down and I was given steroids and was able to complete the infusion. The next time I had no problems. The time after that I had even more intense symptoms and my blood pressure went up too. They were really monitoring me by then. Also, I began to have severe stomach pains. The infusion was slowed way way down and I did complete it. It took about 6 or 7 hours to do that time. That was my last time. My doctor said that I had developed an allergic reaction to the mouse protein.

Oh and I used to drive myself there and had no problems with that. But later that day, I would get very sleepy.

I didn't mean to frighten you at all with my experience, just to let you know since you asked. You will hopefully do very well. Just let them know right away if you feel different in any way. I think that by now they really know what to look for and how to treat it better than before. Good luck!

I started having reactions after a year of taking it successfully.  It started about 10 minutes in to an infusion and all of a sudden I got really hot and felt like I was on fire from the chest up.  I thought I was going to pass out, so I told the nurse and she stopped the infusion.  Immediately, I had to go to the bathroom.  Dr. confirmed it was a reaction and said I couldn't continue that treatment.  Eventually tried premedicating first, going to the hospital as outpatient and getting the infusion over a slightly longer period of time, etc. but nothing worked.  Last resort was being in the hospital for 23 hours and had the infusion over 19 hours.  I almost had the reaction but it calmed down and I was able to get the treatment.  But, by then the antibodies made it not work very well and I decided it wasn't work the hospital stay every 6 weeks.  But, my reactions were always within 15 minutes of starting the infusion (except for the 19 hour infusion), so I knew pretty quickly in.  And, they always got better once the infusion was stopped.  Good luck...I hope you don't have any problems.