How long does it take for Remicade to be administered?

Just curious. I have been receiving Remicade infusions since October of 1999 and still doing very well on it.

For those of you who are also receiving it, how long does it take for the Remicade to be infused into you?

Also for those of you who have tried it and had to stop due to bad reactions to it, how long did the process take for it to be administered to you?

When I've had it they do obs for an hour and give me a shot of hydrocortisone and an antihystamine and then administer the remicade over a 2 hour period with obs every 20 mins/half hour during and then after its all in make me wait for another hour or two and still keep checking obs. So nearly 4 or 5 hours for me! But I have remicade episodically so they're probably more cautious with me as I am more likely to react, I've had 5 doses over 6 years, the last 3 in the last year.

Hi sukay,
I took Remicade once upon a time but developed antibodies so I now take Humira. Both have their advantages but speed wasn't a strong point for Remicade. I use to take a Benadryl tablet before the infusion and never got sick after that. My doc also had the treatment scheduled to begin real slow and seemed to help as well. As strange as it might sound I envy you. Remicade had so many fewer side effects in my life that I would strongly desire it over Humira. With respect to time I would say be prepared to invest about 2 1/2 to 3 hours every time.

God Bless

Thank you everyone for your replies. The reason I am asking is because I hear so many people say that they have a bad reaction to it and I never did.

Back in 1999 when it first came out they would administer it to me over an 8 hour period because the drug just came and they wan't to be very cautious for any reactions.

I have been receiving it ever since then every 8 weeks. After the 1st year I graduated to having it administered over a 6 hour period.

Then 2nd year to a 5 hour period. Finally a 4-5 hour period and everything was working fine.

Now I go to a infusion center for my last 2 treatments due to my new insurance coverage. They have administered it to me the 1st time in a 2 1/2 hour time frame from start to finish and I did feel kind of funny, but I thought I just needed to get use to it.

This last time they gave it to me over a 1 1/2-2 hour time frame from start to finish and I have really been having a hard time with it still!!!!

So, I am starting to wonder if the reason most people have a reaction to it or hard time with it if it is due to how fast they administer it?

I am scheduled to go for my next infusion the end of May. I am going to contact my GI and let him know how fast they have been administering it to me and have him contact them and tell them to ssssllllloooowww it down again.

I have had such wonderful luck with this drug and I don't want to have this place screw anything up for me.

That is why I posed the question on how fast it is administered for everyone because I believe that may be the reason why so many people have had bad side effects with it.

I hope more people who use or have tried this drug will continue to post. I am really curious about this and would love to pass this information onto my doctor.

Maybe administering it very slowly over a 4-5 hour period IS KEY.

Thanks so much!!!

Hi i started remi a week ago and it took about 3 hours beginning to end i got the effect of it the next day its brilliant can't wait for the next one!!! Bev x

When I used to go to my GI's building for remicade at the infusion room, it took exactly 3 hours from start to finish. I would pre-medicate with benadryl and tylenol 30 mins before my appt time, then solucortef in the IV as soon as I got there, wait 20 mins then start remicade. Remicade took exactly 2 hours. The nurse would manually adjust the rate depending on how it was flowing, etc. After remicade was done I would wait another 30 mins then leave. Every 30 mins during the 3 hours I was there, they would check my BP and heart rate. My temp would be checked at the beginning and end.

Where I go now (because of insurance changes) it's a PAIN IN THE BUTT!! It's closer to home which I thought would make it go quicker but it takes almost as long(instead of the 1 hour drive each way I only have 20 mins each way). They said they do remicade alot but I don't think they do because the nurse acts CLUELESS! They always have issues with my IV (the first infusion it took 3 people and 5 tries to get an IV) so that makes it take even longer. This last time 2 weeks ago, the pharmacy mixed my steriod for pre-med into a piggy back bag instead of a syringe to push through my IV. That took 30 mins just to get the med then another 20 after before I could start remicade. ANNOYING! Then she started the remicade on the digital pump. It took almost 3 hours for that. I would think since they know it's supposed to take 2 hours, they would have figured out an infusion rate schedule to get it done within the time frame. The nurse said they go by a set schedule changing the rate every 30 mins and that it takes different lengths of time for each person. That didn't make sense to me but I'm not a nurse so whatever. Afterwards they like to keep people for an hour but since I have been getting it for almost 3 years (on and off) with no issues they let me go after 20 mins.