Remicade and weight gain

specialknbug,

I am sorry I cant help you on this. All I know is that I am on prednisone and that is certainly a "weighty" med. I was 47kgms before starting this about 4 weeks ago and am now 56kgms. Although I was about 15kgs under my healthy weight range, my weight now looks good to those around. However, I know as I titrate off the pred, I will lose the weight again. I also know some of it is due to fluid retention. So sorry I cant help, maybe if you google the remicade, you may find an indication for the med is increased weight gain. Ask you GP / GI also. Dont stop the treatment though before talking to the medico, just in case of severe repocussions. Im sure someone on the forum who has had experience with remicade can give you more insite.

Good luck

Charlee

i wish i could gain that kind of weight

Thanks for welcoming me. I'm not really new to CD, I've had it since 2001, but diagnosed in 2006. But I am new when it comes to talking about it. I usually try to keep it to myself because as much as my family is there for me, they don't understand, and I hate to burden them. So it was nice to come across this site and see people's post and know exactly how they're feeling. So again thank you all!!

Also, what is the deal with the joint pain? My pinkie finger has been real stiff and painful. Is that a side effect of CD or the meds?

I too am on remicade. I have been on it for two and a half years now and my treatments are every six weeks. I have noticed that I have gained sixty pounds also since my treatments started, and I am having a VERY hard time losing it. I weighed 150 lbs when I was diagnosed and Gained thirty pounds the two years I was on prednisone and other various pills used to treat crohns. When I started remicade I weighed 180 lbs and then I shot up to 220 lbs. Over the past few months I have been watching what I eat very closely (which is difficult since a lot of the "healthy" foods like salads and fruits are high and fiber and irritate my crohns) and I have lost ten pounds. However, now I have hit a plateau. So I know how you feel!

I'm sorry you're going through the same thing, but at least I know I'm not alone. It's very stressful and very depressing. Thank you for sharing that with me.

Is is possible that you are gaining weight because you are more healthy now? I mean when we are sick we can eat a lot and not gain weight. If you continue to eat that amount with a healthy gut you will gradually gain weight. Just a thought. I have one every once in a while though they are nearly never bright. :)

I am sorry for what you are going through and I feel your pain. I am not on remicade, but I have the same problem you do. I am on humira and I don't know what is causing it but I have been gaining weight. I barely eat, I am in the bathroom sometimes as much as 15 times a day and no matter what I do I can't lose weight. I went to see an endocronologist and he looked at a food diary I kept and then did several tests. All the tests came back ok and he said there is no explanation for why I am not losing based on what I eat and my bathroom trips. I can't stand to look in the mirror and as if the Crohn's itself wasn't enough I feel like a failure because I can't lose weight. I get so tired of people telling me that I must not be sick if I am not losing weight. I wish I had an answer for you other than to tell you that you are not alone :)

I work out 5 days a week and eat an extremely healthy, organic diet yet I gained 40 lbs while taking Humira. Once off of Humira I lost 20 lbs almost immediately, but the other 20 have stuck around. It is very frustrating. Humira also caused me to get high blood pressure, so I had to stop taking itl. There have been studies about weight gain with Humira and Remicade and the weight gain is only happening in those taking it for Crohn's. I don't buy into the 'you're absorbing more nutrition' theory because I gained fat, not muscle. Plus, I eat 1200 calories a day. I think I gained less weight while on Prednisone. I have had every test done for my thyroid and it is fine. No issues with it. I have started doing yoga and interval workouts with aerobics and weights. My clothes are getting looser, but the scale still says 140 lbs. It sucks! Now I am on Cimzia. I have not noticed any additional weight gain with that.

I've been taking Remicade since October of 2002. It was my last option before surgery. From day 1 on the drug, I started to feel better. In the time since then, I've only had two major flare-ups - one immediately after my 3rd session in December of 2002 and then in November of 2004.

During that time, I went from a sickly 160lb frame (I'm a 5'10" athletic framed male) to a chubby 215lb frame. In 2005, I did Weight Watchers and lost all of the weight within the year. However, to do so, I was only able to consume maybe 1300 calories per day at MOST. Because I "looked" good, my dr kept calling me the poster-child for how Remicade works. However, I was spreading my sessions from the suggested 8 week intervals all the way out to 14-16 weeks. (Many times, I would schedule it for 12 weeks but would have a respiratory infection and have to push it back a few weeks to let that clear.)

The reduced caloric intake, I believe, led to not only fat burning, but muscle wasting. I was able to keep my weight under 175 till about two years ago. Since then, its gone up to about 190. How has my diet changed? For one, I don't starve myself anymore. Before, breakfast and lunch were tiny if even existent. Now, I at least leave the house with a coffee and a piece of toast. Lunch is still usually a flavored water and a nutrigrain bar. I'm probably closer to 1900- 2000 calories a day. My Remicade sessions are also closer together now. I get tired more often and when that happens I know its time for an infusion. Most of the time, its right at 8-9 weeks now.

I don't know how to feel about the weight. I'm 33 now and want to look good. But I also want to be healthy and don't want to have to worry about my intestines trying to kill me. My doc just thinks i'm eating more and not exercising enough. I'm not so sure. My fat build-up is just like everyone else has been talking about...its right there around my tummy...like a spare tire. When i get infusions now, I know my weight will jump 5lbs almost immediately.

I'm torn with what to do. I hear that Humira is an option. Remicade, however, has been a lifesaver. I know that. I probably have no right to complain about a few extra pounds.

Have been on Remicade for about a year now, and lost about 8 pounds; of course, my husband left me in March, so that might be the cause.. Don't have to cook anymore, tho :)

wow looks like you got tons of post!!with remi I never gained weight on, however I was only on it for a year and few months due to the arthritis is caused (I went crippled) which is what your feeling right now. the reason is because your body has to much anti-bodies which is a typical side effect with CD patients after reading up on it due to the rat DNA instead of human DNA (which is Bull crap in my opinion since I'm currently on humira which IS human DNA and I've got the arthritis again) speak with your doctor about taking imuran or something of that family to help counter act the anti-bodies.
I wish you the best of luck, I hope your able to stay on it, get into remission and NO arthritis.

I agree with Funguy. I started to gain weight when I started to feel better so I cut back what I was eating. Especially the high starch foods that agree with me when I am feeling bad. Didn't gain after that . Also now that I am on insulin I am losing more weight because I am not hungry all the time. You guys may want to have your blood sugar checked. I never thought I would have to deal with more than one major illness at a time but its part of my life now.