Hi,
I totally understand your fear about Remicade. My son was diagnosed with CD in March of 2006 when he was 11. After about 3 years of trying many different medications, I finally agreed to have him go on Remicade. It was the hardest decision I have ever made. But I can tell you that I am so glad that I finally agreed to it. I wish I had done it sooner. He feels better now than he has in years. The Remicade helped him achieve remission, which led to him finally growing and feeling better. He can go out and do things instead of coming home from school and falling asleep on the sofa. It did take some tweaking with the dosage and timing of infusions (he ended up getting a double dose every 6 weeks), so don't expect miracles right away. And if you do decide on Remicade, check out the Remistart program where the makers of Remicade will pay for part of the cost of each infusion (depending on how much is covered by your insurance). This program saved me thousands of dollars.
He has now switched to Humira, but only for the sake of convenience as he was missing school every 6 weeks and couldn't continue that with his schedule this year (lots of AP classes). The Humira has kept him in remission.
And I second the advice about the Dragonpack website. The parents on there have so much good advice and really understand what it is like to have your child go through this.
Take care,
Nancy (son Ben,16,CD; Humira, Milk Thistle, Probiotic)