sick and very depressed because of it

Hi bluemoon, sorry you are struggling. I don't understand what is going on with your remicade. Are you saying the each time you have a treatment you come down with a virus? Or that the treatment itself makes you feel terrible?

Have you tried looking for another GI?

bluemoon,

Are you getting pre-meds with the Remicade? This may help abate the flu-like symptoms you're getting. Is Remicade working to keep your Crohn's under control, as this would be a major accomplishment.

If things get intolerable, there's always the option of switching to a different anti-TNF. Humira is the logical progression, and maybe you'll have no negative reaction to it.

It's perfectly normal to feel depressed, especially considering how difficult it is to battle a disease like this. I think the way to beat back the feelings of depression, since the source seems to be that you're not feeling physically well, would be to get yourself feeling much better physically. If you don't have the confidence in your current GI, then it's time to get a consultation with someone else.

I would also strongly consider counselling. If you are at all religious, perhaps Christian counselling would be a good choice for you.

Tomorrow is a new day. Hopefully things start to look up very soon. I'm sure things will get much better for you.

Bluemoon,

As I suspected earlier, I think it's imperative that you somehow, someway, get a new GI. I know that it would be difficult to travel, but you only need to see a GI a few times a year. If they set up any diagnostics, it would be closer to home anyway.

Have you spoken with the nurses at the infusion center that you get your Remicade at? You really shouldn't be getting this sick for that long. As I aslo indicated, perhaps another anti-TNF would be better for you.

Book an appointment with you Family Dr. and get a referral to a new GI. Do some research on the internet, or see if you could get someone recommended to you. Good luck, and I hope things get better soon.

Tom.

W-t-f?

403 forbidden error. Maybe it's because I'm outside of the US.

Anyway, that certainly sounds like a great advertisement for staying as far away from your GI as possible. It's kinda like how you can use the local news to gauge local hospitals to some extent: I don't want to be a member of any hospital which regularly makes the news for the wrong reasons.

Hello,  I had similar problems with side effects from Remicade. I understand how depressing it can be when the medicine that's suppose to help feels like its doing more harm than good. In my case I was on Remicade for about a year and it always made me sore and tired but it gradually got worse. I would have to do the infusions on Friday and stay in bed all weekend with severe fatigue and body ache it felt exactly like the flu. Eventually it was so severe I couldn't even drive myself home and I would just dread having to do the infusions. My doctor then had me try Humira, and Cimzia. Unfortunately I had the same problems with those drugs too. I was on Cimzia for about a year and reacted the same way then tried to restart it after surgery and the side effects were so severe it was scary. The doctor has said my body does just not handle this class of drugs well and its time to move on to maybe clinical trials. It sounds like Remicade isn't working and you need to try something else. There are other things to try but you really need a good doctor to help you figure it out. I have been lucky enough to have a doctor who has helped me throughout all of my insurance problems (even not having any). Keep trying to find help with insurance and doctors. I've spent hours on the phone fighting with insurance and trying to get assistance. Its difficult but there are places that help, lots of the drug companies offer financial assistance. Good Luck!