Muscle/Joint pain from Remicade

I was on Remicade from 2002 until just recently. I never had any acute pain that I could connect to Remicade, but I did have a fair amount of general aches and pains in my joints and muscles. I know that some people do have a more pronounced reaction like yours, so it could certainly be tied to the Remi.

I've got to laugh a bit, feeling like I'd been run over by a truck is one of the things I remember saying to the doctor at least once or twice, so maybe I did have a few reactions like yours. Funny since Remicade is used for Rheumatoid Arthritis also, you'd think it wouldn't cause arthritis type symptoms?

Did your doctor actually order an ANA test?

Are you having any premedications? Every month when I have my remicade I usually am pretty sick the next day and have the aches. Joint pain is unfortunately a common problem of our disease and the remicade will actually help with that. Sickofitall, I was having the same problem with the leg pain and even weakness and have found that add cortisteroids to my usual premeds of Tylenol and Benedryl has dramatically helped. Your doctor may even consider adding 6-mp or methotrexate with your remicade to help it work better and avoid developing too many antibodies. I did the best when I was on methotrexate and remicade but it threw my liver levels way too high.

When you get to the point that you are in so much pain you cannot sleep and you do not want to move at all, then you might want to seriously think about getting tested for the lupus like syndrome, that can happen with Anti-TNF.

I've been on Remicade for about a year and a half and as far as my GI problems are concerned, it's changed my life. I've been able to eat food like a normal person and not have to constantly worry about pain, diarrhea, extreme gas and my incredibly embarrassing loud GI system! However in the past few months I've had reactions to the Remicade and almost constant joint pain. The day after my treatment I wake up barely able to move my fingers. They hurt and are stiff and look like sausages. The next day it moves to my legs and my entire lower body feels like I've been thrown down the stairs or hit by a truck, I can't sleep without Vicodin. After that the pain moves to my wrists, alternating from one to the other. Long story short, my GI doc says it sounds like I'm developing anti-bodies but what exactly does that mean? After reading other people's experiences I'm getting scared that my reactions are going to get worse with each treatment. My guts have felt so good for the past year and the joint pain is becoming constant and gets worse after the Remicade so is it even worth staying on it? I got tested for RA and came out negative, my last colonoscopy was beautiful. Not sure if I should stick with it since it's the only thing that's worked, or if it's just making things worse in a different way...

31 year old female
diagnosed with Crohns in 2005, sick for about 5 years before that
tried Pentasa, Entocort, 6MP, Prednisone, Flagyl
currently Asacol & Remicade

I too have been having knee pain and SI joint or piriformis pain. Had a right hip replacement Nov. of 2013 and a bunionectomy, neuroma removal and bone spur all on my right foot. I have had Crohn's Disease for over 40 years and finally went on Remecade almost 2 years ago. It has been wonderful on my gut, but fear that the knee, excess foot pain and sciatica type pain may be caused from the drug. Anyone else have excess pain after surgeries

I've been on Remicade for 7 years.

I always been dizzy & tired after it for about one to three days.

Remicade has been a miracle for me. It's helped me for years.

I did not feel pain in my joints when I first started it.

Last year, however, I did experience pain in my wrists and joints. I'm not sure if that was from Remicade or Crohn's Disease because CD has been known to cause pain in your joints. The pain randomly went away after a month though and hasn't come back.

I had severe joint pain and stiffness following remicade treatments. I was fine after the first couple. Then I think the third time I started feeling mild joint pain. Each infusion got worse. I think I had 2 maybe? (Sorry this was about 7 years ago) after the initial joint pain started, mostly because we weren't sure what was causing it. The last infusion i got made it very clear it was from the remicade. I got so stiff I couldn't sit or stand without help. I couldn't get out of bed, open a door, or even lift my arms to wash my hair. I felt like I was made of stone. If it gets worse after your next infusion I would definitely speak with your doctor. Good luck!