which med??

I had Remicade for 5 years and it worked well however in the 5th year I started having reactions to the med. I still recieved it but I had to take 40mg of pred the day before and day of the infusion to help the severe tachycardia and heart arrythmia. I have also gotted really dizzy during 1 infusion but that was a 1 time thing and I think it had ot do with me not eating anything before going for my infusion that day. I have bad veins as well most times the nurse was able to get me first shot but the longer I had been getting the meds the worse the scar tissue got in the 2 good places I had for catheter placement. Since I had it so long and bad veins when I need a cath at the hospital they had great difficulty and usually have to get a central line or a jugular catheter...not fun last er room resident tried to get my jug on the r side without numbing it first needless to say due to the pain I had trouble with it. You are supposed to take a deep breath in and hold it while they place3 it and they typically have to fish around 4 my vien so it blew after he got 1 of the blood cultuers they didnt want to use the picc I had at the time since most likely that was the cause of my fever. They were right I had picc line sepsis.

As far as humira I have been on it since Sept I was fearing giving myself a shot and I wont lie the starter kit only comes in the pen injectin form and to me even with icing my leg first it hurt me a lot. Some people dont feel it burning but I do. I now get the syringes and it still will burn but I can control the speed at which the med goes in.

With the remicade I had severe migraines for 1 week after getting the injection. It is supposed to help RA as well as inflammatorry arthritis but approx 1 week after my infusion I would be in so much pain especially in my knees and ankles I was unable to sleep for a night or 2 in a row. I never had an allergic reaction to either drug but some people do have those issues. Typically they will premed every person with tylenol and benadryl prior to starting remicade. They monitor your vitals often during the infusion and some offices have TVs with dvd players or even massaging chairs in them. Unfortunatly there are those offices where you get a waiting room style chair and thats about it. I have always had remicade at a doctors office some get them in a hospital setting instead.

The humira will give me a headache and make me sleepy for a day or 2 but I find that the side effects are not as severe and do not last nearly as long as remicade side effects lasted. I will say though I was leary of Humira since I do give it to myself at home. The 1st dose I had done in the office the nurse giving me 2 inj I did the other 2...she made me but kind of glad she did. I planned on having my aunt do it she is a nurse and lives 5 minutes from here but I rather not get all bundled up to go out in the snow and bitter cold for an injection that takes seconds.

I did like when I went for remicade since you meet others in person with CD and you learn what they have gone through other symptoms you may have never known about or had. That was the first time I heard that CD can travel to the lung and wouldnt you know a few months later I had a MRI after being refered to a pulmonologist for my asthma...it gets bad when I get a cold I usually get bronchitis and have had pneumonia every year for a ew yrs in a row now. He said it is rare to have it travel there and at that point only documented in cases where the patient has had CD for over 10 yrs and I fit the description after my lung function test...even when I was better...they waited tillthe bronchitis went away b4 doing that test.

I often wonder the % rate of fistulas healing in both drugs I was getting remicade every 6 weeks but went into remission went off imuran, was tapering down on pentasa and I had been getting 4 bottles of remicade since I was getting joint pain at the 4 week mark and insurance at that time didnt cover it had to be 6 weeks or longer apart. I was nervous doing humira at home not only for the fact of giving myself a shot but also was concerned about any reactions I would have. I told the nurse who taught me how to do the inj and she had me stay in the office longer than a pt who had no issues in the past with remicade to monitor my vitals a couple extra times

I have been on remicade for 5 years, before that I led a miserable life for years. I was down to 108 pounds from my usual 170. Now, for the past five years I have led an almost normal life. For me remicade has been a wonderfull. I am also on imuran, 200 milligrams. They work well together. As far as side effects, don't let all that you hear and read about it scare you off. It has changed my life.

Hi, I am on Remicade for over 2 years and have no-side effects. I have been in remission. Which ever you decided I hope it works good for you.

Hi,

Thanks for all the advice....

I am going thru prednisone withdrawals right now.  I thought the worse was over a couple of days ago, but three days ago my chest and ribs started hurting terribley.  I have a hard time taking a deep breathe and my ribcage, front and back, just hurts.  I have a hard time moving and get breathless real easy.  I have been taking Ibuprofen for the pain (doesnt help).  Not sure what to do.

Have my first infusion of Remicade on the 28th.

Once I start felling better, I have to start working on losing the 30 pounds I gained on the prednisone....

I have been on Remicade for about 5 years now and I have had no side effects or adverse reactions during infusion.  I do admit that the drug is not as successful as it once was, my body has developed antibodies but fortunately for me it still does the job.  It does a fair job healing up fistulas, they seem not to be as irritated but it doesn't heal them 100%.  My doc has suggested moving to Humira but for now I'm going to stick with what works.