How do you know if you have built up antibodies to Remicade?

I thought you stop responding to treatments if you have built up antibodies. I don't know much about it but i've never seen anyone mention a test to find out. Hopefully someone with more experience will respond.

Are you feeling any better?

     Notsosickly.....thanks for asking...but no ...not doing any better.  This morning I did a dumb thing too.  I used 2% milk in my Rice Krispies and BOY is it doing a number on me.  I was using Silk but then tried 1% milk and that was ok.  My husband went to the grocery store last week before the snow storm hit and he said all they had was the 2%.  This morning was the first time I tried it...never again!  I've been to the john at least 7 times already with urgency and cramping.

     Do you think that I have built up antibodies to the Remicade if after the first two infusions I was relieved but after the third suffered this flare?

If you are having joint pain that feels like you are trying to walk thru chest deep snow after having your feet beat. I would think about having an ANA test done.

I'm not sure if it is the same as it was for me with Humira (we didn't do any tests-they just took me out of the trial), but it just stopped being effective. It wasn't completely overnight, but it seemed to happen pretty fast that I went from ok to bad. They bumped me up to weekly instead of bi-weekly, and it made no difference at all.

When I first started the Humira, it worked just as WIMOM said he docs described-I was going 1-3 times a day, completely normal, no blood, no urgency, etc. It wasn't until almost a year in that I started seeing some slights streaks of blood but no other symptoms, and we attributed that to hemmies because I had started working out.

Anyway, it was recently-Christmas time-that I really started flaring and wasn't able to get it back under control. But it was pretty obvious in my case that the Humira just wasn't working anymore.

Good luck-I hope it is still working for you!

prometheus labs, who does many of the imuran/6MP blood tests, also does the speciality remicade antibody testing I believe.

when i started remicade in 2005 it immediately cleared up my symptoms but it started losing effectiveness after just the 5th infusion. my GI raised the dose to 10 mg/kg instead of 5 mg/kg and also added in 6MP - that combination put me into a three year long remission.

     Bookworm...what rectal meds were you on?  I am using Proctofoam in the evening and cort suppositories in the morning.  I tried very hard to use the cort enemas but I am so inflamed they just ooze right on out with mucus and blood.

     I phoned my GI's office today to ask if they could bump my Remicade infusion up a week.  The way I feel now, I don't think I can wait till the 26th without going back on prednisone and I don't want to do that.