Revisiting Remicade?

There is always Humira if you can't go back on Remicade.

It seems doctors have different opinions. I have been on and off and on Remicade. When I restarted they just made sure to premedicate me with Benadryl in the IV and I didn't have any problems. My current doctor is ok with it, but my past doctor was not. Worth asking about!

sorry to see you back, Michigoose- yuk!!!! Can you give Humira a try? I switched to it in Jan. of 2010 after the Remicade lost effectiveness, it's been ok. Not great, but a heckuva lot better than the Remicade, by the time I finally got the guts to call it quits with it. I believe if you experience joint-related stuff, arthritis, etc. from the tnf blockers, you may get the same symptms from all the tnf blockers, but am not sure of this. I seem to remember reading it somewhere though. When do you see your GI again? What does he/she suggest? sigh... I hate to see old posters back on here, I mean- it's nice to hear from them, but... you know what I mean!

I believe the general consensus amongst physicians is that you can restart Remicade, however, the chance of an infusion reaction goes up. The premedication routine with benedryl and solumedrol (steroid) will definitely be appropriate in your case.The second question to consider is the issue that led you to stop Remicade in the first place. The side effect of "joint pain" is not necessarily common but very disabling and has been described both as a side effect of Remicade and as a consequence of ulcerative colitis itself. To destinguish which is which can be difficult but generally, the activity of "joint pain" is often directly correlated to the activity of the disease itself. If you were experiencing a nice remission of the colitis but your "joints" were bothering you, then it was probably a side effect of the Remicade. This side effect often does not begin immediately after Remicade infusion, but rather with a delayed response (3 months or greater). This type of side effect has been seen in approximately 5% of patients and unfortunately may occur for you in Humira as well (they are from the same family of medications). Imuran is a different class of medication and could be an option for you. Remicade, Humira, Cimzia are all TNF-alpha inhibitors and work along the same mechanism and unfortunately have very similar side effect profiles across within the same patient. Like you, I had and am still recovering from this side effect from Remicade and Cimzia but it is gradually improving as time goes on. I hope this posting wasn't too confusing. I am also a physician and tend to get a little too bookish in my messages.