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Remicade and flares

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 6/15/2011 1:48 PM (GMT 0)
I hope to be here more frequently but haven't been around for awhile.  I had a whirlwind plunge into a severe severe flare at the end of May and ended up in the hospital for 2 weeks, with a very gradual turnaround (fantastic doctors and nurses there the whole time, by the way, for which I'm so grateful.)

My question concerns Remicade... I received my first infusion May 6th, did pretty well the first few days then went back into mild flare.  I began going into the mother of all my flares a day before the second infusion May 20th and docs put me on 40 mg prednisone.  Two days after the second infusion I was dripping blood and went into the hospital. 

I guess my question is, has anyone gone into a huge flare between your first infusions?  I'm scheduled for my 3rd infusion Friday, barring complications from the prednisone (50 mg now) which I have had for the first time this week. 

I don't think I suffered any of the other well known Remicade side effects so I'm still hoping for positive results from it.  I'm trusting my GI team (Kaiser) with great hope for health.   

Any feedback greatly appreciated!

potato 

Posted 6/15/2011 3:37 PM (GMT 0)
Hi potato,

It seems that people have individual results from Remicade, some people see results right away and others take a few infusions to see the full effects of the medication. Some never see great benefits from the medication. Remicade is the miracle drug for many but not for everyone. I hope you start seeing a reduction of symptoms so you can taper off prednisone quickly!
Posted 6/15/2011 3:50 PM (GMT 0)
Hey Potato, I'm so sorry to hear of your hospital stay. Notsosicklygirl is correct, everyone reacts so differently to Remi. I can tell you though that my Kaiser GI team was the best, so I know they will do whatever they can to help you. Take care, and hope the next infusion helps.

Posted 6/15/2011 3:54 PM (GMT 0)
My first 3 Remicade infusions didn't do much for me at all. Then at the 4th one I started seeing an improvement. At the 5th one it was even better. Then for some reason it just stopped working for me after that and I went into my worse flare ever. I was done with it at that point. Best wishes- I hope it starts working for you. :)
Posted 6/15/2011 5:31 PM (GMT 0)
I've never had any adverse reactions to Remicade. The only negative thing that's happened is the nurse pushed too much through at once and it cause my hand to fill up horribly with fluid. Other than that I get a constant, very minor ache in my stomach the last week or two leading up to my next infusion. Kinda feels like a cactus wrapped inside me. I'm on my 4th if I remember right. Also, keep in mind that Remicade doesn't work for some people and others develop an immunity to it. I'm sure your doctor will be able to judge its effectiveness and determine if you need to be switched to Humira or something else.
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