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New To Remicade (How Long Does It Take To Kick In)

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 3/26/2017 6:57 PM (GMT 0)
I had a flare up in June 2016 and was put on Prednisone and Asacol. Straight to remission.. Fast forward to February 2017, I had a really bad flare up. Had to get hospitalized for IV Prednisone. They got me in patient Remicade.... So far I have had 2 Infusions of remicade. Haven't got to remission yet. I'm starting to have signs of flare up again - (rectal bleeding, no formed stool), shortly after the 2nd infusion of remicade. My 3rd remicade infusion is in 4 weeks.

Question - how long does it take until Remicade kicks in? How do I know if it's not working? Please help...

Any advice? Any stories? Need some prayers ;(
Posted 3/26/2017 8:39 PM (GMT 0)
There's really no set amount of time, but usually people see a response fairly quickly. If you've had a few infusions and you haven't seen any improvement, you may not. I am not saying you should be 100% after 1, 2, 3 or even 4 infusions, but you should notice something... Two infusions isn't very many, definitely give it some time. Ask your GI when you speak what he/she is expecting so far as symptom reduction at this time & about next steps. It's possible that you could add something to your current plan, or it's possible that it won't work for you - but statistics are in your favor. You should also request stool samples, if you had a pathogen, remicade wouldn't help that.
Posted 3/26/2017 8:59 PM (GMT 0)
I had my first positive signs remicade was helping a week after my 2nd infusion, a much bigger improvement a week after my 3rd infusion, and slow and steady improvements until i reached remission. You should get some sign of improvements within 6 weeks during the initial loading doses, if you're going to. about 65 percentof uc patients recieve a response from remicade.
Posted 3/27/2017 1:56 AM (GMT 0)
CureUC123,

I knew within 15 to 30 minutes after my first infusion was finished. The pain was the first thing to go away and within 24 hours my BM had changed. After that it was gradual.

I have known a few people that went thru 3 or 4 infusions before they noticed any changes. One went into remission after her 4th infusion. Completely. I was so envious. The other noticed a change in pain level after her 3rd infusion and then she moved very quickly into remission.

I too would recommend speaking to your GI. They can change the prescription strength or timeframe, test your blood for your trough level of Remicade remaining in your bloodwork after a certain amount of time in addition to checking on if you have built up antibodies or place you on additional medications that may help. I take methotrexate weekly. According to my GI the methotrexate raised my chance of remission to 85%.

I hope you feel better soon.

Clo
Posted 3/27/2017 2:40 AM (GMT 0)
I definitely feel improvement after the remicade. This flare just won't seem to go away fully. Hopefully the 3rd infusion will do the trick.. Thanks for the advice, I appreciate it friends!
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