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Remicade side effects?

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Ulcerative Colitis
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Posted 7/20/2018 12:31 AM (GMT 0)
Hello all, I am starting the first 3 doses of Remicade, and it has been a week since my second dose. I have started getting abdomen tenderness and recurrent pain starting today on the ascending and descending colon. I have also developed pustular psoriasis along my back, shoulder, and jawline.

Has anyone else on Remicade had these side effects, and if so, what happened? Was the Remicade treatment continued? (I have one more initial dose to go before I move to 8 week infusions). Did the GI doctor call for another biologic to be used?

I am currently using a Benzagel and a chlorahexadine scrub to help relieve the mild pustular psoriasis.

What have others done in this situation with UC?
Posted 7/20/2018 12:31 PM (GMT 0)
Are you on any medications besides remicade (i.e., prednisone)?

If the medication is truly inducing it, then I would not expect to stay on said medication. Medication-induced symptoms typically go away once the medication is discontinued.

Has the remicade improved your UC symptoms at all? More reason to switch if it hasn't.
Posted 7/20/2018 2:14 PM (GMT 0)
You should have your trough and antibody levels checked. I came off pred after my 3rd loading dose of Remicade and had horrible body pain, psoriasis on head and lower back, edema and more. Turns out I have already developed antibodies to the Remicade.
Posted 7/20/2018 10:11 PM (GMT 0)
If it's only your second dose it may be too soon to tell whether it's helping your UC, but it is possible to have severe side effects from remicade. I was nearly unable to walk from joint pain while taking it. It's possible it's coincidental, but there's a chance you have antibodies as tired mentioned. I never got my levels checked, since my UC wasn't improving with Remicade regardless. I switched to entyvio and didn't have side effects, but unfortunately for me, I also had zero response to that drug. I did have rheumatology tests run and I had an abnormal ANA, I am sure I was developing drug induced lupus from Remicade. When I stopped I was back to normal quickly. Request some testing.
Posted 7/22/2018 1:55 AM (GMT 0)
I'm tapering down from Prednisone by 5mg a week, now I'm on the last week at 5mg. But I have been on Prednisone for over 2 months (starting from 40mg) and never got any side effects besides a few mental issues. Not even moon face. The Remicade has stopped the pain to about a 1-2 and there's no blood or mucus in my bowel movements. I am also able to have 1-2 movements a day.

I've called up my GI doctor and nurses and left a message to request blood tests. I hope they will call back soon.

Thank you everyone for the responses. smile
Posted 7/22/2018 2:00 AM (GMT 0)
Not impossible for pred to cause side effects at lower doses. I brokeout with a bad acne at low doses of pred.
Posted 7/22/2018 2:41 AM (GMT 0)
pustular psoriasis can be associated with coming off of steroids, so it can be the prednisone.

As for the pain, that has been happening for a few days at a time for the past two months (I have my second dose of infliximab this upcoming Thursday). Each time, 2 days of liquid diet made it go away. I believe my colon was just super inflamed and needed a break. I had been on Humira when this happened, and it turned out I had developed antibodies, so the meds weren't working.
Posted 7/23/2018 4:41 AM (GMT 0)
I had major joint pain after my 2nd and 3rd remicade infusions, but was also coming off Pred at the same time - the pred withdrawal seemed to be the issue. I finally got off the pred, had some miserable anxiety and nausea while doing it, and then the Remicade was fine smile I’d stay in close contact with your doc and have antibodies and levels checked to be safe, though.
Posted 7/24/2018 1:32 AM (GMT 0)
After tapering off of prednisone, I always have extremely dry skin on my face and neck. Usually begins around the 5 to 10 mg. mark. As for Remicade....I've been getting Remicade infusions, every 8 weeks, for over 20 years. Never had any negative reactions and have been in remission for up to 5 YEARS at a time. Good luck in whatever you decide.
Posted 7/24/2018 1:01 PM (GMT 0)
Whenever we have something new popup, it's always a question on which medication is causing it, and also the possibility that it is an extra-intestinal manifestation of UC itself and unrelated to all medications. it can be a bit frustrating to us as we want an easy answer and quick solution. The pred you're tapering off of, so you could wait and see if it clears up on it's own. You can ask your doctor whether it makes sense to stop the remicade now or not. There's going to be a bit of guesswork and trial-and-error to figure out exactly what's going on.
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