Remicade question

Bratcat is scheduled for her 3rd Remicade treatment on Tuesday. She did OK with the first two. Felt better after the first one, didn't feel much of a change after the second. Not sure if they helped alot or not (they didn't make anything worse). The past couple of days she has been complaining about body aches. Not just joints. I guess muscles also. Tonight she complained about "hot flashes". She joked that she must be going through menopause (since her period is a few days late and she is very regular). She is slowly tapering prednisone each week by 5mg (we check in with the doctor every week).

Could this yucky feeling be because it is almost time for her to get her Remicade infusion? I know the prednisone is taking its toll on her.

Hopefully she will feel better by the end of the week. Her junior prom is on Thursday.

There is far more chance it is the tapering of prednisone after high-dose, long term use that's causing the hot flushes and all round body pain.

This is what I found. Similar to brat-cat, I was on 60mg of prednisone for over 8 months before the tapering began. Be very careful once you get under 15mg. I am very strongly going to suggest you get the GI to agree to taper by 2 or 1mg per week from there.

Tapering under 20mg was hard for me and very uncomfortable. Tapering under 10 was excruciating. Don't be surprised if the lethargy and massive exhaustion kicks in once you get under 10mg. I'd wake up at 8am, and by 12am, I couldn't even climb the stairs to get my broken body back to bed.

After all that, my point is: "Blame the prednisone".

I had the same problems when i tapered pred this last time. Hot flashes were horrible. My actual temp would jump over a hundred for a few minutes. It got better as i got to about 15mg.

Hope she has a great prom!!!

I was on Prednisone for most of a year, then on Entocort (which is supposed to have fewer side effects) for four years. I ended up with osteoporosis and a major fracture, avascular necrosis and had elevated blood sugar while I was on it. If he's on Remicade and still can't get off steroids, it may be time to consult with a surgeon.