Remicade side effects

Hey all. Been awhile and hope everyone new and old is getting some relief!

Question for the remicade users out there. Do any of you have any side effects from this drug, and if so what are they?

I'm kind of getting exhausted from the enemas (salofalk and prednisone both), the salofalk pills daily, loperamide, buscopan, etc. Last time I went on prednisone I had horrible side effects (first time ever). I'm down about 15 pounds (I'm 5'10" and 170 lbs right now) and eat super clean, lift weights and do cardio. Physically, my performance levels are very high, but I'm always in pain, tons and tons of gas, blood, lots of emergency toilet breaks. With my work (rotational shifts as a Police Officer) I'm having a hard time hitting the bathroom, and it's really getting tough some days. I do the probiotics, eat a lot of greek yogurt, zero alcohol, etc. Lots and lots of water to stay hydrated, multivitamin/minerals, etc. Just exhausted from this and need a break!

The only thing that stops the symptoms cold is when I use tylenol 3 with codeine, it completely stops all symptoms, but I don't like what it can do to the liver, and obviously, it's not good to be using a narcotic based drug except when absolutely needed. So I can't really use it continuously, only for "emergency" times.

I'm now looking at remicade (Been 7 years with this disease, one related surgery), simply need some stability, but not wanting to go down a path that leads me to a worse end. I can't use the azothioprine type drugs-made me horribly horribly ill and was killing my pancreas.

Any suggestions would be great.

Thanks!

Bob! Hey there stranger!

I started on Remicade myself last year. I was in a viscous never ending loop with these flares. So I gave in to the big guns. I've been on Remi for almost a year now. It has been a god send for me :)

But I will be honest, the initial side effects were killer! However, after the first two or three loading doses, I now only get the side effects the day OF the infusion. At first, I would get horrid abdominal pings of pain, it felt like someone was "flicking" me in my stomach (not colon), my muscles cramped horribly (flu like horrible), I had a headache for a few days, nausea and major fatigue. But after the loading doses, and the pre-med cocktail of Benedryl and Solumedrol, I was doing great. I still get some mild muscle cramping, nausea and a headache the day of the infusion, but the next day I'm 100% better - energy has rebounded too.

Hey guys, I've tried the steroid enemas, and still take salofalk, both pills and enemas. Not really working anymore, and the last time I went on prednisone, I got horribly ill, and stayed that way for about six months. Made for some pretty bad times at work........

Hoping to get some relief here, I'd been pretty good for a few years, always minor flares, those I can handle. But as of late, they are getting very hard to handle.

I'm just waiting for my Blue Cross insurance to kick in, then will be trying it out.

Major side effect for me was getting my life back! ; )

Seriously, sometimes I get very tired for the next 24 hours after sometimes I don't, I either take a nap (and I am not a napper) or go to bed very early. A friend of mine who also gets remicade is tired for a day but that is 24 hours after the infusion.

Best of luck, take care!