HealingWell
Search Close Search
☰

how long does remicade take to work?

Support Forums
>
Ulcerative Colitis
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply
❬ ❬ Previous Thread |Next Thread ❭ ❭
Posted 1/20/2015 10:19 PM (GMT 0)
My son is currently in the hospital with a severe flare. He has been on iv prednisone for 11 days and they gave him his first remicade infusion. After 2 days his bm went down to 3 and switched him from iv to oral prednisone. Now his bm went up to 5 and his stool is more loose and bloody. Is this common? Thanks. I'm really nervous because they keep talking surgery and I don't want that to happen. Any info is appreciated/ :(
Posted 1/20/2015 10:37 PM (GMT 0)
Remicade can help very quickly or it can take a few doses. It never did much for me but that is definitely not the normal, most people have a very good response quickly. Did they decrease the dose of prednisone when they went to oral from IV? It's really hard to tell whether he has responded to the prednisone or the remicade at this point. Hopefully the doctors are doing everything they can to safely get him off steroids and to maintain on remicade.
Posted 1/20/2015 10:48 PM (GMT 0)
I think they decreased it for the first day and now it the same dose. ( I had to fly back home to work so my spouse is texting me info.
Posted 1/20/2015 10:50 PM (GMT 0)
The doc is bumping up his 2nd infusion date tho
Posted 1/20/2015 11:02 PM (GMT 0)
I had immediate results. First my cramping went away and then gradually fewer BMs. If I recall, by the time I had the 3 loading dose infusions plus 1-2 of the maintenance infusions, I was a new woman.
Posted 1/20/2015 11:55 PM (GMT 0)
platinumpixie-my son was on iv prednisone and then switched to oral after they noticed a great improvement in bm. he was great until they switched to oral.
I hope its just an adjustment period. He was on iv pred for a long time and I wonder if his body is dependent on it
Posted 1/21/2015 12:16 AM (GMT 0)
I noticed the first remi improvement a week after my second infusion, and a bigger improvement tge week after my 3rd, slow and steady improvements ever since.

Varies person-to-person, some notice improvements after the 1st dose, others a few weeks in, others a month in. Depends on how much he needs to heal, that doesn't happen overnight. Good luck,
Posted 1/21/2015 12:25 AM (GMT 0)
thanks, ipoop
Posted 1/21/2015 3:15 AM (GMT 0)
He's pretty sick if he was requiring IV prednisone. Don't give up hope just yet. The docs probably got all excited about fewer BMs. In my experience, the medical team pushes PO meds as soon as possible. He may just need the higher dose of prednisone as a bridge therapy. Good luck and keep us posted.
Posted 1/21/2015 3:38 AM (GMT 0)
It took until about the 4th infusion for me to feel somewhat normal. I was in the worst pain of my life. I hoped relief would be immediate, but it wasn't. My severe cramping went away after a couple infusions, but I wasn't completely in remission I guess you would say until my 4th. I was never in the hospital though. Thought about it, but wasn't sure exactly what they could do for me.
Posted 1/21/2015 12:56 PM (GMT 0)
thanks everyone. just really scared. He woke up this morning and had 3 bm between 5am and 630am. but went all night without one. I think last one was at 930pm
Posted 1/21/2015 2:09 PM (GMT 0)
Mornings are often multiple bms for uc patients. Rectal inflammation makes it uncomfortable/painful to hold in stool, so multiple bms are common while healing.

3-5 bms a day isn't terrible, it sounds like an improvement?

Maybe add a steroid or melamine enema or suppository at some point to tackle the lingering rectal inflammation?
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply