Need help flaring bad and then in car accident - not helping and still off work just could not face it, in hospital tomorrow for infusion. How long realistically to know if it is working as talking to rheumy today I wonder does he think it is not but too early to change. As kept telling me "we need to give it a fair chance" etc etc very confused and irritated by it all atm :( Hope you are all well! Infusion is Remicade / Infliximab.
Sorry that you're going through a rough patch. You didn't say when you started this. I think 6 months is a pretty frequent timeline, although I'm not certain for remicade.
I would have to agree with Stoney. It definitely took me a good 6 months to know the full effects of Remicade. I have fibro too (or, at least, something else that responds very well to Lyrica), and sometimes its really hard for me to tell what pain is what. However, if I am late for an infusion, I KNOW it. I can feel it wearing off near the next infusion time.
Also, there is a lot of give with Remicade dosing. The dose can increase all the way to 10mg/kg of body weight and the dosing schedule can vary from 8 to 4 weeks. The docs have a lot of room to play there, and that can be a great thing.
Some people notice results after 4 weeks, others will take some time. I KNOW how FRUSTRATING it can be. It is good to have a back up medication to take while you are waiting for your bio to work. Either low dose predi, or an NSAID, or both would be helpful until you figure out how Remicade is working for you.
I am so sorry that you are hurting. This disease can be the pits.
So sorry you are going through all this - it's a lot to handle, all while waiting on medication to start working! I'm on Remicade and noticed a difference in 3 months, and it was life-changing by about month 8, if I recall correctly. It's beyond frustrating to have to wait for relief, but SO worth it when you're on the other side.
I am on Remicade also, and I seem to have a bad flare up within 2 days of my infusion. I have the same question because of this, and I have been on Remicade for a year. Wish I had an answer for you Carolyn.