Starting Remicade tomorrow!

Hi everyone...

I am new to this site...It's really neat!

I have had PsA for over 12yrs and have been on several meds/injections. I have had the most success on Enbel and was on it for 7yrs but over the last few months it started to not work as well. My rheumatologist switched me to Methotrexate injections and Humira as a combination. This combo has not worked at all & I've had such pain & swelling in the last several months.

I start on Remicade tomorrow and I''m really nervous about it. Is anyone else taking this? Has it helped? Have you had any side effects or interactions?

Any advice will be much appreciated...

Tammy

Hi Tammy!

I think this site is wonderful! I have been on Remicade for almost 4 years and it has worked well for me. I still have pain everyday but my blood work is good and my swelling is about 5-6 times each (depending on how much I push myself to do things). You might find when you come home from the IV therapy, you will just go to bed and sleep. At least this is what I do after my time receiving Remicade. Thank you to Remicade being the one medication that worked for me. I had tried Enbrel, Humira, and all those others before this.

I wish you good luck tomorrow and peace of mind. I would love to take you to your infusion but we don't live anywhere near each other........so just remember I'll be thinking about you tomorrow and praying you will have a good experience.

Keep in touch!

Anne



anne marie said:

Hi Tammy!

I think this site is wonderful! I have been on Remicade for almost 4 years and it has worked well for me. I still have pain everyday but my blood work is good and my swelling is about 5-6 times each (depending on how much I push myself to do things). You might find when you come home from the IV therapy, you will just go to bed and sleep. At least this is what I do after my time receiving Remicade. Thank you to Remicade being the one medication that worked for me. I had tried Enbrel, Humira, and all those others before this.

I wish you good luck tomorrow and peace of mind. I would love to take you to your infusion but we don't live anywhere near each other........so just remember I'll be thinking about you tomorrow and praying you will have a good experience.

Keep in touch!

Anne



jtek said:


anne marie said:

Hi Tammy!

I think this site is wonderful! I have been on Remicade for almost 4 years and it has worked well for me. I still have pain everyday but my blood work is good and my swelling is about 5-6 times each (depending on how much I push myself to do things). You might find when you come home from the IV therapy, you will just go to bed and sleep. At least this is what I do after my time receiving Remicade. Thank you to Remicade being the one medication that worked for me. I had tried Enbrel, Humira, and all those others before this.

I wish you good luck tomorrow and peace of mind. I would love to take you to your infusion but we don't live anywhere near each other........so just remember I'll be thinking about you tomorrow and praying you will have a good experience.

Keep in touch!

Anne

I have not been on remicade and my rheumy dr has not suggested it, but I am very
Interested to hear how it works for you as Ive taken all there is I know about and it’s NOT working. Maybe you will have success and I can pass that along to my dr. Good luck - hope it does the trick for you!!

Suzanne

Hi: I have just started Remicade in the last four months.
I take Tylenol before tge infusion and they give Nd benadryl IV first as I
Had a reaction( itchy all over) after one infusion.
I too come home and crash. Sleepily and exhausted for
About two days. Not sure how well is going to continue to work
for me as I have just had a tyhroidectomy for masses on my thyroid.
So things are a little mixed up tight now in my body but,
before the surgery it seemed to clear up all patches within a
couple of days and joints felt better in about a week and lasted for about four weeks.
good luck. Hopefully you can just rest after the infusion and it
works for you. Let us know. I have two kids and we have turned
post remicade days that they are home into movie
and reading time with Mommy. They are six and two.
This seems to help them get some fun out of my tired days.
They even get to stay in pjs if they want. So far this is
helping them as well. My husband even said he wished he
could join in one of these days.
Hang in.

Hi Suzanne...

I had my first Remicade tx yesterday and it went well. I was really nervous but so glad I didn't have any reactions. The worst part is it took 2 hours. Glad I took a book :0)

I have also tried many many medicines w/little success, or it works for a few years and then doesn't work as well. I took Enbrel for around 7yrs until they switched me to Methotrexate and Humira this year. Unfortunately that medicine combo didn't do anything...and I have now been switched to Remicade. I have heard lot's of good things about this medicine so I'm trying to stay positive :0)

What kind of treatment are you currently receiving if you don't mind? Have you had PsA long?

Please keep in touch!!!

Tammy


Suzanne Hall said:

I have not been on remicade and my rheumy dr has not suggested it, but I am very
Interested to hear how it works for you as Ive taken all there is I know about and it's NOT working. Maybe you will have success and I can pass that along to my dr. Good luck - hope it does the trick for you!!

Suzanne


Kirsten said:
Hi: I have just started Remicade in the last four months.
I take Tylenol before tge infusion and they give Nd benadryl IV first as I
Had a reaction( itchy all over) after one infusion.
I too come home and crash. Sleepily and exhausted for
About two days. Not sure how well is going to continue to work
for me as I have just had a tyhroidectomy for masses on my thyroid.
So things are a little mixed up tight now in my body but,
before the surgery it seemed to clear up all patches within a
couple of days and joints felt better in about a week and lasted for about four weeks.
good luck. Hopefully you can just rest after the infusion and it
works for you. Let us know. I have two kids and we have turned
post remicade days that they are home into movie
and reading time with Mommy. They are six and two.
This seems to help them get some fun out of my tired days.
They even get to stay in pjs if they want. So far this is
helping them as well. My husband even said he wished he
could join in one of these days.
Hang in.
Hi Kristen,
Wow, you sound so much like me, lol
I have PCOS which affects all of my female hormones...it's difficult to manage everything at times. I am also prone to having reactions...I was on an antibiotic one time and I woke up and my bottom lip was swollen HUGE. I can laugh about it now but it looked like I got hit in the lip...I was so embarrassed b/c I had to go to the ER. The dr said it could have gotten serious and possibly made it hard to breath so I'm glad I went!
I truly hope the Remicade will work for both of us!

You are exactly right...I came home and slept the whole evening! The nurse said that might happen, but WOW, I was pooped.
I also have children...Kate is 16 and Emily is 14. They are sassy teenagers and keep me busy.
Please keep in touch!
Tammy

I was diagnosed with PsA in 2005. I’ve had psoriasis since 1990 or 1991. My Dr. put me on Enbrel which worked like magic. stopped the pain and cleared the skin. Then in 2009, I started noticing psoriasis patches again, and it got really bad on my scalp. I was also having pain in my hands. Dr switched me to Humira and it did nothing for me and the pain was becoming unbearable. He made me feel like the pain was all in my head because I didn’t have any swelling. I asked for an x-ray or MRI (he never did one in the whole time I was his patient!) and he said he didnt think it was necessary…well, I did, so bye-bye Dr. Got a new Rheumatologist who did an MRI on my hands and they were shocked…my bones actually had holes in them…they look like swiss cheese! No wonder I was in pain. and…I just don’t swell like some people do I guess. This Dr put me on Methotrexate and Simponi in January 2011 and it has been 10 months and honestly, no real improvement. Tired all the time and frustrated. I now have lost complete feeling in two of the toes on my left foot and am scheduled for a nerve conduction study next week to see what that’s about, but over the last two weeks I now have numbness in both the balls of my feet and a few toes on my right foot. Just progressing so rapidly it’s scary.



jtek said:

Hi Suzanne...

I had my first Remicade tx yesterday and it went well. I was really nervous but so glad I didn't have any reactions. The worst part is it took 2 hours. Glad I took a book :0)

I have also tried many many medicines w/little success, or it works for a few years and then doesn't work as well. I took Enbrel for around 7yrs until they switched me to Methotrexate and Humira this year. Unfortunately that medicine combo didn't do anything...and I have now been switched to Remicade. I have heard lot's of good things about this medicine so I'm trying to stay positive :0)

What kind of treatment are you currently receiving if you don't mind? Have you had PsA long?

Please keep in touch!!!

Tammy


Suzanne Hall said:

I have not been on remicade and my rheumy dr has not suggested it, but I am very
Interested to hear how it works for you as Ive taken all there is I know about and it's NOT working. Maybe you will have success and I can pass that along to my dr. Good luck - hope it does the trick for you!!

Suzanne