Flares w/ Remicade? | Arthritis Information

 

I've been on Remicade for years, but have still had flare ups. After a real rocky summer, I decided to go on lo dose pred to get some consistency in my life, and for the past 8 weeks I've felt good. I got remicade last Wed., and have gotten progressively more painful since -- with today being a real doozy in terms of fatigue and pain. And, I still have taken my 5mg of pred, so I am wondering what is up? Is this what happens when one "fails" a biologic, or is it normal to get big bad flares from the Remicade itself? Has anyone experienced this? My dr. thinks this is the best we can do w/o adding gold shots or switching to another biologic. ADvice and experience welcome...I'm *not* feeling too happy about things right now...!
Thanks,
Amy Hi and welcome to the forum.  I'm so sorry that you're feeling so rotten.  You need to have another talk with your doctor!!!!  Why doesn't he want you to go to another biologic.  What's his/her's reasoning?  If you're flaring and have been all along then damage is being done to your bones, and inflammation causes more than just bone/joint damage.  Your RD knows that. 

LinB2009-10-25 20:18:57Amy, I don't take remicade, I taken enbrel and mtx.  I still have flare ups even though I take these both consistantly.  They are shorter in duration and in pain and inflammation than when the RA first showed itself.  So that's good.  Not perfect, but good.    Hope you feel better, please let me know what you decide to do.sounds like a call to your dr may be in order...maybe you can try a higher remicade dose or a more frequent dosing schedule?  Were you building up to a flare before your infusio?  with the flu going around I would be concerned that possible you were coming down with somethingI've just had my second Remicade infusion and feel really good. I'm also taking Plaquenil and 4mg of Medrol. From what I've read, most people are taking Remicade with methotrexate. Is Remicade the only med you are on besides the prednisone? Maybe your doc could try adding something else to the mix. Hope you get some answers and relief soon!Amy, I had my third Remicade infusion a little over a week ago and the pain in my joints worsened after the first day. (I also had a bad headache for two days) Don't know if it is caused from the Remicade or not. I looked up side effects of Remicade and a rare side effect is joint pain.  Thanks for the input -- I am on the shortest dosing schedule and the most Remicade I can get, so that isn't an option at this point.  I am on Arava, plaquenil, piroxicam & misoprostol. I was on MTX but it made me sick too often, so I stopped it.  I have felt better on the Remicade than before I got it, but as was said "I think it is slipping".  When I saw my Dr in July I told her as much and she said to switch biologics meant living with uncontrolled RA while we wait and see if a new one works, which isn't appealing for my work life.  She also recommended losing weight (I am 20 lbs overweight and have recently lost about 10.)  She recommended gold shots in addition to all the stuff I am already on, and I don't like adding another med (especially since researching it said it is not that effective...??) I called today and asked if the Dr could call me back, and was told that she wouldn't and I had to come in (missing work, which is hard to do...)  I guess I am lucky that my Primary Care doc is so amazing and always calls her patients back -- it must be an unusual trait.  I took 10 mg pred today and still feel crappy, so I guess I better haul butt in there tomorrow. ARGHHHH. Hi.  I have been on threee biologics, remicade being my third.  I have been on it for 9 months and it is failing so I am going on to another one.  I was on Humira for 5 great years but Remicade never seemed to quite work.  I was on pred (5 mg) the whole time and when I weanted off of it after nearly a year, the flare was amazingly horrible! so I knew it was the lack of respone to the remicade that was the culprit so on to another new one....Nan
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