HUGE swollen knees and REMICADE infusion | Arthritis Information

 

Two weekends ago I drove 8.5hrs (just one way... 17hrs total!) to a friend's college graduation.  The Monday following both my knees were SORE and SWOLLEN... especially my right (from pushing the pedals).  I thought this would go away, and my left has... just about.  But my right is ENORMOUS and still very painful.  My beau bought me an icepack kneewrap which I use each night... it helps the swelling temporarily, but no permanent relief.  Any suggestions?

Next week (Wednesday) I'm having my first infusion of Remicade.  Scary...  any advice on that either?

Hi Trish:  I'm lucky if I can drive 2 hours, all our vehicles are stick and the clutch thing is painful for me.  Have you called your RD about your knee?  There are several things your RD may suggest.  This will be a real test for Remicade. 

Yes, I would call your doctor. There's no need to stay in that much pain. I'm sure your doc can help.

Hi Trish,

Sorry to hear about your swollen knees-I know that is
so painful.     I would go ahead and call your rd to
see what you can do the bring some fast relief.

Glad you are going to get to try remicade. I have
been on it about a year and have had approx 8
infusions. For me the experience itself isn't bad at
all. They have about 3 or 4 people in the infusion
room at a time. There are nice comfortable chairs
and the infusion nurses are really nice at the office I
go to. The process just consists of getting my vitals
checked (bp, temp, pulse). Then they give me tylenol
and an allergy pill and then hook up the iv for the
infusion. It takes about 45 minutes for the infusion
itself. Afterwards I am a little tired, but otherwise OK.

I actually had about 4 or 5 infusions before I started
really feeling good results. During this time my rd
worked adjusting the dosage and frequency until we
found what works best for me. Now I feel the
difference right away. But of course, everyone is
different, and they say sometimes you feel totally
better after the first treatment.

Let us know how things go for you, k? Take care.   

Hey there! Ditto on that advice to call your doc. If you arent currently taking Prednisone you may need a short run of it or a few days increased dose if you already are taking it. My doctor told me to keep it on hand incase I get into trouble. Some people feel comfortable about self dosing, but if you havent done it before or feel uncertain, then you should at least give the doctors office a call. hope the Remicade works well for you!
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