Hi all, I'm going for my 5th infusion of Remicade and taking mtx with it, plus the prednisone. How long do I wait for the Remicade/mtx to 'work'? When I try to reduce the prednison I get stiff, swollen joints?!! I have insurance approval to go to Embril,.....Thanks, SarahHas your dr. suggested you either up the dosage or increase the frequency of the Remicade? I started with Enbrel, 3 months and it didn't help. I was switched to Remicade because my dr said you could change it around to make it work better, I'm getting 500mg every 6 weeks.Hi thanks, the last time I was in , April I took an increased amt of nearly 900, up from 300 of remicade and from 5 to 15 mtx. I go again May 21st. for another 900, it is about one month....so yes he is giving me more and more often. I appreciate the info about Enbrel, other people I know have taken it an are doing really well on it. Just wondering which cliff to jump off of!!?sarah
Hi Hurts,
i have been on remicade for 10 months and just had a review with my Consultant. They are concerned that the improvement is not what they would like (as am I) my bloods have not really changed since being on it and although I get a few weeks with less pain it is not really working well. Anyway they are looking at changing me to etanercept (not sure if this is also called something different in the US?) which is another biologic that you infect every week. I have also increased my dose of MTX from 7.5mg to 10mg. We have a funding issue in the UK, remicade is strictly controlled and I have been on the highest allowed dose, every 8 weeks which is the maximum they will fund, there is a Gov't agency called NICE (National Institute for Clinical Excellence) which decided what the permissable treatments are for each condition and what doses are licensed etc. On the plus side treatment is all free!
If the remicade isn't working please discuss it with your Dr, I was worried as I had been told that remicade is usually the last treatment they try and I skipped straight to it but my Dr explained that different people respond differently to the drugs and it's unfortunatelya case or trial and error to ge tthe right one.
Good luck.
KT
I've been on remicade since Oct 05 and am still taking the maximum dose every 4 weeks. generally I do pretty well, but I cant stretch out more than 4 weeks. They may need to twiddle with your dose a bit more.
I found that I MUST take 20 mg of MTX a week or the remicade might as well be water. How much MTX are you taking.. it may be that needs to be increased.
Thanks, I'm only taking 15 mgs of mtx, maybe that's the problem. almost 900 of rem, going between 5mgs up to 10 preds? Something must change, as My fingers are stiffening up, and can barely get around I'm so fatigued. Gosh, this is a bore! I've only been on these increased doses for one month.
sarah