Flaring is it because i had remicade postponed

[sickinlk]

hi All,
well all I can say is boooooooooooooooooo!
ive had my infusion postponed because I thought my son had chicken pox and the nurses didn't wanna risk it. it turned out not to be chicken pox, just a viral infection. its only been 3 days since my infusion was due and im flaring already. ive pain urgency mucous and I think I saw some blood mixed in with the stool.
another thing is, I just recently gave up smoking again. come to think of it I started having an odd drag here and there when I started remicade.
now im wondering was remicade working at all or was it the smoking that put me in remission.
why cant things be more simple!
I am bummed
ju

 

[AlliRuns]

Hopefully everything clears up again once you are able to have your infusion.

 

[David]

That may be the cause. The thing is, if you're flaring after only 3 days that tells us that your "trough level" (how much medication is in your system) is getting too low for your disease state and they may want to increase your dose or shorten your duration. You shouldn't be flaring after just 3 days if all is going well.

 

[sickinlk]

david,
so, they'll increase the dosage and frequency before they'll admit its not working. ah well, ill go with the flow as usual. hope they don't mess up my liver more by doing so. thanks for the replies aliruns and david.
ju

 

[David]

I don't know that I'd say it that way. Increasing the dose of Remicade can definitely result in it working for some people when it stopped working.

 

[sickinlk]

thanks for the input. I hope they figure out something. the last thing I need is a flare amongst all this other stress of emigrating. I wonder will they increase it on Monday or will I have to wait till the next infusion. my GI is aware. I always let them know of any changes to my status.
ju

 

[David]

They may not increase it but it may be a discussion to have with your doctor as to why not if they don't.

Either way, I hope you feel better soon!

 

[Dukeis]

What dosage are you on and how often are you getting the infusions? The highest dosage I have heard of is 10mg/kg every 6 weeks safely. It is like David has mentioned your trough level must be dropping below therapeutic. I had this happen to me when they tried to restart Remicade after being off of it. They changed me to Humira at that point.

 

[sickinlk]

I have no idea! absolutely none. will add that to my list of questions.
thanks
ju

 

[sickinlk]

update.
well its been a week and things have settled down again. yay. panic over. remicade is back in the good books again.

ju

 

[JudithC]

Time for me to say something good has happened. Yes, I have an increased dose of Remi, and we shortened my time to 5 weeks. After second dose, and almost 4 days later I can honestly say I have almost no pain, no urgency, no D. Ahhhh, it feels soooo good. I was growing despondent, but it's working again, and I will take each day as a wonderful gift.