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Has anyone failed other biologics before trying Remicade?

Cimzia stopped working for me. Even though my previous GI doc thought Remi would be a waste of time, I'm going to give it a try. I don't see what it could hurt. I'm not on anything at the moment and I actually feel great. But I learned my lesson years ago when I decided I didn't need meds. Big mistake.

So has anyone had any success with Remicade after trying Humira or Cimzia first?
 

Jessi

Moderator
My doc put me on remicade immediately after my prednisone taper and 3 mos. of asacol, so we started with the big guns. I don't think it's overkill, though, because of how severe my disease is.

But just to be clear, we do not FAIL our meds... they fail US!

I'm glad you're feeling well, and I hope you continue to. :hug:
 
I took Cimzia first which is the newest of the biologics. Now I feel like I'm going backwards in treatment but I want to try. I don't have any other options anyway.
 

Jessi

Moderator
Yeah... a lot of doctors will medicate you from the top down. I am hearing of more and more cases of patients being started on the big guns and going down from there. I wonder how beneficial it is...
 
Actually, I started from the bottom up since my diagnosis in 2006. After trying Apriso and Asacol, Prednisone, etc, in early 2010 my doc gave me the option of a once a month shot which is supposed to be the latest and greatest, or sit hooked up to an IV every 8 weeks. I opted for the shot obviously. When the Cimzia failed, he said that Remi wouldn't work either. But without anything else to try, I switched docs and am now waiting for the Remicade. Unfortunately, I don't know of anyone else who has gone from Cimzia to Remicade. So I'm not exactly expecting a lot from it.

Personally, I can see how knocking the flare down with the strongest drug possible makes a lot of sense. The only problem is when the latest and greatest fails, there isn't much else to turn to.
 
I've only recently started on Remicade, but was told that if Remicade fails I can try Humira so I can't see why it would be any different going from Cimzia to Remicade. It's worth a try at least :) xx
 
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