In hospital again, need advice!

[xoxava]

in hospital again, need advice!

Well I was admitted again yesterday and had a colonoscopy this morning. The c diff is cleared up. But my doc said my colon is horrible and I have a ton of colitis. I am getting ready to have my TB test done and he wants to start remicade. I've browsed the treatment forum a bit. But does remicade seem to be the way to go? I know every med has side effects but is there something terrible I should look out for/worry about?

 

[Cat-a-Tonic]

Sorry to hear you're in the hospital again! I haven't been on Remicade myself so I can't say, but I know a lot of people on here have experience with it so I'm sure they can answer your questions. Have you had a look around the Remicade Club sub-forum? I'm sure there's lots of info in there.

Whatever you end up doing, I really hope it makes you feel better! Poor thing, you've been through the wringer lately and you really deserve some relief already. Let us know how it goes and if you decide to go with the Remicade or not.

 

[Mark63]

Hi,

I hope the Remicade works for you. It never really stood a chance with me due to having to stop and start treatment due to recurrant infection. Remicade is used as a rescue treatment in severe cases of Crohn's/Colitis and has been shown to be very effective. Side effects before I became intollerant were minimal.

Mark

 

[MADiMarc]

I loved that stuff! I had NO side effects & it really helped quite a lot. I became immune or built up antibodies to it so then it stopped working :frown:
hey, give it a go. It could really help. Only one way to find out.
:goodluck:

Michele

 

[hainman]

hiya.im sorry to hear that,i was on it for a year but never had any bad reaction to it.my problem was pred steriods,think my body has developed a crush on them lo cant seem to taper down of them but you should give it a go,if you worry about what everything you take does to you it could worry you sick,think possitive and you'll be tikety boo.....

 

[Walt]

wishing you well...

Hi Ava,
Sorry to hear you're in the hospital again.
Since you have tried other treatments but are still in rough shape,
biologics seem like a good next-try for you.

The warnings on all the big drugs are scary if you read them.
I hope you find some relief somewhere.
Sending you strength and energy,
hang in there,
Walt

ps

 

[ChefShazzy]

Sorry to hear you're not well - when I was sick with my last flare, I was given the choice of Remicade or Humira. I chose Humira because with Remicade you have to go in to the hospital for the infusions, and they take 2-3 hours every... 8 weeks I think? Anyways, I preferred the convenience of giving myself the Humira injections at home. With Remicade, some people get Benadryl before the infusion, I guess to prevent a reaction... but, a bonus with being at the hospital for the infusion, is that if you DO have a reaction, there are nurses and docs to help you out. I think at this point, after reading through your experiences, the benefits of Remicade far outweigh the risks. Hope you feel better real soon, Remicade has really helped a lot of people out!! All my best,

 

[Nytefyre]

Remicade Rocks! Until it doesn't anymore, but that's besides the point.

But like Sharon said, I greatly preferred the Humira over the Remicade, for the exact reasons she stated.

Good luck!

 

[Texas]

Agree that Remicade rocks... and I don't want to think about when it doesn't anymore. I'm going on a year of use and I <3 Remicade.

My doctor was very reluctant to start me on Remicade and like you he suggested it after I ended up in the hospital during a horrible flare and fissure surgery.

I was previously on a ridiculous dose of prednisone which made me gain weight, caused bad acne, and gave me a major moon face. The Remicade has no visible side effects for me. Like some of the other posters I have struggled with infections due to low immune system (reoccuring staph has decided to torture me). BUT I feel better than I ever have.

 

[Texas]

Also- on the Remicade infusions vs. Humira shots-

Becuase both cause you to be immuno suppressed I prefer to go to the doctor's office for infusions. Like I said I've had problems with infections so before the infusion the nurse sort of checks any questionable spots, answers any questions, etc. It so happens that my infusion nurse is housed in the office of an infectious diseases doctor's office so if she is unsure of something the doctor checks me out before the infusion. This gives me peace of mind for each round of treatment.

I know that if I was giving myself shots I would be calling/making appts to see the doctor for questions anyway.

 

[bobtheman]

i was just in the hospital for 2 weeks and the first time i was prednisone and flagyl/vanco probiotics and mesalamine brought me out of flareup. this time i was on 60mg iv steroids all that stuff and zyvok for a mrsa infection. the prednisone didnt work this time so i started remicade. im in bad shape but it has helped the bleeding so far

 

[Texas]

I hope you start to feel better! I have not had any bleeding since shortly after Remicade and it used to be a pretty big problem for me.

Good Luck!! We're going to be staph and Remicade buddies.

 

[ameslouise]

Ava - Sorry to hear you are in the hosp! Good luck with the Remi -hope it brings you good reliefe!

- Amy

 

[BLM]

Hi Ava, I was in a flare all last year. Tryed almost everything, except Remicade....once we did it, I was amazingly better. I am so glad I did it, and will continue to do it....its the only thing that has taken my pain away in 15 years, and made me feel descent again. Now, I still have my bad days, but very few and far between. I hope you get to feeling better. Big Hugs!!