Is anyone taking
- Thread starter Shoeless
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Ilysha
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Remicade
Hi Shoeless,
I'm on remicade and it works really well for me. I've been on it for about 3 years, with a one year break in the middle. I go in every 2 months to an outpatient clinic at teh hospital and get an infusion which takes 2-3 hours. Sometimes if you are feeling itchy they will give you some benadryl before the infusion which will make you sleepy,but take away the itch. Then they give the remicade. I used to need the benadryl, but now I just take an allegra the night before and day of the infusion, and its just fine. I also take 6mp and pentasa, but the remicade is really what keeps me healthy. By week about 6 or 7 I really start feeling more symptomatic and can't wait to get the next infusion. I just had my infusion on Tuesday, and by Friday I was feeling much better.
I've had no major side effects and hope it keeps working!
Good luck and be well!
--Ilysha
Hi Shoeless,
I'm on remicade and it works really well for me. I've been on it for about 3 years, with a one year break in the middle. I go in every 2 months to an outpatient clinic at teh hospital and get an infusion which takes 2-3 hours. Sometimes if you are feeling itchy they will give you some benadryl before the infusion which will make you sleepy,but take away the itch. Then they give the remicade. I used to need the benadryl, but now I just take an allegra the night before and day of the infusion, and its just fine. I also take 6mp and pentasa, but the remicade is really what keeps me healthy. By week about 6 or 7 I really start feeling more symptomatic and can't wait to get the next infusion. I just had my infusion on Tuesday, and by Friday I was feeling much better.
I've had no major side effects and hope it keeps working!
Good luck and be well!
--Ilysha
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Hi! I was on Remicade as well... and I was taking Remicade with Imuran(6mp)... I went straight to remission! Then we quit the Imuran and I switched to Humira(like Remicade only without the mouse protein).
But they always gave me a benedryl and a tylenol before the infusion and dripped tons of saline in before and after the infusion. I just always felt really sleepy after the infusions, and my blood pressure got really low during an infusion once... but I have normally low BP so they just watched it and I was fine. They will probably check your BP and heartrate every 15 minutes. They also drip the Remicade in in smaller increments before getting to like 250 cc. My process always took 3 hours. 30 minutes for the benedryl and tylenol and saline drip, then the whole infusion package took about 2 hours, and then 30 minutes for more saline to make sure I was okay to go home.
But they always gave me a benedryl and a tylenol before the infusion and dripped tons of saline in before and after the infusion. I just always felt really sleepy after the infusions, and my blood pressure got really low during an infusion once... but I have normally low BP so they just watched it and I was fine. They will probably check your BP and heartrate every 15 minutes. They also drip the Remicade in in smaller increments before getting to like 250 cc. My process always took 3 hours. 30 minutes for the benedryl and tylenol and saline drip, then the whole infusion package took about 2 hours, and then 30 minutes for more saline to make sure I was okay to go home.
K
kpratte
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Are you getting Humira via self administered shot? every 2 weeks?
- Ken
- Ken
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yes... oh boy is it fun [/sarcasm].... hurts really bad, but I guess its worth it.
Well when I got it, it was once and then wait two weeks and then again and wait four weeks and then again and wait eight weeks... and I then did it every eight weeks from then on. Yeah I'm not taking it anymore because they put me on Humira because its cheaper and takes less time than Remicade. I just give myself the shot every other week. I will say that Remicade is much less painful than Humira though.
K
kpratte
Guest
Sounds like "fun" :voodoo: I guess it's what you like, 3 hours in a hospital every 2months or an ouch every other week. Does it just hurt from the fact that you got a shot, or does it linger like a flu shot?katiesue1506 said:
- Ken
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No its neither... not really a shot feeling, the medicine just stings really really bad when it goes in. Kinda like burning yourself, only without the hot, just the sting. And I will say I'm pretty good at dealing with pain and I think this hurts BAD
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Katie, do you put the needle in slowly?
I was told the burning sensation was caused by the medication going back up the path the needle took. If you do a quick jab it's less likely to be painful.
I was on humira for a while and I know I put the needles in slow, and it burned quite a bit. Occasionaly I'd do it properly and it wouldn't hurt as much.
I was told the burning sensation was caused by the medication going back up the path the needle took. If you do a quick jab it's less likely to be painful.
I was on humira for a while and I know I put the needles in slow, and it burned quite a bit. Occasionaly I'd do it properly and it wouldn't hurt as much.
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Well I use the preloaded pen type... so i just push a button and it injects it for me... but i think it goes in rather quickly since its spring loaded.
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maybe thats it... maybe the meds gush in so fast that they gush right back out the needle path and cause stinging... all I know is that I've come to dread it every other week. And I make sure I use an ice pack to make myself numb 
I
Ilysha
Guest
Actually I did go off Remicade for about a year, and then went back on with no problems.
3 hours every other month is no big deal if it gives you the kind of relief it gave me from my crohn's symptoms.
Beyond the initial IV prick, the infusion doesn't hurt me at all. When I was doing a benadryl pre med, that did sting a bit, but I find that I can feel a thing when the remicade is being infused in my veins. THe worse part is having the nurse insert the IV since my veins aren't so good.
I'd give that or humira a try if your doc is recommending it.
Good luck.
3 hours every other month is no big deal if it gives you the kind of relief it gave me from my crohn's symptoms.
Beyond the initial IV prick, the infusion doesn't hurt me at all. When I was doing a benadryl pre med, that did sting a bit, but I find that I can feel a thing when the remicade is being infused in my veins. THe worse part is having the nurse insert the IV since my veins aren't so good.
I'd give that or humira a try if your doc is recommending it.
Good luck.
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If your veins are constricted with a burning injection, like if you are using a tourniquet, it makes it worse. When they injected the dye for my CT scan it the first time it burned slightly. The second time they had my arm in a position that slowed the blood flow and it really burned. I moved it and it went away when the blood flow increased.
Dan Bergman
Dan Bergman
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I don't think I had a copay... I just got it done and they sent the bill later and we then sent it to the insurance company and they told us how much they'd cover. About 73% I think?... not sure.
Copay for humira was 40 bucks for a three month supply.
Copay for humira was 40 bucks for a three month supply.
