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Not sure Remicade works this fast but....

I was diagnosed with severe Crohn's on March 20th. At one point the people that was helping me thought I was going to die. I had no energy whatsoever. hardly any strength. I couldn't even open a bottle of Ensure. I had no color in my face except chalky white. I was having diarrhea 20 times a day. I was originally put on Humira. About a month later my appendix ruptured with an abscess. A new G.I doc that I saw while in the Hospital said it was possible that my Crohn's caused the appendix issue but there was no way of knowing for sure. Anyway, they put in a drain and hoped the appendix healed itself after a strong round of antibiotics. I had the drain tube removed a week later. Took the antibiotics for 2 weeks total but I had to stop the Humira while my appendix healed. Saw my new G.I doc again and he suggested Remicade and 6mp. He said the combination of the 2 will work better and help heal my fistulas. Had to do a CT enterography to check my appendix and the rest of my guts. There was no new infection at my appendix and my appendix was healing. Never knew that it could heal itself. So with the good CT results, I started Remicade on June 28th. I had already been on 6mp for about 3 weeks.

The weeks leading up to June 28th I was weak. I still had no color in my face. Simply walking 30 feet wore me out. I was having constant stomach cramps with varying levels of discomfort. I was going to the bathroom 5-8 times a day with loose bowel movements. I had no appetite. I'd start eating and after 2 bites I just had to force myself to eat. On June 28th I had my first Remicade infusion. The next day I noticed my stomach wasn't cramping as bad. 2 days after the infusion I felt like my old self for the most part. I know Remicade doesn't work that fast. I read 2 to 12 weeks before anything could be seen. So what in the world was going on? 3 days after the infusion, for the first time in months, I had color back in my face. My bowel movements were becoming more solid. I actually went to the bathroom 2 times 3 days after my infusion. It's been nearly a year since I went to the bathroom just 2 times in 24 hours. In 3 days after my Remicade infusion, everything had turned around. I can not stop eating. My appetite is in over drive. I'll eat dinner and 10 minutes later I'm wanting something else. My energy has been charged to at least 85%. And I am no where near as weak as I was. Has anybody reacted to Remicade like this so soon? Is this like an initial tease and everything just goes to crap again until Remicade really kicks in? I talked to my G.I 5 days after my infusion and he seemed really curious about how I reacted to it.
 
Hi there

I’m glad to hear you are feeling so much better! I was told when I started Remicade some people feel the benefit as soon as the next day, and others can find it takes a few weeks. A lady there with me at the time when I had my first infusion was painfully thin, and by the time we went back for our second dose she had already gained some weight and said she felt amazing so it does happen!

Try not to worry and good luck, enjoy this feeling!
 

Scipio

Well-known member
Location
San Diego
Not Remicade, but when I started on Stelara it started bringing me relief from my Crohn's abdominal pain pretty quickly - within a week or so. Far faster than the months that Stelara is supposed to take.

So I don't whether my quick relief and yours are real or due to some psychological/placebo effect, but either way I'll take it and be happy about it.
 
I started on Remicade because I had a mass of fistulas that the surgeon couldn't do anything with. I was also on Azathioprine. The Remicade started working within days, and my fistulas all healed up quickly. That was the best I'd felt since I was diagnosed. Sadly, three years later I got peripheral neuropathy and had to go off. I'm now on Stelara and MTX and they seem to be working just as well now. Enjoy your remission :)
 
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