• Welcome to Crohn's Forum, a support group for people with all forms of IBD. While this community is not a substitute for doctor's advice and we cannot treat or diagnose, we find being able to communicate with others who have IBD is invaluable as we navigate our struggles and celebrate our successes. We invite you to join us.

Remicade and no bowel movement for 3 days

I haven't been on here forever but I had a question. My son started Remicade on Monday. It seemed to go well and he did not have a bowel movement until the next morning. It was almost completely normal and then an hour later it was kind of pre-Remicade diarrhea but there was no blood. After that he hasn't gone again. He feels good and is playing basketball, swimming,fishing and eating. He did have a cramp feeling tonight and thought he had to go but didn't. He had been in a flare for 3 months before, so he was not eating alot of fruits and vegetables because they made things worse. Is it normal to not go for days when starting the medication? He was tapering off a steroid and before he had the infusion he was going 10-12x a day. I was so glad that going so many times stopped but now worried about him not going at all. Any experiences would be helpful.
 
Just keep monitoring him. If he doesn't go after 2 to 3 days... which can be a normal reaction to remicade working... happened with me... give him an OTC stool softener and increase his fiber. Follow up with his GI too. Glad his flare has subsided. Steroids are the worst to be put on. Just hope remicade helps him for a long time to come. It can lose efficacy in some. If I may ask, what is his natural hair color? Red hair tends to have a genotype that makes medication less effective, so crohns is that much worse... like mine... joy.
 

CarolinAlaska

Holding It Together
That would have me nervous as well. Probably just didn't have enough in his system to create a decent stool. Hopefully he'll go soon.

Daniel, I hope that isn't the case with my redheaded daughter. I am really hoping Remicade can be her miracle drug too.
 
Thanks for the replies and I am glad it is working for you daniel. He has blond hair. Delzicol, Lialda, and Pentasa were not working for him. He has had to go on a steroid 3x and this last time it decreased the times he went-1 to 2x a day but there was alot of blood. Sometimes the 1st time he went it was just a ton of blood. Even though he started going many more times as steroid was decreased, there was alot less blood and sometimes none at all. I don't know if the steroid was also part of the problem. The Dr went to Remicade because the steroid didn't work and they messed up a test for 6mp and had to repeat it. This flare has been going on since Christmas and apparently 6mp can take up to 3 months to work so we're at Remicade. He ended up going this morning 4x! and it was alot! No blood though and after the 4x in about an hour he hasn't gone again. Dr said that his body is probably adjusting. I know there is still inflammation because everything wasn't completely normal- thinner than it should be and some was liquid. He has been tapering off the steroid and is down to 5mg and before the Remicade on Monday he was going 10-12x a day. One dose of Remicade and he didn't go until the next day and then not for 4 days so it is doing something. He goes for the next infusion next Monday and I am hoping it works well for him. He says he feels great. CarolinAlaska my son is 15 too- I hope the medication works for your daughter :)
 

Maya142

Moderator
Staff member
It can take a while for Remicade to really work - it took 4 infusions with my daughter. She did feel better after the 2nd one but it was after the 4th that we saw significant improvement. It might take a while before he reaches his new normal for BMs.

CarolinAlaska- The nice thing about Remicade is that there is a lot of flexbility with the dose and the frequency - most doctors will go all the way up to 10mg/kg every 4 weeks if necessary (the standard dose is 5mg/kg every 8 weeks). So I wouldn't worry too much yet. My daughter was even on experimental high dose Remicade which was 20mg/kg every 4 weeks (but that was for her arthritis and not her IBD which responded to a much lower dose).
 
Top