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Can Remicade stop working after only 5 infusion?

Hi there. I started Remicade last Christmas. Though I never feel get a full remission because of sporadic abdominal pains and diarrhea, my last endoscope at the end of March shows that all ulcers have been healed, except for some minor erosion at the ileocecal valve. The doctor told me Remicade worked well for me.

I took my 5th infusion at the beginning of June. Then one week ago, I started to have significant symptoms. Severe pains below my belly button, diarrhea after each meal, lost some weight.

I cannot believe things change so fast. Is that Remicade is no longer working for me? I am worried.:(
 

afidz

Super Moderator
Definitely talk with your doctor. I think there are blood tests that can show if remicade is effective or not. Has anything in your life recently changed (stress levels? Diet? Sleep pattern? ) I've noticed the littlest change can have me down for a few days. What other meds have you tried?
Edit: I read your signature after I posted. My apologies. It says you are tapering off prednisone? Honestly that could be what is causing the pain. It's important to talk to your doctor. He may suggest a much slower taper.
 
Definitely talk with your doctor. I think there are blood tests that can show if remicade is effective or not. Has anything in your life recently changed (stress levels? Diet? Sleep pattern? ) I've noticed the littlest change can have me down for a few days. What other meds have you tried?
Edit: I read your signature after I posted. My apologies. It says you are tapering off prednisone? Honestly that could be what is causing the pain. It's important to talk to your doctor. He may suggest a much slower taper.
Thanks afidz. Your reply is very helpful. I started Remicade because pred was working worse and worse, and I had been no longer using it since the first remission.

The trouble is my ESR and CRP levels are always normal, even before Remicade (but I wasn't feeling well). So blood tests might not be indicative now.

I really had some life changes: before the onset on symptoms, I mistakenly ate some spicy food (and I regret a lot). And I had one final exam last week. Maybe these jointly give rise to the worsening of my condition.
 
You could get a fecal calprotectin stool test, it shows inflammation in the GI tract alone. Inflammatory markers in blood work are always normal for my son but fecal calprotectin has been a good indicator of inflammation for him.

There is a blood test that determines the level of remicade in your system and can help determine if dosage needs to be up or schedule needs to fall closer together. There are many who can't tolerate the normal schedule of every 8 weeks and go every six or even 5.

Lastly, pred could've been helping the remicade out and you are seeing symptoms because remicade isn't fullyb therapeutic yet. Which could mean you need a schedule tweak or a dosage tweak. I would discuss this with the GI. Sometimes the addition of an immune modulator like 6mp or methotrexate is needed.
 
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