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Side effects of cimzia

I did my first injection on Tuesday of this week. I did both injections in my thigh, and since 3 days now I have had a dull ache that runs down my leg, starting in the thigh. I have also noticed that I have night sweats.

I have not seen these side effects listed in the drug insert. Any comments from the forum?

Jo Ann
Dx 1999 terminal ileum ( although appendectomy in 1981 may have been first sign)
4 bowel obstructions PLUS ONE MORE on 5/18/12
Imuran caused pancreatitis
No resection yet---UPDATE: Ileocecal resecton scheduled on 6/7/12
 
Last edited:

Crohn's Mom

Moderator
my daughter takes cimzia, but has not had night sweats as a side effect. she does the injections in her abdomen, so the dull ache hasn't happened either.

I am of no help to you, I am sorry. I hope it's not the Cimzia doing this to you and hope it clears up quickly :)
 
I had night sweats while on Cimzia, but I was flaring (the Cimzia wasn't working) and I attributed the sweats to the flare. No leg pain, though I did (and do) get foot cramps pretty often.
 
cimzia side effects

I have been taking cimzia for 1 1/2 years. Recently started having extreme fatigue the day after i administer my injections. On second day after I have nausea and abdominal pain. Not sure what is going on but it's getting old! I also take 75mg of imuran. Anyone else have these issues?
 
Been on Cimzia for 1 1/2 yr and starting to develop joint/bone pain in between injections. I have two more weeks before my next injection. It is not taking care of the fistulas as it had in the beginning. Very tough to even get out of bed. Anyone else dealing with this type of pain and Cimzia? Also on Imuran 150mg.
 
How often do you get your injections? I get mine every 4 weeks, but my friend gets hers every 2. Is it possible that your body needs it more often?
 
I am getting them every 4 weeks. I am due for my next one next week. I will definately keep track to see if it takes care of the pain and for how long.
 
I just had my schedule changed, literally minutes ago. Now I'm taking 400mg today, 200mg in two weeks, and 200mg two weeks after that. I've just been getting symptoms returning about a week of so before my next shot so my doctor and Cimzia study supervisor think this might work better.
 
Possiblel Cimzia help and I need input too :)

Hi, I'm new here and have read a lot of the posts related to Cimzia and think I can offer some insight, but I am search of my own help as well.

Okay, lots of these posts discuss the joint pain, overall disgustingly sick feeling for a few days post injections, headaches, dizziness and above all nausea (I also lost A LOT of hair the first 6 months). According to my doc (who is a Navy GI and of course doesn't have another patient "like me" - more on that later, so touches base with the Cimzia scientists a lot b/c of my effects). Anyway, according to my doc a lot of what we're feeling (because I'm in the same boat as you all) isn't so much the Cimzia, but rather the overlay of IBS to the Crohn's. I know that my joints hurt all of the time, my lower back feels like a semi-truck is sitting on it and my gut is so tender that even buttoning my jeans hurts like hell.

Here's my issue: I've started developing the beginnings of anaphylactic reactions to Cimzia. My lips are swelling, burning, itching, my throat itches, my ears itch (but aren't swelling yet). Luckily, I've had no trouble breathing (would be a real issue since I have asthma too!) but I'm anaphylactic to Remicaid as soon as the drip hits my vein, and even with pred on-board and benedryl the week before and during the infusion. Humira was a failure for me and Cimzia all in all is working well-minus the new reactions. I've been on Cimzia for 2yrs now and I do love what it's done for me internally. All of my scopes have been "clear" every 10 months or so when I get them done. My disease is strictly pereanal and unmoving. I presented with Crohn's in '96 at the age of 17. My disease presented with abcesses in both butt cheeks. These abcesses had eaten their way through me, literally. They started at the top of of my rectum, eating through my sphincter and still to this day leaving me with a nickel-sized hole up there, and then branching out to both cheeks and eating their way externally. I have 3 fistula tracks that are still active and draining, one in either butt cheek and then the one at the top of the rectum. Plus, there is a tiny one that's leaking through vaginally, but they cannot seem to find it during exams under anasthesia, nor during surgeries.
The point? Cimzia has done wonders for keeping my pereanal disease quiet and the fistulas open and draining. A fistulectomy is not an option for me because of the damage done internally from the abcesses, plus if my disease were to "flare" in that manner again I would only get more fistulas since my disease hasn't spread elsewhere. On the topic of fistulas, someone posted about fistulas draining and Cimzia not healing them. Here's what I do - I figure with all of this gross poop, mucus and other junk oozing out of us whenever it wants, I wear a thong. Why? Because first of all there has to be some level of femininity to all of this :) Secondly, because if you think about it a thong gets right up there where fistulas are and now that they make pantiliners for thongs specifically I don't have as much skin contact with whatever is oozing out of me because the thong and pantiliner are "catching" it, so to speak, before it gets further down in regular panties and sits there on a pad. I figure that a thong is closer to the action and can get the job done a lot quicker. My husband and surgeon think I'm nuts and just asking for pain, but buy a thong one size bigger, add a pantiliner and you're good to go :)

I need to know if others have/are experiencing reactions to Cimzia like mine? Any swelling of the lips, itching, etc...?

I truly think the joint pain, muscle pain, headaches and overall feeling like crap the few days post injection is just the fact that we're putting a TNF blocker into our body; which is already attacking itself by having Crohn's disease. This med, and Remicaid or Humira are designed to push down the system and therefore squelch the immune system from attacking our bodies. Our bodies/systems just don't like it. I think that there has to be some give as patients when we're doing medications like this that there will be bouts of pain, discomfort and overall crappy feelings for a little bit, but we feel better for a few weeks and then do it all over again. You have to weigh if your side effects/feelings post injection are worth it all.

For me, my doc and I decided to split my injections to ONE syringe every two weeks, therefore I don't get that waning feeling where I feel my symptoms rising to the surface again and then I go through that awful feeling for a few days. I can honestly tell you that splitting them does make a difference.

Granted, I'm on 6-9 20mg oxycontin everyday, 4-6 percocets PRN (nearly everyday), have Grave's Disease (thyroid and metabolic disease that is not under control), have asthma that is not under control and just overall don't do so well. I had an abdominal hysterectomy (I'm 35) in the beginning of February due to off and on bleeding, cramping, debilitating abdominal pain that was not Crohn's. They did the hysterectomy and found loads of scar tissue, adhesions and that the uterus had begun to attach itself to my abdominal wall through the scar tissue-not good.

So, having a hysterectomy recently, an ileostomy for 10yrs that was taken down in 2004, a small bowel resect, 2 hernia repairs, 6 abcess drainages via placing drains in my rectum, setons, etc.., loads of colonoscopies, loads of exams under anasthesia (because no one touches me while I'm awake), spending the past two years in and out of the ER for abdominal pain that they tell me is "stool burden in the bowel" and seemingly can't convince the docs that they're missing another narrowing of the small bowel because my symptoms are the same as when I needed the resect.

Point being, the Cimzia does work and I LOVED Remicaid. Had I not built-up antibodies while pregnant with my second child I would still be on Remicaid. The pain after infusion for a few days was well worth the feeling of a "new body" for 6 weeks. Cimzia is giving me the same thing basically, but now I'm starting to develop these really annoying reactions to it. My next injection in 2wks has to be done in the hospital and with the monitors on me, doing bloodwork simultaneously, etc...to watch my reaction and decide if it's worth moving forward.

Anyone out there feel the same? Have the same reactions? Feel the same about life in general --- that it just sucks sometimes?

Thanks. -Kate
 
Ok, before I'm helping I just have to say a few... non helpful things?

Your doctor saying that feeling poorly after injections is due to IBS is..well crap honestly. I don't have IBS, in fact I'd been misdiagnosed for 11 or so years with IBS before I was told I have Crohn's. My GI doc and Cimzia study researcher say that a lot of patients feel poorly after the injection. The joint pain is due to the fact that we have an autoimmune disease. Arthritis is also an autoimmune disease..which explains why most of the Crohn's and Arthritis treatments over lap. Now that's done.. :)

I'm so sorry that you are having problems with Cimzia now. I can't even imagine being allergic to something that has been helping me for a long while. I'm lucky that my case is quite mild compared to most people, so I can't really make comments on the fistula and abscesses - other than I think that your fistula isn't healing because of the Cimzia. I'm sure you know it slows healing, and that might be the reason why you have having issues (I have "Crohn's Rash on my shins mostly and when it present while I'm on Cimzia it takes them FOREVER to heal).

I wish I had more helpful information for you, but maybe you need to find a doctor who is more versed on your conditions? I know that when I'm dealing with a doctor who doesn't have a patient "like me" that I seem to feel a bit worse, not saying your doctor isn't great, but it might be helpful to have someone who has treated someone like you before.

I hope you feel a bit better soon and figure out if you are allergic or not. :D
 
I have had a similar situation with the lips swelling/ throat issues. I actually watched my lips swell up and finally figured out what was causing it. I think that because Cimzia is blocking our immune system it is making our allergies even worse and creating new allergies we never had before. I have been on Cimzia for about two years and it notices a few months back that my mouth/lips were swelling, it was so bad I could not even eat and then one morning I was brushing my teeth and saw my lips swell up. I'm pretty sure its the whittening products added to my tooth paste that was causing it. I stoped using that toothpaste and bought a just floride toothpaste and the swelling went away. I used the same tooth paste for years and never had a problem before so Im not sure why the allergy now but I definatly think Cimzia is messing with my body and making me allergic to things for the few days right after the shots. Weird.
 
Location
SC
Just finished the starter pack of Cimzia. After 2nd dose had two incidents waking up with my eye looking bloody, went to eye dr. after 2nd time it happened and he said I had inflammation in my right eye. Also after 2nd dose I've had 2 bouts of full body itching, ears, head, neck, face, lips, arms and legs. I don't know if it is related to Cimzia or not. I'm hoping it is because of the booster doses and will stop after I start the monthly injections.

I stopped imuran (after 2 years, started on 150mg and went to 250mg) because I noticed that my itching became worse everytime we increased the dose.

So I am at a loss, do I continue or ask my doctor to stop it now? Cimzia is my first injectable, I have not tried humira or remicade.
 
I have no idea whether or not your side effects are due to the Cimzia or not but I can tell you that when I first started my loading doses I did have side effects. They got better, much better after the end of the 2nd month. I felt fantastic actually. But getting back to the first two months, it was horrible, my whole mouth swelled up with soars and I had the worst stomache pains. I was also very fatigued and still get that way right around when my shots are due and sometimes the day after. but honestly when the loading doses were over and by body adjusted to this new medication I started feeling great, especially the energy levels. I really hope this happens to you as well

Good luck.

Donna
 
I finished my loading doses of cimzia last month and next week I'm due for my next shots. This week has been horrible with the fatigue and joint pain.
Usually I feel really lousy after my shots, maybe a day or so,light headed, exhausted, i end up sleeping for hours, after that my energy is back. So I do them after work and go to bed early. After a few days though, I feel like a new man. I'm thankful to have it. I can't really offer anything but my experience thus far.
I'm still trying to come to grips with the fact that I have a chronic illness..remission would be good. Right. About. Now.
 
Been on Cimzia for 1 1/2 yr and starting to develop joint/bone pain in between injections. I have two more weeks before my next injection. It is not taking care of the fistulas as it had in the beginning. Very tough to even get out of bed. Anyone else dealing with this type of pain and Cimzia? Also on Imuran 150mg.
I've been on Cimzia for RA for 2 1/2 yrs in the beginning I was taking 400 mg per month and found myself having pain way before my next shot, I know take 1 200 mg shot every 2 weeks it lasts so much longer and I very seldom have break through pain before my next shot. When I do have more pain before my next shot it is usually because I've over done it and have caused a bigger flare up than I normally have. Ask you dr if u can go to every 2 wks. I'm sure there would b no objection. Sure hope this has helped, good luck.
 
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