New Member/remicade

Hello, just joined this forum...I'm on a couple of other IBD forums, but this one seems to be a little better...Meaning, more of the topics that refer to my condition...The other forums I'm a member of seem to be more along the lines of Crohns..I was just diagnosed in March of this year (28 years old) , and have just now achieved remission...The only medication that has worked for me has been a pretty high dose of Prednisone...As soon as I tapered to a lower dose, I started to flare again...Mainly blood, mucus, and frequency...Not really any diareaha, thank goodness!!! I'm taking remicade infusions right now...I had my first one Sept. 27th...I go for the second one Oct. 10th...So far so good, except I'm still am on Prednisone...Hopefully be coming off that soon...I guess I'll see if the remicade is working once I'm off the steroids...Any input from remciade experiences is appreciated...I'm still a little nervous about that stuff!!!  Anyway, I just thought I would join this forum as I saw several questions from people that I might be able to answer, or share my experiences with...Have a good day

Hi bk1579, and welcome to HealingWell. I've been on Remi for over two years now and am doing really well, living a normal-type life! That's not to say that I don't get the occasional UC symptom such as achey joints, rumbly tummy, and loose stools, but it doesn't happen too often. Are you taking anything besides the Remicade such as Imuran or 6mp? I didn't have any problems tapering off the pred, but it sure was nice to get off of it! Take care, and if you go up above the blue bar to "Google Custom Search" you can search about the Remicade topic and get some good info.

There are people here who have been on Remicade for a lot longer than me so I'll just tell you that so far it's done wonders for me. I've had three infusions and been able to taper off the prednisone without any problems. Hope you can too.

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Diagnosed with UC in Feb. 2005

For me, Remicade has been a life saver!!! I had yet another horrible flare last December and went on Prednisone for the 4th time. My doctor started me on Remicade at the end of January and it really made a difference. I was able to come off of the Prednisone very easily which is something that never happened in the past. I've been able to get off Colazal and now I'm just taking 6MP and Canasa suppositories which were just added recently. I had a colonoscopy 5 years ago and my colon was diseased up to to 65cm. I had another colonoscopy 3 weeks ago and my colon is HEALED and only slightly inflammed up to 15cm (hence the suppositories). Basically, the Remicade has healed my colon and is keeping me in remission. I've had tremendous success and have been able to get my life back to normal. For me, it has been a wonder drug. Hopefully you will have as much success as I have had as well as the others on this board. Good luck!!

Thanks for the response everyone...Glad to hear all is well with the remicade treatment...LoneyLane, I'm not currently taking Imuran or 6mp...My Dr. originally wanted to start me on Imuran before remicade, but decided against it so I could get off of the steroids a little quicker..I'm not sure if he will put me on either drug while on remicade or not...I've read a lot of post where people do and it must be a common thing...Hopefully all goes well with my next infustion on Monday...Last time they gave me 50mg of benedryl that knocked me out about all day...I think this time, they're going to try 25mg...Maybe it will keep me from sleeping all day...Take care everyone, and thanks for all of you input...

Brandie