Moving on to Remicade?

[lbwp]

I have been on 20-Methotrexate/Diclofinac/Folic Acid for 15wks. I still am having symptoms of Rheumatoid Arthritis even though it is Seronegative. My Dr. wants me to now start Remicade infusions. Reading about the side effects/mortality law suits on the internet about this drug is really scary. Has anyone here w/Rheumatoid Arthritis taken Remicade infusions? Did they work for you? What side effects did you get from it? This RA disease & the drug treatments are so scary to me! I have 18mo. old twins & I need to live a long time yet to see them grow up. I'm so afraid of what these drugs are going to do to me like shorten my life or kill me but I've got to do something to improve the quality of my life too. Suffering w/pain in my hands all the time is not fair to my young children or husband either.

Lisa

[nooyawker]

I know exactly what youre going thru. I have been there. Just the other day I called my doctor and told her I was freaking out reading about the side effects of enbrel (thats what I take.) She told me not to read the stuff just throw it out. I have to tell you I feel MUCH better since taking enbrel. I believe it is similar to remicade. And I have to give myself the injections something I never thought I could do. I alrady tried mtx, arava, sulfazamine, and other stuff that didnt help much. I dont have any side effects from enbrel. I dont know if anything will hapen down the road but I dont think so. You have to realize that in this society where everyone wants to sue, if only one person has some side effect it has to be included in the medical info sheet that you get with the medication. I guess its a decision each person must make for themselves, but as my dr. said, untreated rheumatoid arthritis is scary too. You could wind up crippled. You should go for the remicade, I'm betting you will feel so much better. Just keep alert to any weird symptoms and get all the tests that your dr. orders. That way if anything goes wrong, you can just stop the remicade. Oh, and be careful what you read on the internet.

[kstaples]

Originally Posted by lbwp

I have been on 20-Methotrexate/Diclofinac/Folic Acid for 15wks. I still am having symptoms of Rheumatoid Arthritis even though it is Seronegative. My Dr. wants me to now start Remicade infusions. Reading about the side effects/mortality law suits on the internet about this drug is really scary. Has anyone here w/Rheumatoid Arthritis taken Remicade infusions? Did they work for you? What side effects did you get from it? This RA disease & the drug treatments are so scary to me! I have 18mo. old twins & I need to live a long time yet to see them grow up. I'm so afraid of what these drugs are going to do to me like shorten my life or kill me but I've got to do something to improve the quality of my life too. Suffering w/pain in my hands all the time is not fair to my young children or husband either.

Lisa

Hello - I've had four or five infusions of remicade so far and only after the second one did I feel remarkably better - it was like a miracle. But every treatment since then - I've had poor and poorer results. Stomach cramps first and then now the pain and swelling in joints are still there. My feet feel better. I guess it must be helping marginally or I probably wouldn't be able to move at all but I guess that one time when I was so well - I was hoping that would be a permanent thing. I'm still taking methotrexate and prednisone. I've tried Humira and that didn't work. Not sure what else there is to try until something new comes out. You should try remicade at least because so many people I've spoken to felt remarkably better.