my daughter has ulcerative colitis they want to put her on remicade?

Question

she has been on steriods since jan. they got her down to 2 1/2 mil and she had a bad flare up in july then they put her back up to 40 now shes back down to 20 .They tried metocapapurion6 I think thats what its called .They had to take her off in 2 weeks it was damaging her liver,So now they want her to go on remicade. I am scared to death of this med. Can anyone give us advice???

Answer 1

Remicade is given when other meds are either not tolerated or not responding. It is given via I.V. .

Liver function test will have to be done routinely with this med It can also cause a decrease in Hemoglobin.

Since this medication is an immunosuppresant she will more likely get sick easier.

Ulcerative Colitis can be a VERY serious disease. Do not be scared about new meds.

During my pharmacology class my instructor gave us all a great resource for pharmacologic information.

Visit www.rxlist.com for any and all medications that you have questions about. It is very helpful and easy to understand. The first couple of pages per medication you won't understand but after that you will be able to.

Good luck and your daughter should be fine.

Answer 2

Ulcerative colitis is a disease that totally limits the life of
the patient. Patients get to the point where they cannot
go any place unless they know where the bathroom is.
They may return to the bathroom numerous times before
leaving the house. If someone is in the bathroom, it
causes them to panic cause they have no control. This
disease does have an effect on the liver.
I know of someone, very close to me, who spent years of
their life (about 20 years) with the stresses of this disease. They also used many drugs the doctors tried and it also had an effect on their liver. They were going to place them on Remicade also, but their liver went bad. They finally got the colon removed and said that had they known this before how free they would feel and being able to do what they wanted, they
would of got it done sooner. They have to change a
ileostomy/colostomy bag....but it has given them back their lifestyle.
From what you stated about the medications she has
been on so far, it sounds like she is advanced in this
disease. You can type the name of this drug in the
search engine and it will give you alot of information on it.
Most medications are used to lessen symptoms or
prevent flare up..they may not be a cure.

Crohns disease and ulcerative colitis are two disease
that is treated with remicade and is also used for
arthritis. I would talk with the doctor and be sure this
is what she wants to do. If she tries it and it doesn't help...
then consider surgery. All medications have side effects
and some of them serious ones. The doctor weighs the
pros and cons of whether the benefit in using the drug
outweighs any side effects it has.

http://www.gihealth.com/html/education/drugs/remicade.html

I know this isn't much help...I can only go by what I know
about how much and how long and how agonizing it was
for someone else who had this.

Answer 3

i think of itis extra probably to be any incorrect way around - a flareup of ulcerative colitis motives a lot of tension and tension! My flareups by no potential seem to have been extra on with the aid of something specifically, yet they brought about a lot of tension, as all and sundry who has had the ailment can comprehend. After the reality, you will continually think of of a few stressful element occurring in the past a flareup, by way of fact this is basically existence. particular, if the physician asks, you notably much hit that jerk who cut back you off at 60mph and then hit the brakes the day in the past as we talk. Or, the dryer end, and the repairman won't be in a position to come till Thursday. yet those stresses are basically on a daily basis existence and don't truly reason the flareups - you may desire to discover some thing stressful that occurred 12 months a 12 months, and maximum do no longer precede something occurring alongside with your colitis. luckily I had my colon bumped off an prolonged time in the past, so not extra flareups and a good deal much less tension in my existence. existence is robust.

Answer 4

I have a friend taking this and a daughter who may be taking this. It has to be monitored. My friend says she wouldn't be able to do anything without this medication. My daughter has been able to avoid it so far, but it may not always be like this. I got my daughter some Aloe Vera gel/juice to drink daily while going through her flare up. Her doctor said it was okay for her to have. She also took peppermint tea which she felt really helped. It seemed the flare-up was much shorter this last time. She has to avoid some foods and drinks during this time. It frustrates her, but I said why would you want to take something that makes you feel bad? She avoided all the things that made her feel worse. I think this helped. When it settled down, she went back to her coffee, etc. She is okay for the time being.

Answer 5

every single medication out there, including tylenol and aspirin have potential negative side effects. You have to weigh the possible good against the potential bad and make an informed decision....which is what doctors do. I would suggest you need to assert yourself and have a talk with your daugher's doctor and voice your concerns about the medication, ask why he thinks it is worth the risk for her to take it.