EDIT: Let’s cool it with the downvotes, dudes. We’re not out to cut funding to your black hole detection chamber or revoke the degrees of chiropractors just because a couple of us don’t believe in it, okay? Chill out, participate with the prompt and continue with having a nice day. I’m sure almost everybody has something to add.
Have a prednisone horror story as well, couldn’t taper off without severe withdrawal and it led to me needing emergency surgery after an ulcer rupture, which led to my resections and eventual clinical remission. Did they actually test you for antibodies against infliximab or is that just a general safety precaution they’re following? I was off it for a couple months because of coverage issues but they had no problem starting me on it again and following normal infusion protocols. I think I’ve been on it for 15 years now. My GI specialist was one of the first in the area to start with the “top-down” approach for treatment around when I had my surgeries. Etrolizumab looked promising but the Phase III failed to deliver unfortunately, was hoping for that one if I had issues with infliximab.
They did test me for antibodies and I was positive for them sadly. That’s quite a horrifying story for prednisone though, ironically I’ve always had a difficult time with the withdrawal symptoms from it during a taper-down of it, whereas with something like most opioids I pretty much have zero problem stopping them even abruptly, aside from a headache for a few days. For me I was never told about the long-term side effects from prolonged usage of prednisone, which I’m now being forced to deal with - an example of such is that it decayed most of the calcium/enamel in my teeth so this whole year I’ve had numerous root canals, fillings, and tooth extractions done and its not even over with. Honestly, I’m afraid of needing dentures before I even hit 40 (and I’m in my mid twenties)… Then there’s the high chance of bone density issues, which I’m sure I’ll end up with (if I don’t already have such issues)… and I still have yet to shed all of the extra weight that I gained from it.
Works wonders for some people on a short term basis, but I’ll never choose to be on prednisone ever again, short of some very exigent circumstances… and even then, I don’t want to fall into the problem of starting it and not being able to be pulled off of it without declining again really rapidly (which is what led to me staying on it for so long).