Can Remicade Cause Depression and Mood Swings

[cummings0309]

My husband takes Remicade for Crohn's Disease. He has severe mood swings after taking Remicade and then high and lows that resemble Depression. Are there any reported cases of this happening with anyone else?

[Ppowell1]

I have severe chronic plaque psoriasis and am starting my third year of remicade. I have noticed my mood swings going more and more to depression and just not caring anymore in the past few months. I have researched side effects but can't find anything contributing to my mental state. I just can't concentrate anymore. Recommended meditation isn't helping much. I am afraid to say to much to my doctor for fear of him taking me off remicade. It is what's keeping me alive. I'm not that concerned about dying, I just rather it not be anytime soon and my psoriasis will kill me.

[Margymack]

My sister who has suffered depression has completely gone off the planet since being put on infliximab. She is now in a mental health facility and thinks she is possessed by satan. The doctors say it is not related to the Remicade . I think it could be this as it happened after the first infusion ( within a couple of weeks) . She has tried to kill herself twice. She has never done this before.

[Devina2008]

I'm in tears reading all your posts because I can relate to all these stories of 'down time', depression, anger, ect.  My husband started his infusions in April 2013 after his second surgery for crohns.  I had spoke with the Dr. At one point about my husbands 'downs' afterwards and how I felt that he was having some depression.  My husband passed it off as it wasn't that he was depressed it was just that he didn't really want to do anything..(DUH).  So we went to see a counselor who flat out told me that people who live with disorders such as his can often feel a gap and have 'down' times. At this point iI'm starting to think I'm going crazy and there really wasn't anything wrong with him taking Remicade; that I was the problem.  I started looking into my hormones thinking that maybe I was the one having the swings and that he was just fueling off of me having a bad day. Now I'm walking on eggshells afraid to even ask a question sometimes in fear of it starting another anger session. Tonight's battle started with a simple question that progressed to a broken chair and wall items being bounced off the wall as he left. I start running everything in my head together as far as his infusion on the seventh, him complaining the past two nights of his knees and joints hurting, and his mood the past few days. When I go back to our last arguement that lead me to buy a pack of Ciggs (I'm not a smoker but my needed it for my nerves) it was after his previous infusion. Each MAJOR even I can document leads to an infusion within two weeks before. The scary part is that the anger and swings are progressively getting worse. I'm at the point of being scared of him. I WILL be calling the Dr. first thing in the morning because after reading this page I know depression isn't the only major side affect to watch out for! I feel as though I should have seen this long before now. I do encourage ANYONE seeing signs of anger or aggression to please call the Dr. ASAP.

[Elephantsam]

I have been on remicade for almost a year.  After every single injection, usually 6-10 hours after, I will have a sort of break-down.  I have extreme rage, I cry uncontrollably and yes, I take it out on my loved ones.  I always thought that this was a result of being on birth control AND remicade, but now I am not sure.  I am not saying that I go through a long period of depression, but I definitely have "down days" where I don't talk to anyone and I'll just sit in my room in the dark.  My boyfriend is extremely worried about me bringing up past wrongs of his.  I get somewhat paranoid and very angry at every single thing he has done to upset me in the past.  I accuse him of being disloyal and trying to humiliate me on purpose.  I also have severe separation anxiety when he goes away for long periods of time.  In addition to this, I have difficulty staying asleep every night.  I wake up once every hour and feel exhausted during the week.

[sosmaile]

My partner has just initiated Remicade therapy and I have noticed after the first two doses that he is aggressive, distant, and 2-3 times more than the prednisone "blues" that I've gotten accustomed too. He is usually strong willed and positive but now just the oppisite. He is taking it for his U.C. and I am finding it hard to tolerate him sometimes, I love him sooo much. He stood by me during chemo and I will with him. I understand what you guys are going through. Please advise if you can...

[HeyJude12]

I was doing well mentally and emotionally for more than 5 years after being diagnosed with ulcerative colitis (although at the time I was coping with all the pain, cramping, etc). In spite of the frequent BMs and daily pain, I was able to complete a challenging masters degree and exercised vigorously for an hour almost every day.

After starting Remicade, I lost all my motivation. Most days I could barely make it to work, and I even went on short term disability for awhile. I thought it was depression and saw a couple of pyschiatrists. The antidepressants didn't help much. I had trouble concentrating. After work I went home and straight home to bed. I quit having a social life. I didn't care that I didn't have a social life. Some weekends I didn't even leave my bedroom. I quit taking care of my yard and my home and my kids (17 and 23) had to take care of me. I have had some mild depression that lasted a week or 2 in the past, but nothing like this! I don't feel sad or cry or feel suicidal or anything like that.

It has now been 13 weeks since my last infusion and I feel quite a bit better. I started taking low dose naltrexone prior to stopping Remicade. I work for a pharmaceutical and I urge anyone who has these type of symptoms to report it to the company that makes Remicade or to the FDA. Drug companies have to report side effects to the FDA and track all the problems that are reported to them.

I have regular blood work to check for drug induced lupus, which Remicade can cause, and so far that is negative.