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?

[Bumblebee71]

I can totally relate to what your going through. My husband started remicade April of this year for his crohns. Before the remicade he was a totally different person. He has terrible mood swings and depression. He is obsessed with relationships from his past and doesnt seem to care about how i feel. He is making decisions that are not totally thought through. Its taking a big toll on our marriage and we have only been married for two years. Im not sure what to do anymore.

[sandyy65]

I just had my first remicaide treatment and i seem to be screaming alot at the people i care most about. I feel over whelmed for no reason and little things seem to set me off the only thing that hepls is my anxiety med. i hope this does not last long please let me know how thing are going for your family.

[pink0864]

My 13 year old daugher was diagnosed with Juvenille Rheumatoid Arthritis and Uveitis (inflammation of the Iris) at age 2 and 4, repectively.  She is on methotrextate and has been on Remicade for 4 years now to help control both.  I never had a problem until last year.  My daughter has also gone through a big change.  She's full of anxiety, especially at bedtime.  She also has mood swings.  She is also having trouble falling asleep at night.  She is very restless and it can take her up to 2 hours to finally fall asleep.  She is extremely exhausted the next day and it is always an effort to get her up in the morning.  She too lacks motivation and seems to have lost her focus in school and the desire to  do well in school.  She was an honor student but due to falling grades was taken out.  She never had sleep issues, as she's always been my best sleeper and slept without a nightlight and the door closed.  She never had a problem before with schoolwork and her personality was always pleasant.  Now she flies off the handle very easily.  It is very stressful being around her because you don't know what mood she will be in.  I am convinced the changes in her are from Remicade but I haven't found anything online that confirms these side effects.  Is your son still on Remicade and is he doing better?

[DrewMcEw]

My wife has been taking Remicade for Crohn's Disease for 5 months now and, like all of you, I have noticed a drastic change in her behaviour over the past 3 months.  She's become extremely impulsive, aggressive, distant and detached.  I've researched the side effects of using Remicade and hadn't come across a correlation until I came across this forum.  Our marriage seems to be unravelling before my eyes and her strange behaviour is affecting our 2 yr old son.  One odd specific trait of her behaviour is that she seems to want to retrieve and hold on to past issues in her (and our) life that have long since been resolved (no, this behaviour is not exclusive to our relationship; work issues, past friendships, her immediate family all are fair game).  She just wants to run away from everything, even things that are non-issues in actuality.  Does this sound familiar to anyone?

[brj2012]

I know the original post is over a decade old, but I wanted to post my severe adverse reaction to Remicade for anyone considering this method of treatment for Crohn’s disease.

I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease 5/24/2021. I was prescribed Remicade in May of 2022. I had my first infusion on 5/12/2022. Second was 5/27/2022. Third was 6/27/2022. Fourth was 8/22/2022.

I had reactions ranging from:

Chest and throat tightening — this occurred during infusions. I was told this was a minor allergic reaction, and to take Benadryl before infusions.

Vomiting — occurred after infusions.

Severe joint pain, swelling, and joint immobility. There were multiple ER visits for this:

My jaw locked into place and I couldn’t open it; my knees stiffened and swelled to the point I could barely walk; and my shoulder locked into place and I couldn’t move it.

I was told by the GI doctor that this wasn’t the Remicade. He said it could be Rheumatoid Arthritis, and to see a rheumatologist. I believed him, and I was so sick and trying to manage a full time job, I didn’t take the time to research if the Remicade was causing my problems.

I started to notice psychiatric symptoms after the 4th infusion. I had an anxiety/manic/depressive episode, and increased aggression. I assumed it was my preexisting condition (generalized depression/anxiety disorder), and asked my PCP to increase my Buspar dosage.

On 12/19/22, I had my 5th and final infusion, and experienced a severe adverse psychiatric reaction. Within 3 days of the infusion, I had entered a deep psychosis, believing I was the devil, could control the weather, and the government was after me. I had other auditory and visual delusions, hallucinations, and paranoia.

I shaved my freaking head (I am a 28 year old woman).

All of this lasted 6 months, until the latter part of June 2023.

I am still recovering.

This poison should not be on the market.

Anyone considering using this drug should monitor their mental/emotional health closely. There clearly haven’t been enough studies into the adverse side effects of this “medication.”

[Bevett]

I have only had 2 loading doses of Remicade. I feel strange. I have noticed more aggressive tendacies and dreams. Will monitor.