Have you experienced oily skin, acne, or other skin related side effects from your Remicade prescription? If so, please tell us about them in the comments section.
6 Responses to “Remicade & Acne”
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How to clear your skin (based on clinical studies, our visitors experiences, and our own research):
Vitamins / Supplements
With a meal, 3-4 times per day: 3 mgs of boron, Vitamin B Complex 50, 25-50 mgs of Zinc. Once per day, with a meal: Multi vitamin, Fish Oil (Not Cod Liver Oil), 2000 IUs of Vitamin D. This alone may end acne.
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Get outside during the day!
You need daylight to suppress melatonin so you can really crank it out at night. Stay in the shade, but you must see sky. 12+ hours is optimal, an hour in the am and at noon may work. No sunburns, sunglasses or hats!
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Fix your sleep cycle
Go to sleep at the same time every night. Ten o'clock is optimal. Sleep in complete darkness, and wake up without an alarm. 8.5+ hours is best. Try to keep your evening activities calm and in relative darkness. It is nearly impossible to improve acne without sleeping properly.
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Get your exercise
Workout for 30-60 minutes, 4-5 hours before bedtime, every day. Eat meat beforehand (within an hour). You are moving Tryptophan into the brain. Additional exercise is great, but never close to bedtime. Outdoor exercise is best. Make sure you work up a good sweat.
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Eat the right things
Eliminate gluten, dairy and processed foods altogether. Cut back on soy and sugars including fruit. Use unlimited extra virgin olive oil, but no soy / vegetable / other oils. Eat tomatoes cooked in olive oil (or tomato juice), carrots, and broccoli every day. Eat sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds before bedtime.
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Other Stuff
Wash only twice/day. Shave daily (men). Don't use topical products. Use jojoba oil or moisturizer only as necessary to avoid dry skin. Avoid drugs and alcohol. Relax. Life is good!
Don’t Do This!
Avoid kelp, too much iodine (iodized salt, sea salt is ok), alcohol, drugs, harsh topical medicines like benzoyl peroxide, over-washing, antibiotics, stimulants (ritalin,caffeine) within 10 hours of bedtime, sleep deprivation, sleeping with the light on, going to the bathroom in the middle of the night (drink less water at night!).
Do Your Best
If you have acne, chances are you are violating a lot of these rules. No one expects you to fix everything at once. Make changes as you can, experiment, and see what happens. Once your skin is great, you can add back in certain foods and lifestyles that are important to you. If something turns out to be a trigger, you'll figure it out pretty quick.
YES! I have never had acne, then when I started Remi in Oct ’10, I have been bombarded with acne. Hairline, jawline and cheeks! Nothing seems to help. But, I will take the acne over the pain from Crohn’s.
YES! According to the Compendium of Pharmaceuticals and Specialties (CPS), acne or an acneform rash is rare but can occur with Remicade! My acne started about one year after remicade infusions, I am still on them, and my acne is still active, crohn’s quite quiet ! as we all say we will put up with acne versus putting up wtih crohn’s! HOWEVER – this acne can hurt, leaves scars, pits, dark freckle spots, scabs, can itch when pimples come up, can hurt like a hive when they pop up, do not squeeze as they are not like a normal squeezable zit – they will only get worse, harder, etc. IF you leave them alone, gentle washing only, they do dry up – but mine are almost welt like and leave a bump for days – if I squeeze they bleed, crack get sore…my face, behind ears and under jawline, down one side of arm (i switch both arms for infusions) and all over back – really bad, looks bad, feels bad, but I still feel way better on remicade than not – use makeup to cover up – or ignore and don’t look at self
– DO NOT LET DOCTORS TELL YOU IT IS NOT REMICADE – IT IS REMICADE – it is in nurses drug books, CPS, (in the US any dr or hospital drug reference book) they all say it!!!!!! can cause acne,,,even a pharmacist will tell you this – it can also cause depression too……
Thanks Heather! I try not pick them, as they do hurt and turn red regardless. Fortunately, mine are only on the face/neck area. I also went through a bought of anxiety which I blamed on the Remicade, but that is under control with Paxil, as are my hot flashes **smirk**.
Started Remicade infusions about 17 weeks ago. I have noticed that I have acne more and more. It is along my hair line, jaw line and back of neck and on chest.Never had acne this bad before. I also noticed that my skin is more oily, and hair gets oily. I am trying to deal with it because the treatment is working wonders for my ulcerative colitis.
I’ve been on Remecade now for over a year, I had acne pretty bad before i was diagnosed with Crohns. I was on prednisone for a long time, which we all know makes having acne a horrible experience. However, when i started taking Remecade, I was given a script for clindamycin and Tazorac, both seems to keep my acne under control very very well. My breakouts are rare now and has been clearer than any point in my recent history of having acne(20 years). I have noticed that if i do get a blemish or cyst, they are occasional and it clears up almost immediately after getting a infusion (but they will leave a bad scar. Thank god for MAC cosmetics
I started remicade infusions 1 week ago for my UC. I was on 40 mg of prednisone before that and I have never had acne in my life even when I was taking the prednisone. The day after my first infusion I woke up with a horrible caugh, a rash on my neck, a few bruises on my legs and arms and acne covering my cheeks and forehead
. My doctor prescribed two different topical medications niether of which have worked.