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What autoimmune disease do you have, if you don´t mind me asking? I'm very sorry for all your are going through. I do hope they find medication that is effective and brings fewer side effects than prednisone.

But does one need to stop taking AZA while sick? How many days do you wait before seeing a doctor about your symptoms?

Hi guys, As a newbie to AZA I just wanted to know what I should do if I get sick? For example, if I feel like I have a flu, do I just wait it out as I would have done previously to Crohns, or should I tell my GI doctor that I am sick? Or find a GP? Just wondering what I should expect and how to...

I would find out if they tested fecal calprotectine or not. Call a nurse and find out, maybe? As I mentioned, it has a very, very, high negative predictive value. Many studies I've read say that if your fecal cal is below 50, you have a 90-95% chance of NOT having an IBD. Its just a very easy...

Irishgal, what antibiotics are your currently taking?

I'm not sure if I'm posting this question in the right place, but I was just wondering if it is possible that AMAT treatment works because the antibiotics have an anti-inflammatory effect and not because its killing MAP? For how long will you continue to take antibiotics, irishgal?

What do your doctors think you might have? If you felt such a palpable mass close to your navel it could be a hernia. I had two as a kid. Not fun, but easy to fix with surgery. I would go back to your doctor or even to hospital and insist that you are in a lot of pain and describe the mass you...

Everyone's odds for needing surgery or having a complicated disease are different. I´m newly diagnosed myself and have spent quite some time trying to learn more about predictive factors for a complicated disease. I don´t know your specifics, but I can say that diagnosis at or after 40 is a...

Johno, did you have a fecal calprotectine test?

Crohns can do all kinds of things, unfortunately. If your CT scan says everything is fine except for your ileum, then a colonoscopy and/or a pill cam will likely give you a diagnosis. You might need both if you suspect inflammation in areas past your terminal ileum.

Just adding that sometimes a colonoscopy isn´t enough for a diagnosis if your inflammation in beyond the reach of the scope. For me, it was a pill cam that solved the mystery. And fecal calprotectine is a very reliable marker for inflammation.

Also new to IBD and just wanted to let you know that in my case colonoscopy and biopsies came back negative, but was found to have Crohns in the beginning to mid ileum. Not very common, but still Crohns. Just mentioning this because many GIs feel that a colonoscopy is the gold standard for...

Yea, reading about some of the biologics and other medications used for Crohns, it seems it usually takes 10 years between initial assessment and the drug hitting the market. And, in any case, we really have no idea if the vaccine will actually work :( It's frustrating to think that we might...

I'm just starting AZA now and wondered myself what the odds are of developing skin cancer. I asked my doctor if he could send me some literature and the main points I feel are worth sharing here are: 1. Regarding stopping AZA ou 6MP and flaring: "Patients who discontinue treatment with AZA or...

I would suggest getting an MRI or CT scan as well if your colonoscopy comes back negative. My Crohns doesn´t affect my colon or terminal ileum so my colonoscopy came back negative. Pill cam and MRI were the tests that finally helped diagnose me. Oh, and a fecal calprotectine test! That's super...

What my GI explained to me is that patients develop antibodies to anti-TNF medications at some point. Our bodies are super clever and find a way around the drug. Some people will develop antibodies within months, others will be fine for years before they develop antibodies. Once you have the...

Hey there! If your MRI or CT scan did not show any strictures, its probably safe for you to have a capsule endoscopy. I had a small stricture show on my MRI and I still did the Capsule Endoscopy and, although the capsule moved quickly through the rest of my bowel and took longer to get through...

Hi Lauren. Not sure if this information helps, but there are other procedures, namely double-balloon or single-balloon enteroscopies, that can reach parts of the small bowel that a colonoscopy can´t. Maybe discuss it with your doctor if you feel it would be important to see/biopsy past your...

First, I'm really sorry that you are going through all this and I am sorry to hear about your cystitis. I really do hope things improve soon. As for your other concerns, just a few thoughts: 1. about your possible IBD: I would see another doctor that would be willing to investigate things...

Hi, perfectjelly. Just diagnosed myself and very interested in the anti-map treatment. What did you manage in the end? Would appreciate advice from a fellow Brazilian.