**I'm just cross-posting this from the "Your Story" section since I was told there may be more help in this section**
So my son has been dealing with issues for the past 3 months or so. It started with a fissure, and he ended up having a fistula not long after. He had a fistulotomy in mid-December, and it was his unusually slow healing time that caused his doctor to even suspect Crohn's (there were no other markers - he's chunky, seems to have decent energy levels, and had never had any abdominal pain or previous bottom issues).
Well, on Monday we had his endoscopy and colonoscopy (the upper GI came back clean), and the doctor informed us that he believes he has Crohn's. He said he'd call the intestinal portion mild (he had some ulcers on his esophagus and some pussy looking areas near his ilium - I forget if he called that ulcers, swelling or what, but it wasn't out of control by any means). He did say, though, that he'd say the perianal portion he'd call moderate.
Long story short(er), he's recommending Remicade, and his mother and I are not entirely sure we want to go this route. He wants to take a chest x-ray to check for TB, of course, and wants to start him on Entocort today. The side effects of Remicade (though obviously rare) are extremely concerning to us. I've seen that some doctors take a Top-Down approach (and go right for the heavy meds) while others take a Step-Up approach. Even Remicade's site says it's to be used when other meds fail.
The doctor mentioned wanting to go with Remicade because he wants his bottom to heal (like I said, it's been three months....though he's actually feeling pretty good now, and his bottom looks better than it has at any point...but it's not healed completely).
This isn't even taking into account the cost. We have Blue Cross Blue Shield for the kids' insurance, and we don't yet know what they'll cover. We were actually thinking we'd be better off going with more natural things (fish oil, coconut water) in combination with more conservative meds (steroids, maybe, for flare-ups....something other than Remicade).
Sorry for the long post, but it's more than just a little overwhelming. Any help, input, insight, encouragement, et cetera, would be greatly appreciated.
Steve
PS - I'm now reading the posts in this area, and I can already tell they're going to be extremely helpful, but I just figured I'd post here as well. Thanks again.
So my son has been dealing with issues for the past 3 months or so. It started with a fissure, and he ended up having a fistula not long after. He had a fistulotomy in mid-December, and it was his unusually slow healing time that caused his doctor to even suspect Crohn's (there were no other markers - he's chunky, seems to have decent energy levels, and had never had any abdominal pain or previous bottom issues).
Well, on Monday we had his endoscopy and colonoscopy (the upper GI came back clean), and the doctor informed us that he believes he has Crohn's. He said he'd call the intestinal portion mild (he had some ulcers on his esophagus and some pussy looking areas near his ilium - I forget if he called that ulcers, swelling or what, but it wasn't out of control by any means). He did say, though, that he'd say the perianal portion he'd call moderate.
Long story short(er), he's recommending Remicade, and his mother and I are not entirely sure we want to go this route. He wants to take a chest x-ray to check for TB, of course, and wants to start him on Entocort today. The side effects of Remicade (though obviously rare) are extremely concerning to us. I've seen that some doctors take a Top-Down approach (and go right for the heavy meds) while others take a Step-Up approach. Even Remicade's site says it's to be used when other meds fail.
The doctor mentioned wanting to go with Remicade because he wants his bottom to heal (like I said, it's been three months....though he's actually feeling pretty good now, and his bottom looks better than it has at any point...but it's not healed completely).
This isn't even taking into account the cost. We have Blue Cross Blue Shield for the kids' insurance, and we don't yet know what they'll cover. We were actually thinking we'd be better off going with more natural things (fish oil, coconut water) in combination with more conservative meds (steroids, maybe, for flare-ups....something other than Remicade).
Sorry for the long post, but it's more than just a little overwhelming. Any help, input, insight, encouragement, et cetera, would be greatly appreciated.
Steve
PS - I'm now reading the posts in this area, and I can already tell they're going to be extremely helpful, but I just figured I'd post here as well. Thanks again.