If you went by something like the Crohn's Disease Activity Index, then technically, you might considered to be in remission. That's how a long of drug trials determine efficacy. "If the CDAI drops X or more..."
However, in my opinion, one should always strive to get normal bowel movements. If your bowel movements are not normal, then something is still off. And as such, you have active disease or complications related to the disease and your body is being taxed.
Have they been monitoring you via blood work and maybe stool tests to see how those numbers are in relation to how you once were?
I'm not a huge fan of Mesalamine (the active ingredient in Pentasa) as the sole treatment for Crohn's disease. Let me rephrase that. I'm not at all a fan of mesalamine as the sole treatment for active Crohn's disease. The data just isn't good which is why no form of mesalamine is approved for the treatment of Crohn's. If all you're on is Pentasa and you don't want to utilize other medications, I would strongly suggest incorporating some of the following in an effort to give your body every opportunity to heal:
- Dietary changes -
Enteral/elemental nutrition, [wiki]paleo diet[/wiki], or [wiki]specific carbohydrate diet[/wiki]. Juicing is also growing on me a lot.
- Hydration - Dehydration and loss of electrolytes is common. Proper hydration and adding electrolytes back in can help you a lot.
- Alternative treatments - I'm a fan of
Low Dose Naltrexone. Research it.
Medical marijuana has been shown to help a lot as well if that's something you're comfortable with and is legally available in your area.
- Stress reduction. Do whatever it takes to reduce your stress levels. In addition, a weekly or even monthly massage if funds are tight is great.
Studies have actually shown that massage can reduce inflammation.
Give yourself self-massages as often as possible in between the professional ones.
- Exercise if you're able -
a gentle yoga is a good one
- Vitamins and minerals - find out which you're deficient in and properly supplement. People with Crohn's disease are commonly deficient in vitamin B12, vitamin D, folate, and magnesium as well as a host of others. But those four first ones should definitely be checked.
- Supplements - there are a variety that help improve overall health. Check our our
diet/fitness/supplements forum for ideas.
- Alternative medicine - This could be stuff like acupuncture, including a naturopath in your treatment team, etc.
Bring your doctor in on the conversation for all of this. Get their input and let them help supervise your disease state. Some doctors might need a little push on some of this stuff, but we can provide studies that showcase the efficacy of all the above.
