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Another newbie.....

kromom1

kromom1

Hi all - I've really enjoyed reading everyone's stories. It sure is comforting to know other people understand!!

I was diagnosed with CD August 2007. Tried Pentasa, azathioprine, and Humira as single agents (with 3-4 courses of prednisone in there too). Now have added azathioprine back in with the Humira (tapering off pred, now at 20 mg). Hopefully this combination will work. If not, doc is recommending totally switching class of drugs, which means probably going to Tysabri. Possibly methotrexate, but really don't want to have to do injections every week. From what I've read about Tysabri, I don't want to go there (the brain infection thing scares the heck out of me!!). Anyone else on Humira/azathioprine (Imuran) combination and how is it going for you?

Has anyone else developed diabetes because of being on pred? Also curious about the fact that both of my brothers have UC - is this unusual, for them to have UC and me to have Crohn's? The other thing tha worries me is my 10-year-old daughter developing this disease - has anyone here had a child develop Crohn's?

Thanks so much for your time!
 
kromom1

kromom1

Pen - I am in my 4th month of Humira, too. My doc seems to think it should be working well by now, but I've read at least 4 months too, so that's why I wanted to wait it out and try it a little longer (esepcailly since I'm getting it free for 6 months on their assistance program!). Maybe with the Imuran it will do the trick. My symptoms aren't horrible anyway - diarrhea off and on and mild to moderate pain off and on, joint aches and low grade fever very occasionally, so I really don't want to do anything drastic. My doc said I could increase to every week if I wanted to, but I worry about that increasing the risk of the "bad" long-term effects (i.e., lympoma, etc.). Wow, looks like bowel disease has struck almost your entire family, sure sorry to hear that, but I guess you can all sympathize with one another.

I am unfamiliar with LDN, what is that?

Thanks for the support!

Lisa
 
G

Guest

hi Kromom, & welcome :)

i can't really comment on the meds issues, as the only thing i'm on right now is pred, & possibly that's about to change. i'm seriously considering LDN... talking to my consultant about it tomorrow.

i'm glad you found this forum - it's a massive help and a real support when you need it. looking forward to reading your posts :)
 
kromom1

kromom1

Thanks for the welcome, Dingbat! I'm glad I found the forum, too. Everyone seems to go out of their way to be helpful!

Thanks for the information, Pen - I will check out those websites. Good luck with your decision.

Lisa
 
drew_wymore

drew_wymore

Welcome Lisa!
I had issues with blood sugar and prednisone. I haven't developed full blown diabetes though. You just have to be careful what you eat as much as you can. As I understand it, it will go away once you're off the pred.
 
kromom1

kromom1

Drew - Unfortunately, it didn't go away when I went off the pred. I've been off of it twice in the last year, and the blood sugar still stayed high, though not as high as it is when I'm on the pred. I actually have to take 2 meds for the blood sugar when I'm on the pred. The diet is a little tricky, too, as it seems that the foods that do best for my CD are not good for the diabetes! Maybe when my CD medications get me straightened out (I'm such the optimist!), and I can get off the pred for a long time, the blood sugar will straighten out too.

It's been good talking to you all!!
 
My Butt Hurts

My Butt Hurts

Squeals-a-lot!
Hi and welcome!
I have been on Humira for about 5 months. It worked very well almost right away, and continued working well for 4 months. Lately it has not been so good. I'm also taking pentasa. Don't know what I'll be doing next.
 
kromom1

kromom1

My Butt Hurts - Thanks! Pentasa was the first treatment I tried but failed it. I sure hated taking all those big pills every day (16 of them)! I feel like the Humira starts to wear off a couple of days before the next 2-week shot, so if the combination Imuran/Humira doesn't work, I may see about going to every 10 days on the Humira, or even once a week. Good luck with finding what works for you!

Lisa
 
Creepy Lurker

Creepy Lurker

Timberland_Shoe said:
I can't do layerings if don't kow where my layer palette is. I need help. thank you :))
Click to expand...
This is another spam-bot trying to boost search engine rankings for the link in the sig. Could a mod delete it?
 
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