Bad to worse

[sunnyfem2sweet3]

I was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease when I was 25, kept thinking I had stomach viruses every week. My two first cousins have the disease, so I am lucky I can lean on them for advice and a shoulder to cry on. At first I had a "mild" case compared to my cousins with fistulas and Remicade treatments, until now. I have been on Asacol which worked for about 2 years. Then Pentasa which worked for 2 years. Recently, my Crohns has gone from mild to moderately severe. I had a small bowel test and they saw narrowing in my small intestine. This is the first time I will be trying Remicade and the doctor has warned me if this doesn't work I may have to have surgery. I'm terrified of both...Help

 

[mikeyarmo]

Welcome to the forum sunnyfem2sweet3!

I am sorry about your recent trouble with Crohn's Disease. I also benefited from having a family member diagnosed with the disease prior to me.

There is a lot of discussion on the forum about both Remicade and surgery for Crohn's. I recommend you try out the Search feature of the forum to look at some past posts about it.

If you have specific questions please feel free to ask also.

 

[RFarmer]

hi sunnyfem2sweet3! welcome to the forum

Like mike mentioned, there's alot of info floating about here.

For now though: try not to worry about it. Stress and fear are terrible for Crohn's. Try to just take it day by day. And keep us updated

 

[xJillx]

Hi Sunny and welcome. I know Remicade & surgury sounds really scary, but both have done wonders for so many. Obviously, you want to give Remicade a try first. You should do some homework in the Remicade subforum. But, of course, you can talk to your cousins, as well. The serious side effects can be alarming, but they are very rare. Remember, by law, everything has to be noted, even if it is one case. So, try not to stress. And don't think about surgery until after you try Remicade. As Ben said, take it one day at a time!

Keep us posted!

 

[David]

Greetings and welcome

It's perfectly understandable to be scared. But we're here for you any time. I'm sure the Remicade is going to work great for you Keep us updated!

 

[littlefreebird]

i understand your fears regarding the remicade and surgery but both did wonders for me.
the remicade gave me 5 years of complete remission. i've just had surgery and it has changed my life completley. i wish i had surgery a lot sooner!
you are monitored very closely on remicade which is reassuring, with exception to a few extra colds/coughs i did not have any side effects from the drug.
hope it works well for you!
take care! hannah.x