Cimzia/Humira/Remicade

[MissBG]

So I was diagnosed in early March given a round of prednisone and Asacol did ok then started having problems. Was given a script for Imuran which nearly sent me into liver failure so thats out and had to be off all meds for a few weeks while my liver recovered. Now I have been on Asacol and am curently going through another round of prednisone (forgive me if none of this makes sense as my brain has apparently stopped functioning) and still not doing great.

We are going to continue with the current prednisone taper and hope that this time it will get all under control and the Asacol will keep it in check. However he wants to discuss these other treatment options in the event that it doesn't. So my question is which one have you all had the best results with? Worse side effects? And worse cost?

Just trying to gather some info and feeling pretty overwhelmed at the moment. I have been totally exhuasted and feeling pretty crumy for a while and the dr recommended that I take the day off tomorrow and recover over the long holiday weekend.

On the bright side though he sent me to the lab to have everything under the sun tested partially in preperation for the new treatment options and he wanted to check my B12, iron and vitamin D levels in addition to a pregnancy test... praying that one is negative!

 

[Tenacity]

Hi MissBG - welcome to the forum

Sorry to hear about the Prednisone roller coaster you have been on. Hopefully, you will come down with no ill effect this time. In the event, the same thing happens again, I would have to agree that you would be wise to add another medication to help you. There are so many different treatment options out there - you ask a good question.

As you probably know, not any one treatment achieves the same result for everyone, and unfortunately it might be a bit of a trial and error to find the right one for you. Remicade has a very good track record, and would work quicker than something like LDN or 6MP. It would also depend on your individual symptoms - some meds treat certain symptoms better than others. Where exactly is your disease activity in your digestive tract?

I did notice that you are currently taking Tramadol as needed. I would suggest that you discuss this with your doctor as it is very harsh on your stomach. I just googled it for you, and this is what I found:

Gastrointestinal side effects are common. Nausea and constipation occur within the first 90 days of therapy in 40% and 46% of treated patients, respectively. Vomiting, diarrhea, dyspepsia, anorexia, flatulence, abdominal pain, and dry mouth have also been reported.

 

[rygon]

Only one ive tried is remicade and its been amazing for me. Ive finally got my life back . No longer tired all the time or spending each hour on the toilet. I do still have problems (bleeding, bloating but its rare) and have to watch what I eat but its more of a nuisance than anything

 

[thejdubb02]

Only one ive tried is remicade and its been amazing for me. Ive finally got my life back . No longer tired all the time or spending each hour on the toilet. I do still have problems (bleeding, bloating but its rare) and have to watch what I eat but its more of a nuisance than anything

I am also finding Remicade is working amazing. However I stared with Cimzia which did nothing for me at all.

Here is an awesome short PDF about all of these 3 biologic drugs

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sour...aVyyuF6xiUchRbDhw&sig2=tfZCo8yxTKF6tYPiRvyUKA

Sorry for the long link. Hope this helps.

 

[MissBG]

Hi MissBG - welcome to the forum

Sorry to hear about the Prednisone roller coaster you have been on. Hopefully, you will come down with no ill effect this time. In the event, the same thing happens again, I would have to agree that you would be wise to add another medication to help you. There are so many different treatment options out there - you ask a good question.

As you probably know, not any one treatment achieves the same result for everyone, and unfortunately it might be a bit of a trial and error to find the right one for you. Remicade has a very good track record, and would work quicker than something like LDN or 6MP. It would also depend on your individual symptoms - some meds treat certain symptoms better than others. Where exactly is your disease activity in your digestive tract?

I did notice that you are currently taking Tramadol as needed. I would suggest that you discuss this with your doctor as it is very harsh on your stomach. I just googled it for you, and this is what I found:

Gastrointestinal side effects are common. Nausea and constipation occur within the first 90 days of therapy in 40% and 46% of treated patients, respectively. Vomiting, diarrhea, dyspepsia, anorexia, flatulence, abdominal pain, and dry mouth have also been reported.

Thanks! He said right now it is just in the colon and isn't effecting the small intestines at all. The 6mp is out because of the liver issues the imuran caused that were pretty severe and fast.
As far as the Tramadol goes its been very rare that I have had to take it and only when the pain gets unbearable... maybe once a month or so. Normally I do pretty good with the prednisone for a while and then it just starts going down hill again after I taper. I am hoping that after this timee everything will stay well.

 

[MissBG]

Gotta love those good news/bad news phone calls! Vitamin levels are good, pregnancy test NEGATIVE and liver enzymes are climbing again.