Hi, firstly i should say that i realise there's no simple answer to my question but would appreciate people sharing their own experiences/advice.
I am 21 and have had crohn's for around 10 years. 5 years ago I began taking Azathioprine which worked wonders. However in the past 2 years I've had constant minor symptoms and have developed an anal fistula. More recently I've had a couple of bad flare ups. These were managed by courses of steroids, which is only really ever a temporary fix.
The fistula was also layed open a month ago, but failed to heal correctly, I am now awaiting more surgery to try and fix this.
Because of the flare ups and fistula my doctor has said i should start remicade. Obviously it's normal to worry about the side-effects. My attitude is that if it allows me to work again and live an independent life then it's worth a go. However when i read about why other patients began taking remicade, they seem to have had a much harder time with crohn's than i have. I've never yet had to have other surgery, the information i was given on remicade was that it's used as a last result, is this true? and does it sound as though i really need it considering what's at stake?
I am 21 and have had crohn's for around 10 years. 5 years ago I began taking Azathioprine which worked wonders. However in the past 2 years I've had constant minor symptoms and have developed an anal fistula. More recently I've had a couple of bad flare ups. These were managed by courses of steroids, which is only really ever a temporary fix.
The fistula was also layed open a month ago, but failed to heal correctly, I am now awaiting more surgery to try and fix this.
Because of the flare ups and fistula my doctor has said i should start remicade. Obviously it's normal to worry about the side-effects. My attitude is that if it allows me to work again and live an independent life then it's worth a go. However when i read about why other patients began taking remicade, they seem to have had a much harder time with crohn's than i have. I've never yet had to have other surgery, the information i was given on remicade was that it's used as a last result, is this true? and does it sound as though i really need it considering what's at stake?