• Welcome to Crohn's Forum, a support group for people with all forms of IBD. While this community is not a substitute for doctor's advice and we cannot treat or diagnose, we find being able to communicate with others who have IBD is invaluable as we navigate our struggles and celebrate our successes. We invite you to join us.

How many drugs are too many drugs to take at once?

So after 14+ days of missed school, we put pressure on our fabulous GI to start LDN, inquire about Medical Marijuana and figure out what the heck else we can do about getting off Prednisone? He followed up with a statewide conference call on MM and wrote a prescription for LDN and Entocort, but had us commit to bloodwork 2 weeks after starting LDN. To date, I never realized that Entocort could be used as a hopeful substitute to Pred. I now know it is used specifically as a localized steroid for the intestines vs. the Pred which is systemic but I sure wish I was enlightened to that months ago after Prednisone did a number on my son's complexion...Anyway, my question is this: How many drugs taken at once are too many? Is anyone out there on a TNF(Cimzia), Pred, Entocort, LDN, Methotrexate and Flagyl? We've only started LDN because how are we to know which one of the new drugs is working (Entocort or LDN) if we had started them both. Also, anyone out there have a bad experience with combining Medical Marijuana with any of the above?Thx:)
 
2-3 at once is reccomended, if more take them half hour later, its also important to take something like Omeprazole that protects your stomach.
 
There's no real clear cut answer since there are a ton of variables involved. Definitely worth asking your doctor, though. Some doctors prefer to try and find the threshold of what helps and use less medication and some prefer to use medication more aggressively to get things under control quickly and then taper off based on improvements.

I've never had (I'm on Cimzia and Aciphex, as well) or heard of someone having an adverse reaction due to combining marijuana and other medications for Crohn's. You could have a bad experience due to the marijuana alone, though. Some people get paranoid or stressed out if they don't have the right mindset beforehand (basically try not to worry or think about getting caught or anything like that).

Best of luck to you and your family.
 
You shouldn't be on the LDN at the same time as Pred and Methotrexate because it honestly cancels out the LDN.

You also really shouldn't be on Entocort and Pred at the same time. They are basically the same thing only work a bit differently.

Seems to me like your doc doesn't quite have a handle on everything your son is taking. I certainly have never heard of anyone taking that much and I, myself am on a lot of Imuran and weekly Humira (and used to have pred in there too)
 
Hi Stacy,

I've been in a similar situation with this amount of immunosuppressive therapy, and this is really towards the top end of what [my] doctors are comfortable with. There are 3 systemic immunosupressive drugs in there (pred, mtx and Cimzia), and pushing it to 4 is probably bad news. [I was on pred, mtx and cyclosporin before being forced to drop the cyclosporin a week prior to starting Infliximab (and now Humira)] I'll assume/hope that the pred is only there while it's weaned off after starting the entocort, but that may take a while, though at least 15mg is already a relatively low dose.

I don't know how many people take specifically Flagyl with TNF therapy, but if it's being used for an infection/abscess, this should be monitored very closely like any infection whilst on TNF treatment.

I noticed flaxseed oil in your signature too, I was told not to take it while on methotrexate as they both put stress on the liver. That said, if the liver function tests have all been fine, it's probably not a problem, but I'd make sure the treating doctors are aware you're taking these supplements. As with any treatment this complex, everyone needs to know all the factors to make the right decisions.

All the best,
Stefan
 
Location
Canada
a tricky game of trade-offs...

Hi Stacy,
I take 3 bigdog immune suppressors:
TNF(Remi), Pred, and Methotrexate belly jabs.

It certainly feels like a lot of drugs.

Over time, I am trying to isolate 'who is doing what' to me,
but I'm getting nowhere fast.
I've learned that most treatments offer a trade-off of good and bad.

Quick examples for me:
Remi -infusion headache, and itchy arm rashes, etc
Pred -wound-up, wicked moodswings, edgy, and bad sleep if at all, etc
(not to mention cleanout-the-fridge appetite despite toilet troubles)
Metho -mindbending nausea, weak and sleepy for a couple days after injection, etc

All my treatments were prescribed by my GI.
I asked my family doc if that was 'a lot of drugs?',
to which he replied 'that's a lot of drugs'. eek!

I know my body has to process all this stuff, sorry to my liver,
but I do believe this is my current best chance to keep my intestines in my body.

Beyond these I also dabble in pain meds, sleep meds and a boatload of vitamins, ointments, etc, etc...
I'm concerned about longterm use of these strong drugs,
and damage to my system.
A fellow Crohnie family member told me to 'live for today'.
I guess that comes at the cost of mortgaging possible tomorrows?

I went from a guy who'd tough-out a headache, rather than pop pain pills...
to a walking pharmacy, with all the lessons that brings, to boot.
Thanks Crohn's, for another colourful and challenging aspect.

Ultimately, yes I fear each and all of these drugs, but if cornered...
I fear the pain and damage of Crohn's disease more!
Heaven help us,
Walt

ps I suggest every IBD'er start a book keeping track of everything in and out of your body,
food, meds and waste to try to find any patterns, insight, etc...
wish you luck
 
Last edited:
Unfortunately, I can't contribute much to your questions, but I can say the I can relate to your poor son about the complexion issues with Pred - I guess it hits us teens more severely - but it's killer! Hope you can eliminate that drug soon! (I hope I can too...)
 
Top