Medication stop working - whats next?

[art_nj]

Hi Everyone,

I started medication on October 14th, the day after being diagnosed with Crohn's Colitis. I've been on Lialda (4 pills per day for inflammation) plus
6-MP. I did great for exactly 1 month to the day and then I started flaring again. I'm having many of the same symptoms that I had before being diagnosed. It's taken 18 years for me to be diagnosed and I was so, so very hopeful when I started treatment. I did enjoy my 1 month vacation though, I was afraid it would be short lived.

So when immune suppressants don't work, what's usually next? Steriods?

 

[Cog]

I think I am having the same issue - I have been on Lialda for a few months and I think it has stopped working - so I have switched to the enemas for a while let the body get used to those and switch again. There are many choices these days - thankfully not always steroids Good luck

 

[art_nj]

Cog, like you I'm trying to avoid steriods. I was on steriods once for a rash and I had a horrible reaction to it. My doc told me upfront that Lialda alone wasn't going to do it. That's why he put me on the 6 MP. Originally, he mentioned steriods then he switched to 6 mp when I told him about my reaction. I seem to wake up in the morning feeling okay, but by the early afternoon my insides feel like they're falling apart again.

Mike, I haven't tried any of the biologics yet. In fact I don't know much about them, or how they differ from what I'm currently on. I was diagnosed 5weeks ago and I've been seeing my GI doc every 2 weeks so far. He wanted to start me out slowly and see how things go.

 

[art_nj]

Thanks for the response Mike! I know all of these drugs by name, but there are so many of them that I'm not sure what the next step up is. I was thinking of asking about Remicade because my husband gave me an article from the Wall Street Journal saying that remicade seems to be a helpful treatment (if combined with another immune suppressant). My doc wanted to start me out slowly and work up from there. I wasn't sure if remicade was a big jump. At this point, I don't think it matters. My intestine feels like they're moving and rumbling and I feel like I have bubbles popping too. Its exactly the way it was before being diagnosed.

 

[art_nj]

This is so weird. I did good for a month, then I feel apart for 1 week (but I continued taking the medication as perscribed). Now, I feel okay again.

I honestly believe there is something going on with my large intestine on the lower left side. I've been having 1 bm every 3 to 4 days. After a day or two of now bm my lower left side starts to hurt and I can feel an elongated lump. Can it be a stricture? I mention this to my doc every time I see him because I'm worried about it and he keeps telling me that it will eventually heal (I have a large ulcer in that spot). I've had this sensation for 6 years now only its been getting worse.