Meds enlightenment

[Guest]

meds enlightenment

hi all..

i've been reading through the forum a good deal since i first joined, and am constantly wondering why so many of you seem to be on, and offered, such a variety of medications for your crohns treatment, whereas i am not.

i mentioned elsewhere on the forum that i had extensive surgery many years ago for pretty severe crohns, and then spent many years happily crohns free. recently, i have discovered i have a recurrence, although it is isolated to one very small patch, around the circumference of a golf ball.

however, despite it being so small.. the only medication i have been offered at present is asacol. i've been told that the other alternative is surgery. this would be a very risky surgical procedure for me, for various reasons, and more than one consultant has said he would be loathe to operate on me unless strictly necessary.

but - i'm reading here about remicade and other treatments.. i'd be really grateful if any of you would be kind enough to enlighten me as to what these meds are, and what they do.

thank you.

dingbat.

 

[Brando]

it is fairly easy to figure out what these meds do yourself. just goto www.webmd.com or something like that. most are chemotherapy that reduces your white blood cell counts which therefore reduces the amount of cells you have attacking your crohn's spot in turn causing less inflammation etc. (this is the theory behind it anyways.. it doesn't always work)

remicade and humira are TNF-a blockers which is one of the main components in the inflammation process. not hard to read up on and you will get a general idea of statistics and side effects.

 

[katiesue1506]

Meds that you are prescribed often majorly depend on how severe or mild your case is... moderate cases get Imuran and Pred... severe or mod-severe cases get humira/remicade. I know pentasa and asacol are usually for milder cases.

 

[Guest]

thanks brando and katiesue - i'll check out that link

dingbat.

 

[Kev]

I think a doctors first instinct is to follow the code, and do no harm. Treatment is a compromise between the benefits and risks. More severe symptomology requires a more aggressive treatment regimen. The 5ASA course is the least risky.. then its up the scale of risk until theres success, or the risk of further treatment is too high to continue. The greatest benefits of any of the drugs I've tried so far has been on pred.. But it's too risky for continued long term use. Even Imuran/Azathioprine carries risk, so much so that one needs weekly bloodwork to check for potent potential issues. Methotrexate would've meant wearing surgical masks in large crowds, washing my eating utensils separately from others, avoiding unprotected sex, even in a monogamous relationship. Its not something to be jumped into without a lot of thorough contemplation. When you think of remicade, it pretty much may be a lifelong committment, as it carries a risk of being something that can, but possibly shouldn't be, stopped & then resumed. Then there's the whole bit about tolerances, side effects, plus adverse reactions, thresholds, the litany of issues goes on and on. The only way to find out about what's best for you is to discuss it with your doctor, try to understand why he/she is treating you in that manner, and see if you agree. I discuss all my options and risks with my GI at every single visit, and it becomes a mutually agreed upon plan. With your long remission, I think I understand a doctor preferring a very cautious approach in your treatment, at least to start.

 

[Guest]

thanks kev.

yep, i can see how intrusive some of these meds can be into someones life, but then again so can crohns

i also want to tread cautiously, so i'm pretty much with what the consultant has given me right now, and his view to avoid surgery if possible. to be honest, i feel its something which i will have to face at some point, but for now i'm trying not to think about it.

thank you again for your advice & info.

dingbat.