- Location
- Seattle
Hi all,
I'm new to the Crohn's forum. After 23 years of living with Ulcerative Colitis (the last decade in complete remission) and taking Asacol every day, I am happy to say I just had a colonoscopy and for the first time my colon is completely free of inflammation.
However, I have ulcers in the terminal ileum and a few inches of bowel wall thickening (seen on a CT in March). This was evident on my colonoscopy in 2009 but to a lesser extent. Prior to that the only other time they looked in the terminal ileum was in 2000. So I have had this condition in my terminal ileum for at least 7 years, maybe longer.
But, I have no GI symptoms. No pain, bleeding, or irregular bowel habits. However, I have developed arthralgia in both hands (for almost 2 years now) and had a recent bout of episcleritis in my right eye. Both are possible complications with Crohn's I've discovered.
So my Gastro thinks that my colitis has evolved into Crohn's and now wants to treat it. He wants me to continue the Asacol since it has worked well in my colon but is not designed to treat the small intestine. I tried mercaptopurine years ago when I was having trouble controlling my colitis and got pancreatitis so that drug is off the table.
So he is suggesting oral Methotrexate. To be honest, I don't like what I've read about the possible side effects of this drug. It seems a little drastic to me to start it since I have no GI symptoms.
Does anyone have a similar history? I'm curious if Methotrexate is the only option I have or if there are other traditional or alternative treatments.
Thanks for reading.
I'm new to the Crohn's forum. After 23 years of living with Ulcerative Colitis (the last decade in complete remission) and taking Asacol every day, I am happy to say I just had a colonoscopy and for the first time my colon is completely free of inflammation.
However, I have ulcers in the terminal ileum and a few inches of bowel wall thickening (seen on a CT in March). This was evident on my colonoscopy in 2009 but to a lesser extent. Prior to that the only other time they looked in the terminal ileum was in 2000. So I have had this condition in my terminal ileum for at least 7 years, maybe longer.
But, I have no GI symptoms. No pain, bleeding, or irregular bowel habits. However, I have developed arthralgia in both hands (for almost 2 years now) and had a recent bout of episcleritis in my right eye. Both are possible complications with Crohn's I've discovered.
So my Gastro thinks that my colitis has evolved into Crohn's and now wants to treat it. He wants me to continue the Asacol since it has worked well in my colon but is not designed to treat the small intestine. I tried mercaptopurine years ago when I was having trouble controlling my colitis and got pancreatitis so that drug is off the table.
So he is suggesting oral Methotrexate. To be honest, I don't like what I've read about the possible side effects of this drug. It seems a little drastic to me to start it since I have no GI symptoms.
Does anyone have a similar history? I'm curious if Methotrexate is the only option I have or if there are other traditional or alternative treatments.
Thanks for reading.