My boyfriend has Crohn's

Crohn's Disease Forum

Help Support Crohn's Disease Forum:

Joined
Feb 3, 2012
Messages
2
First of all, I want to start off by saying that I do not have Crohn’s, but my boyfriend of five months does, and i'm sorry if I'm posting in the wrong area, this is my first time here. Well, to continue, my boyfriend was open about having Crohn's with me since the beginning, but, like a lot of people, I didn’t know what Crohn’s was, and I didn’t start seeing and understanding how serious it was until a couple months into the relationship. From what I know, he’s had it for ten years (he’s 27 now), he was taking steroids for about nine years and got off it this past year and started doing medical marijuana. His symptoms were getting bad, (a mutual friend told me he’s on the higher end of the moderate level of Crohn’s) so he started a new drug, it starts with an “I” but I don’t remember the name of it; he told me it’s a lower dose of steroids with less side effects.

A note on this, he said he hates steroids, and that he told himself he would never get back on it because of the side effects. He’s unhappy with the fact that he’s on a lower dose of steroids, but he’s hoping this helps him, or else he said he doesn’t know what to do.

Anyway, he started this new drug a week ago, and he warned me that transitioning to a new drug is difficult for him, and he never knows what’s going to happen. A few days ago, he got a C-Reactive Protein analysis test result back and said it was at 51.7 mg/L. He said he knows there’s always something wrong with him, but that seeing the result really got to him. He started to pull away from me a bit, and I told him I completely understand that he needs to focus on himself right now, and that I’m here for him whenever he needs me. He really appreciated this and apologized, and yesterday he said he needed his time/space, so we’re not talking now...

I’m here because I’ve constantly been researching Crohn’s since we started to get serious, and this forum is what I’ve found most helpful. I would just like to get a better understanding of all this, and although he’s told me if I ever have questions I can ask him, sometimes I can see it’s really hard for him to answer (for example, talking about the side effects of steroids). I’m trying hard not to take his moods or detachment personally, and reading more about Crohn’s is helping me cope through this and better understand how I can help. Does anyone know what kind of drug he might be on? (I’m really kicking myself for not remember the name of it) And if so, can anyone share what the transition could be? What he might be going through, and how long it actually takes for this early phase to settle? Any input would be really helpful... I really don't have anyone to talk to about this, and I try telling my girlfriends, but it really doesn't help =/ . Thanks
 
First of all, I want to start off by saying that I do not have Crohn’s, but my boyfriend of five months does, and i'm sorry if I'm posting in the wrong area, this is my first time here. Well, to continue, my boyfriend was open about having Crohn's with me since the beginning, but, like a lot of people, I didn’t know what Crohn’s was, and I didn’t start seeing and understanding how serious it was until a couple months into the relationship. From what I know, he’s had it for ten years (he’s 27 now), he was taking steroids for about nine years and got off it this past year and started doing medical marijuana. His symptoms were getting bad, (a mutual friend told me he’s on the higher end of the moderate level of Crohn’s) so he started a new drug, it starts with an “I” but I don’t remember the name of it; he told me it’s a lower dose of steroids with less side effects.

A note on this, he said he hates steroids, and that he told himself he would never get back on it because of the side effects. He’s unhappy with the fact that he’s on a lower dose of steroids, but he’s hoping this helps him, or else he said he doesn’t know what to do.

Anyway, he started this new drug a week ago, and he warned me that transitioning to a new drug is difficult for him, and he never knows what’s going to happen. A few days ago, he got a C-Reactive Protein analysis test result back and said it was at 51.7 mg/L. He said he knows there’s always something wrong with him, but that seeing the result really got to him. He started to pull away from me a bit, and I told him I completely understand that he needs to focus on himself right now, and that I’m here for him whenever he needs me. He really appreciated this and apologized, and yesterday he said he needed his time/space, so we’re not talking now...

I’m here because I’ve constantly been researching Crohn’s since we started to get serious, and this forum is what I’ve found most helpful. I would just like to get a better understanding of all this, and although he’s told me if I ever have questions I can ask him, sometimes I can see it’s really hard for him to answer (for example, talking about the side effects of steroids). I’m trying hard not to take his moods or detachment personally, and reading more about Crohn’s is helping me cope through this and better understand how I can help. Does anyone know what kind of drug he might be on? (I’m really kicking myself for not remember the name of it) And if so, can anyone share what the transition could be? What he might be going through, and how long it actually takes for this early phase to settle? Any input would be really helpful... I really don't have anyone to talk to about this, and I try telling my girlfriends, but it really doesn't help =/ . Thanks

All I can say is just be there to support him.. only talk about it when he's ready too. Your doing good becuase your learning the signs and symptoms to watch out for and not take to heart. Good luck and you are not alone, you have all of us :)
 
From what I can tell you're doing everything right so far! Could the drug be Immuran? That's a standard one. Usually what they do is give you steroids for the short term while the longer term drugs have a chance to kick in, this can take a few months in some cases. The steroids would have side-effects like weight gain, insomnia, acne and irritability. Mood swings are a definite possibility if he is reducing his steroids so that's something to try to keep in mind. Obviously there's only so much you should have to put up with but if he's being uncharacteristically distant or moody, this could be a major contributing factor.
 
Hello and welcome to the forum, thank you for taking the time to learn more about this disease. As already mentioned steroids can really affect our moods (I am on them at the mo and have moments of going postal over the smallest thing), coming off them has to be done so slowly and carefully because of their affect on us and our bodies natural steroid production. It could also be at he finds this quite embaressing - talking about bums and poop still seems a bit of a taboo. If he is not quite right at the mo he might be spending a lot of time in the loo and having a tender tummy, I know when I am like this I do sometimes want to be snuggled on my own with a book to take my mind off things. We are all different so it is hard to say when he will start to feel better, just hang in there for now and see how things go.
 
Greetings and welcome,

I applaud you for everything you're doing and how you're handling this very difficult situation. Good for you educating yourself!

As mentioned, since it started with an I, my first thought was Imuran. However, that's not a steroid. Could it have been Entocort? Budesonide? Infliximab?

What sort of symptoms is he having these days? Do his doctors monitor his Vitamin D, B12, and other vitamin/mineral levels closely? If so, what were the levels of his most recent test?

Again, welcome. We're here for you and your boyfriend anytime :)
 
Thank you all so much for the support! This has already helped me so much! And David, it is Entocort! Thank you! Do any of you happen to know what happens when you start Entocort? I'll be looking more into it, thanks again. :)
 

Latest posts

Back
Top