My 11 year old son is in the hospital right now, being treated for an abcess in / near his butt related to his crohns. The abcess wasn't responding to oral antibiotics, so he was admitted to the hospital and put on an IV to receive heavier duty antibiotics. He will also have an MRI to help decide about having surgery to help drain the abcess. We should know the results of the MRI hopefully tomorrow.
My question pertains to a new course of treatment his GI wants to start. For the past five months, my son has been on pentasa, and also using an NG feeding tube at night. Unfortunately, this has not gotten him to remission and he actually lost a few pounds recently.
So, my son's GI wants him to start treatment with both 6mp and remicade. He wants him to start this on tuesday, before he leaves the hospital. I'm feeling a bit rushed on this 6mp / remicade decision, and am interested in what people know and think about it.
I haven't had time to reserach either 6mp or remicade much, though I've reaqd that remicade has some correlation with an increased risk of lymphoma.
One thing someone I know mentioned - the accuracy of this isn't verified - she was raising the question of whether you can go back on remicade once you've been on it and stopped; she was wondering if there might be some type of antibody reaction that could preclude someone from starting remicade, stopping it, and then going back on it again. (The person who mentioned this to me is an m.d. who works for a pharmaceutical and is involved in crohn's reserach, but she said she wasn't an expert in this specific treatment.)
I'd like to not have to make this 6mp / remicade decision so quickly.
A couple of questison that have been suggested I ask my son's GI: does he need to take boht 6mp and remicade at the same time, or can he just be put on one of them.
Also, why couldn't we try using budesonide for a short term to get him to remission and then use the ng feeding tube to try to maintain remission.
I'd appreciate any advice or questions I should ask my son's GI.
My question pertains to a new course of treatment his GI wants to start. For the past five months, my son has been on pentasa, and also using an NG feeding tube at night. Unfortunately, this has not gotten him to remission and he actually lost a few pounds recently.
So, my son's GI wants him to start treatment with both 6mp and remicade. He wants him to start this on tuesday, before he leaves the hospital. I'm feeling a bit rushed on this 6mp / remicade decision, and am interested in what people know and think about it.
I haven't had time to reserach either 6mp or remicade much, though I've reaqd that remicade has some correlation with an increased risk of lymphoma.
One thing someone I know mentioned - the accuracy of this isn't verified - she was raising the question of whether you can go back on remicade once you've been on it and stopped; she was wondering if there might be some type of antibody reaction that could preclude someone from starting remicade, stopping it, and then going back on it again. (The person who mentioned this to me is an m.d. who works for a pharmaceutical and is involved in crohn's reserach, but she said she wasn't an expert in this specific treatment.)
I'd like to not have to make this 6mp / remicade decision so quickly.
A couple of questison that have been suggested I ask my son's GI: does he need to take boht 6mp and remicade at the same time, or can he just be put on one of them.
Also, why couldn't we try using budesonide for a short term to get him to remission and then use the ng feeding tube to try to maintain remission.
I'd appreciate any advice or questions I should ask my son's GI.