Hey Everyone!
This is my first post on the forum and it's very exciting to have found a community where I can learn from all of your shared experiences.
My background - I was diagnosed about 13 years ago at age 12 (I'm 25 now).
About 6 years ago I had major flare up and puncture that led to an intestinal resection surgery where 9 inches of my intestine (the end of the small bowel and start of the large bowel) were removed. Since then I've more or less been in decent remission except for some small stress related flares here and there. I've had prednisone over the years for 1-2 moths at a time to treat some flareups but its effectiveness is now quite poor.
In terms of treatment I haven't been doing to much. I watch what I eat - I don't keep a strict diet but I know what things generally don't sit well with me.
Time to try something new? In general I feel pretty good, but not great. I'm able to travel and live a very normal life but I always wonder if I could feel better and have more energy, less frequent bowel movements and gas (I typically have a more liquidy movement 2 or 3 times a day), etc.
I recently had a colonoscopy that showed some moderate inflammation in my small bowel. My doctor is recommending I try Remicade (his first choice) or some other biologic like Humira.
Is it worth trying? As I said I feel pretty good (no flares in the last year but always some symptoms) but there's definitely a sense that I could feel better. I've never tried any types of longer term drug treatments before (only prednisone for a few weeks at a time for flares) so I really don't know how I would react. The idea of being on medication for years at a time always scared me.
I'm worried about my "moderate" inflammation getting worse and creating scarring, but considering that I feel pretty stable is it worth rocking the boat with drugs that I might not react well to?
Has anyone else been in a similar situation where Remicade or something similar actually helped them go from good to great?
Thanks in advance!
This is my first post on the forum and it's very exciting to have found a community where I can learn from all of your shared experiences.
My background - I was diagnosed about 13 years ago at age 12 (I'm 25 now).
About 6 years ago I had major flare up and puncture that led to an intestinal resection surgery where 9 inches of my intestine (the end of the small bowel and start of the large bowel) were removed. Since then I've more or less been in decent remission except for some small stress related flares here and there. I've had prednisone over the years for 1-2 moths at a time to treat some flareups but its effectiveness is now quite poor.
In terms of treatment I haven't been doing to much. I watch what I eat - I don't keep a strict diet but I know what things generally don't sit well with me.
Time to try something new? In general I feel pretty good, but not great. I'm able to travel and live a very normal life but I always wonder if I could feel better and have more energy, less frequent bowel movements and gas (I typically have a more liquidy movement 2 or 3 times a day), etc.
I recently had a colonoscopy that showed some moderate inflammation in my small bowel. My doctor is recommending I try Remicade (his first choice) or some other biologic like Humira.
Is it worth trying? As I said I feel pretty good (no flares in the last year but always some symptoms) but there's definitely a sense that I could feel better. I've never tried any types of longer term drug treatments before (only prednisone for a few weeks at a time for flares) so I really don't know how I would react. The idea of being on medication for years at a time always scared me.
I'm worried about my "moderate" inflammation getting worse and creating scarring, but considering that I feel pretty stable is it worth rocking the boat with drugs that I might not react well to?
Has anyone else been in a similar situation where Remicade or something similar actually helped them go from good to great?
Thanks in advance!
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