New here. LDN or Humira?

[Johnny]

I was diagnosed a few years ago with Crohn’s Colitis. I need some advice on choosing LDN or Humira.
I have been on the trial drug Vedolizumab for a year now to treat Crohn’s Colitis. It seemed to be working but in the last few months it doesn’t seem to be.
BM’s are 3-5 times daily. Sometimes very loose, sometimes solid, but almost always with blood and mucus. I’ve received 2 units’ of blood last week and Iron every 2 weeks for the past 2 months. My iron levels are having a hard time keeping up with the blood loss.
My last scope showed extensive inflammation in the sigmoid and descending colon. They didn’t proceed further to avoid the risk of damage. Prescribed 40mg of Prednisone and option of Humira or Remicade. A couple of the immunosuppressants were mentioned but I don’t want to go on those.
My goal is to reduce inflammation to prevent further damage, to prevent surgery. I am currently on Pentasa and just started Pred at 40mg last week.
Can I start taking LDN while tapering off Prednisone?
How soon will I notice a decline in inflammation 1) with LDN, 2) with Humira?
How soon will I start feeling better 1) with LDN, 2) with Humira?
Will there be obvious tell tale signs that the treatment is working 1) with LDN, 2) with Humira?
I really want to prevent further inflammation damage. If LDN can reduce the inflammation soon and rapidly, I am OK with not feeling super for a few months longer, if that means avoiding a biologic treatment in the long term. I just don’t want things to get any worse.
I understand that LDN may make people feel worse before they get better. Is this an overall judgement of their symptoms? I’m interested in knowing if there is an immediate effect on inflammation (increase or decrease)?
A possible scenario for me may be, to go on Humira to really to bring down the inflammation and promote healing. I can then decide later if necessary, to go off Humira and try LDN if I’m feeling good vibes about LDN at that time.
The second option I have is to start taking LDN while continuing to taper off of the Prednisone and hope that the inflammation is brought under control. If I start feeling better I can stay the course. If I’m getting worse I can go for Humira. How long should I wait to make this decision though? One problem with me is that I really under evaluate how bad my condition is at a given time. I only notice it in hindsight. I can recall feeling just a little under the weather in the past, but now realize I was making those assumptions while not even being able to take out the garbage.
From what I read, Humira and LDN can’t be taken together, is this true? What about Vedolizumab? Vedolizumab as far as I understand targets the white blood cells specific to the gut.
I know that these will be repeat questions on this site. Sorry for that. I really don’t have enough time to read through everything by the time I have to make a decision. I'm also unsure if I should post this thread in this section to comply with the introduction posting, or should it be in the treatment category?

Thanks.

PS. I have just posted the content of this thread under the Treatments Thread.

 

[crazycanuck]

Okay well first off welcome to the forums.

Secondly I don't have a clue on anything about LDN so I'm going to be pretty useless there.

Finally, I see you don't want to be on immuno-suppresents however both Humira and Remicade work by doing just that. They are classified as biologics but are both also immuno-suppresents as well. Remicade and humira, to the best of my understanding, are very similar drugs just developed slightly differently with different products and different ways of administering them. I saw relief with Remicae litterally within hours and was gaining weight within a week by eating things I wouldn't have dreamed of eating before. Remicade has been absolutely amazing for me and I've gained nearly 30 lbs in 6 months on it. From me it comes highly recommended.

As for the rest of your questions I'm sorry I can't be much more help but please do check out the forum wiki as there is some fantastic information there and check out the humira club and LDN thread.

Best of luck with getting some relief.

 

[David]

Hi Johnny and welcome. I see you already posted this information elsewhere, so hopefully you get the information you seek.

I just wanted to welcome you and wish you all the best. See you around the forum

 

[xJillx]

Hi Johnny and welcome! I don't know much about LDN. And though I have not taken Humira, I have read many success stories on the forum. So, if it was my choice, I'd probably go with Humira being that there seems to be more research out there and because of all the positive reports I have read.

Regardless of the choice you make, I sure hope you find the relief you seek!!

 

[ameslouise]

How soon will I notice a decline in inflammation 1) with LDN, 2) with Humira?
How soon will I start feeling better 1) with LDN, 2) with Humira?
Will there be obvious tell tale signs that the treatment is working 1) with LDN, 2) with Humira?

Hi Johnny and welcome!

If we only had the answers to questions like these, dealing with CD would be so much easier!! The unfortunate reality is that the disease is different for all of us, and treatments are different for all of us. Many have had great success almost immediately with Humira. For others, myself included, it didn't do squat, nothing at all! Some feel better after several months of treatment, or combining with another treatment....

As for LDN, it can be difficult to obtain a prescription depending on where you are located. Many doctors are hesitant to prescribe because there hasn't been much testing on it and they don't know much about it or the long term effects. You can poke around the LDN thread and see what you find.

As for obvious signs that a treatment is working.. no better sign than lessening or disappearance of symtoms!

Good luck - it can be really hard to choose a treatment option - I hope you can come to an easy decision and that you find some relief soon.

- Amy

 

[billyjoel]

Johnny, welcome to forums glad to have you aboard!!!