New, my story, disliking medicine

[Sohypnotick]

new, my story, disliking medicine

hey guys, just found this forum and think its really great. I am a 25 year old male diagnosed with crohns disease. I have only had 2 flare ups thus far, one when i was 20, and one when i was 24. In between my first two flare ups I was on no medication and saw no doctor or specialist for my disease. I dont really know why, but i just never did. Once i was off my predinisone i just never went back. And I didnt really watch my diet either, but then i got sick again 4 years later and was hospitalized. They put me on Asacol, azothiaprene and remicade. I stopped taking the oral medication (I am very anti medicine) and I am thinking i had my last remicade shot about six weeks ago. The doc said remicade was only supposed to be for a little while but its been two years now, I did the math and I am on about 50,000 dollars worth of this medicine a year. Is this a coincidence? Plus I am always sick, just got over bronchitis and i attribute it all to remicade. PLus I know of people who got diagnosed with cancer from remicade.

So my questions to you guys are; Do any of you agree with me that some medications are not good? And have any of you considered a homeopathic doctor? And how do I tell my doctor Im not going to take his advice?

I know medicine may work very well for a lot of people but I went four years without anything and was fine, I am a senior about to graduate with a health and fitness degree and I feel like diet can take care of me better than anything.

thoughts?

 

[butt-eze]

Growing up I had always been anti-medicine. In fact, I wouldn't call myself pro-medicine but it has saved my life. I am not an advocate of Remicade but do want to point out that your frequent illnesses were likely do to your immune system being suppressed from the medicine. In other words, it wasn't a direct reaction but a side effect to suppressing your system like that. Azathioprine will suppress your immune system too.
I'm sure that you understand the workings of our systems just as well if not better than some of us here. That said, you realize that some people's crohn's disease is so severe that they have to take medication to reduce inflammation. The best way they know how to do that is by suppressing the immune system so that it will stop attaching your GI. Unfortunately, it keeps your body from fighting good things too.
There are people on the forum who have tried homeopathic remedies. I haven't yet but will eventually give it a try. Right now I'm not in a flare.
As for talking to your doctor about not following his advice. When it comes to your health you can be worried about hurting a doctor's feelings. It may be uncomfortable but necessary if you feel strongly opposed to his opinion.

I would recommend getting a second opinion. See if there is another specialist who has another alternative for treatment. I am currently med free as are many people on this forum.

Have I helped more than I rambled?

 

[D Bergy]

Welcome to the forum.

I am not anti-medicine, but I do not think any pharmaceutical company spends a great deal of time and resources trying to cure any disease. I think the focus is on life long treatment of symptoms as that is where the greater returns lie. I guess I do not feel the prime objective should be profits, but that is where the incentives lead the research so we get what should be expected.

I personally was not interested in using the various immune suppressants to control symptoms since I already had knowledge of other methods that did not have the side effects. They worked well enough, but were not perfect.

This was still just treating symptoms like the medications and was not real satisfied with that method either. I wanted to get as close to the root of the problem and address that aspect.

For various reasons, that led me to Low Dose Naltrexone combined with Chlorine Dioxide (Miracle Mineral Supplement) to control any remaining bad bacteria that may cause problems.

The LDN modulates the immune system so it works more like it should. This theoretically should keep the immune system from working against you, and in turn eliminating the problem at it's source. That is if the improper immune reaction is the original problem. I think it is likely that this is the problem, as to what causes the problem is debatable.

I also take some supplements in small doses, not so much for Crohn's anymore, but because they support general health. They are anti-inflammatory in nature, so they may help somewhat, but the dosages are smaller than I took in the past.

I guess medications are good if they are needed and if they improve your life. I try to address problems in the least objectionable way. Sometimes that would be medicine and sometimes it is not. It depends on individual situations and what is effective.

My solution is working 100% for me so far. I wish I could say that it would work the same for everyone, but I have no evidence that it would or that it would not.
I know other methods do not work for all people so I will assume this one will not also.

I hope you can find a good method to control your disease. That is the trick to it all.

Dan

 

[Kev]

You know what? I'm not going to try to dissuade (sp?) you. If I had the answers, would I have this disease? Is it a gamble? Yes. you know the stakes.. maybe it'll pay off for you. So, give it a shot, keep a positive attitude, let us know how it goes

 

[BWS1982]

nice to meet you, I'm 25 (and a male) too, and am into fitness/health (probably doesn't appear so right now since I look sickly and can't eat as I should). I'm leary of meds and am on the Imuran and remicade also but only recently started the remicade, so I can't be of much input since I'm still "loading" it into my system. I am okay I guess with being on the meds if they work, I'll take the risks (remember some sides are only experienced in small fractions of subjects) if it means this hell can subside. As for the prednisone though, that's destroying my body and am happy to finally go from 30 mg to 25 mg this week, I want off that crap it's been 4 months and I hate the sides.

 

[Guest]

hi sohypnotic, & welcome

i can only comment on the homeopathy point you raised.. but i dont know how helpful this will be lol. you may have seen i started a thread a while ago on homeopathic treatment for crohns, and did actually go quite a way into the whole thing. unfortunately, i failed it - not the other way round. the sheer amount of different solutions and pills i was given, together with the complicated timing of taking them all in relation to meals/drinks etc, meant i was literally spending my waking hours at home watching the clock. i did it to perfection for a good few days, and i am sure i witnessed some positive changes in my symptoms (and in my well-being in general), but i couldnt keep the regime up. homeopathy is something which i would like to give 100% chance - but with my lifestyle & commitments, i just cant do it right now - so i'm back on the pred.

unfortunately, all the different aspects of how crohns presents and affects us, need a different homeopathic medicine, and they cant be mixed. if you're serious about trying it - bear this in mind.

dunno if thats useful or not. best of luck with whichever treatment path you take

 

[Suzy]

I'm not pre-medication - I know how meds like Prednisone are destroying my body. I have been on Pred since September and every time I try to stop I get sick again. I can't go lower than 5 or I'll get sick. (Since Monday i'm trying 5 - 2,5 - 5 - 2,5 though, hopefully that'll work).

I do know, though, that, wasn't it for the medication, I wouldn't be doing the things I'm doing now. I'd be sick a lot more often. I don't feel great, but without the medication it'd be a lot worse. Prednisone is destroying my body, but active Crohn's was worse.

I can see how you don't like the meds though. There are no meds without side effects and at times I have wondered if it's all worth it.

As for the homeopathic things: i haven't tried anything, but I've been warned by my doctor. The problem with homeopathic medication is that they're usually not scientifically tested, so there is no way of predicting what it will do. I'm really close to graduating from highschool and I don't want to ruin my exams. I'm on the Pred until at least after my exams. After that, I'll have time to experiment a little more.

I would think it's unwise not to visit a doctor at all. I'm really glad I go see my specialist every once in a while.