New to forum with Crohn's disease

[Oza86]

Hello everyone, I'm new to this forum and it seems like this forum has a lot to offer as far as Crohn's disease is concerned.

Anyways I was diagnosed with Crohn's disease limited to colon only and what my doctor said its in the majority of colon so it's between pan colitis and left sided colitis but I call it pan colitis. Anyways so I was treated with 40 mg of prednisone and 2.4 grams of asacol.

so after my first flare up that I had than my doc put me on 3.2 grams of asacol. But now I have see another doctor due to insurance was change. So my current medication is 4.0 grams of asacol, rowasa every other night and 50 billion probiotics and turmeric supplement.

This has kept me on remission for about 13 months and I recently had a small perianal simple fistula for which I went to a colorectal surgeon and was advised to do a simple fistulotomy which will cure it 95% so I did it and feeling good right now. So now he's saying to put me on 6 mp so I don't get another fistula.

But my question is if I can sustain remission on 10 asacol and rowasa, probiotics and turmeric supplement than y do I need to be on 6 mp just because I had a small perianal fistula? I mean I don't mind taking the drug when I really have to take it, but since I was told by him that simple fistula will be cured with fistulotomy than y do I need to take 6 mp? Any suggestions guys on if I should take 6 mp or just be on what I'm taking right now? I'm just scared about the side effects of 6 mp that's all.


Thanks in advance.

 

[Oza86]

Please reply with any suggestions or advice. Thanks again

 

[Too Many Bum Steers]

I have these very same thoughts whenever a doctor gives me a drug. I view all drugs as temporary, and research the heck out of them to find out what they do and can I possibly find a natural way to keep myself healthy. That said, if I was given something right after surgery.... I would probably comply for a while. While doing my research...

on PubMed..
on Rxlist..
asking the Pharmacist what EXACTLY it does (compounding pharmacists are awesome because they often enjoy their job so they take the time to learn it)

talking to Neurologists (who are the mavericks of the medical community, I've found)

searching for good, well balanced books on the subject (not some kind of parrot or fad, but sometimes a fad can point to something important... the Atkins diet points toward medical Ketogenic diet for example).

I am not a doctor and can't give you medical advice. As a perfect stranger, my advice means just one data point in a sea of others. I've heard of turmeric being a good anti-inflammatory. I can't say how good it is or how much you'd have to take to make it work. I've heard similar things about aspirin, let me give you a reference for that from PubMed:

Chem Biol. 2013 Feb 21;20(2):188-201. doi: 10.1016/j.chembiol.2012.11.010.

Resolvin D3 and aspirin-triggered resolvin D3 are potent immunoresolvents.

I can't post links yet, so you'll have to just google it sorry.

At this time, my tiny little stranger voice would say, follow your doctor's advice while you research what to do for a while. Then talk it over with him or her, then do some more deliberating, then decide if you're going to make a change. In the end, it's your body, you must treat it gently and with respect... to be sure that stopping the med... you know what you're doing... not stopping... you know what you're doing.