In 2003 my brother had a hernia operation - in 2005 he became very sick, and the doctors diagnosed him with Crohn’s disease. They began treating him with Prednisone. He was not getting any better, in fact, he was getting worse. He lost a lot of weight, and his quality of life was minimal. This continued for approx. 2 years until my parents were able to secure an exploratory for him where the surgeon came to find out that a piece of surgical mesh from the previous hernia operation had come loose and worn a hole in his bowel. Contents of his bowel were leaking into his stomach cavity and this was the cause of his illness. The Prednisone had his immune system supressed to the point that his body was not able to heal itself. In combination with the bowel contents in his stomach cavity, and the ever increasing dose of Prednisone, he continued to grow sicker. Upon discovery of the perforation, it was stitched and he wore a colostomy bag for 6 months. He was weined off of the Prednisone gradually until he took none at all. In 2014, he is now entirely healthy and living a normal life.
Ironically enough, I became sick a few years later and was diagnosed with Crohn's disease in spring of 2009. I had severe abdominal pain and went to the ER over Easter weekend. I was seen by a general surgeon as staff was minimal due to the holiday weekend. My parents had a hard time believing the initial diagnosis, because of their experiences with my brother.
Since then I have undergone many tests including an oral barium, 3 scopes, CT scans, etc. I have been on several different medications. My body rejected many of the medications. I was first put on pill form medication. Health coverage in Canada prefers patients to be on the pill medications first. If the medications don't work, the specialist must indicate that the pills failed, before putting the patient on bio drugs. Imuran gave me gull stones and pancreatitis. From here, I was approved for bio meds and put on Remicade. I received Remicade at an injection clinic for approx 2 years. Its effectiveness slowly wore off. My dose was increased and the frequency in which I received it was also increased. Methotrexate was also incorporated into my treatment via a shot SC on a weekly basis. Eventually Remicade gave me drug induced lupus which had very painful and severe reactions with my joints. I had a flare up when the Remicade stopped working and my hair stopped growing. I was taken off the Remicade and put on Prednisone for a period of time to fight the lupus symptoms. At points I was unable to stand or walk. My joints would swell to the point I could not bend them. Every joint experienced these symptoms. It affected my daily life; I was unable to attend university as I could not walk to class or even hold a pen in my hand.
I am now being treated with Humira and it has been working for the time being. When my disease settled back down and my hair began normal growth, I lost a bunch of hair all at once and thought the medication was causing it. I had to see a specialist. It was explained to me that since my hair growth has resumed, my body is pushing out all the old hair follicles from the period where my hair growth had shut down. I still receive the Methotrexate weekly SC.
My disease is currently in remission. There is some signs of scar tissue and slight swelling in my bowels. Because of the strong drugs I'm on, I am unable to get pregnant. Also, because my body was rejected all other treatment methods, I am unable to stop taking medication as my body will develop antibodies and in the event that I have a flare up, there would be no medication to treat me with.
Ironically enough, I became sick a few years later and was diagnosed with Crohn's disease in spring of 2009. I had severe abdominal pain and went to the ER over Easter weekend. I was seen by a general surgeon as staff was minimal due to the holiday weekend. My parents had a hard time believing the initial diagnosis, because of their experiences with my brother.
Since then I have undergone many tests including an oral barium, 3 scopes, CT scans, etc. I have been on several different medications. My body rejected many of the medications. I was first put on pill form medication. Health coverage in Canada prefers patients to be on the pill medications first. If the medications don't work, the specialist must indicate that the pills failed, before putting the patient on bio drugs. Imuran gave me gull stones and pancreatitis. From here, I was approved for bio meds and put on Remicade. I received Remicade at an injection clinic for approx 2 years. Its effectiveness slowly wore off. My dose was increased and the frequency in which I received it was also increased. Methotrexate was also incorporated into my treatment via a shot SC on a weekly basis. Eventually Remicade gave me drug induced lupus which had very painful and severe reactions with my joints. I had a flare up when the Remicade stopped working and my hair stopped growing. I was taken off the Remicade and put on Prednisone for a period of time to fight the lupus symptoms. At points I was unable to stand or walk. My joints would swell to the point I could not bend them. Every joint experienced these symptoms. It affected my daily life; I was unable to attend university as I could not walk to class or even hold a pen in my hand.
I am now being treated with Humira and it has been working for the time being. When my disease settled back down and my hair began normal growth, I lost a bunch of hair all at once and thought the medication was causing it. I had to see a specialist. It was explained to me that since my hair growth has resumed, my body is pushing out all the old hair follicles from the period where my hair growth had shut down. I still receive the Methotrexate weekly SC.
My disease is currently in remission. There is some signs of scar tissue and slight swelling in my bowels. Because of the strong drugs I'm on, I am unable to get pregnant. Also, because my body was rejected all other treatment methods, I am unable to stop taking medication as my body will develop antibodies and in the event that I have a flare up, there would be no medication to treat me with.
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