Hello All - I'm new

Hi, All.
I was diagnosed with CD in July after months of "ruling out this and that". I lost like 20 pounds (not that i had much to loose to begin with) and i was visibly sick looking. Crampping kept me sitting at my desk and bathroom all day and rolled up in a ball all night. The colonoscopy confirmed my doctors suspicions and more fair. I was happy for some sort of diagnoses because now i knew what was killing me but not a very happy camper.
He put me on pred 40mg for starters and Lialda - the within in week i was feeling better and with some ups and downs, i was off the pred within about 10 weeks. I have been feeling pretty good since then. some good days and bad ones as i learn what i can and can not eat.
Anyways, i went for another colonoscopy on thursday and now the GI wants to put me on 6MP. this is starting to scare me. on one hand i am feeling pretty good now so why should i take it but on the otherhand, if i dont take it, its gonna get worse. im scared and confused.
help me.
thank you very much.

Welcome Steve! If your doctor is still seeing some active disease even after the prednisone taper and use of Lialda, he is probably trying to start you on this drug to get a handle on things before they get worse. 6MP can take months to start working so you kinda have to be proactive about starting it a bit earlier than you think you are going to need it or supplement with more pred until it takes effect. It is a pretty common course of action in Crohn's disease medication wise. We all hate the meds - but I am thankful that they even exist because I can't think of what my life would be like without them. Hoping it works well for you with very few side effects. Let us know if you have any other questions!

Hi Steve!

Sorry you have Crohn's. Welcome to our little club.

We all get scared and confused. Half the battle is educating ourselves. It's a complex disease and no two cases are exactly the same.

Hope you get better soon!

:welcome: Steve...It is so hard not worry about the various medications, but with good monitoring of your blood work etc...anything abnormal would be caught quickly.

In the beginning, my GI let me go off all my meds because I wanted to get pregnant. All my symptoms did come back fairly fast. Just be aware that some sort of maintenance drug will probably be needed. Good luck and welcome again.

Hi and welcome Steve I totally understand. I am currently fighting the idea of having to take immune suppressants as they really scare me with all their side effects. I guess all you can do is give it a go?

Hi Steve, Welcome to the forum
I know it can be scary, you have to try and trust your doctors, as long as you are being monitored properly you will be ok. When you have been on them for a while you will not find it so scary.
x x x x

wow - thank you all for the responses. each one of you are right (of course) i just have to let it sink in.
I have a great doctor - he has held my hand since i started going to him, to the extent that he gave me his cell number (sshhh).
Yesterday, i told him that my primary doctor suggested i go for a second opinion and he even gave me 2 doctors in NYC to go to. they will cost me a lot of money - money of which i dont have.
i just need to wake up and smell the coffee - this is my new life. yay.

Well, welcome to your new life. We have all learned to cope with it and there are even really good days believe it or not. The trick is getting on top of the inflammation with a good drug and keeping it as quiet as possible. Inflammation can equal long term damage, so you don't want that. We'll be here if you need us.....

P.S. - you have your doctor's CELL? I don't know if I'd need a second opinion with that kinda hand holding ;o)

Hi Steve!
Just wanted to jump in here and welcome you to the Forum!!

You'll get a handle on this and get feeling better pretty quick.

All the information is pretty hard to digest I know...
but any questions please don't hesitate to ask..
there is usually someone close by watching the forums.

All the best to you,
Healing Hugs~Nancy