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recently diagnosed with Crohns

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Crohn's Disease
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debijo65
New Member
Joined : Sep 2007
Posts : 5
Posted 9/27/2007 5:24 PM (GMT -6)
Hi I'm new here and recently diagnosed with Crohns - 9/15 - my doc is putting me on Endocort for 3 months and then 6MP long term... but after reading all the side effects online... I'm scared to death to put any of these in my mouth....

HELP...

Are the side effects as bad as all that????
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yogaprof
Veteran Member
Joined : Apr 2006
Posts : 1665
Posted 9/27/2007 5:52 PM (GMT -6)
welcome and so sorry you are having to join us. here is the thing, all meds have side effects and the affect everyone differently. however, if you have CD it has potentially dangerous effects too. no really good news, but you have to educate yourself, find a doc you trust and can communicate with, and just breath for the next few months as things shake down. you are in the right place by being here. you will find good people who know and understand lots.
take care and again, welcome! yp
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Susanknits
Regular Member
Joined : Sep 2007
Posts : 33
Posted 9/27/2007 7:56 PM (GMT -6)
I can echo yp's sentiments. I'm one of those people who start having side effects before the pill has even reached my stomach. Everyone is different, but I can tell you my experience... I'm currently on 12mg of entecort and have been on either 9 or 12 mg since March. I'm hoping to taper off soon, but I'm not sure.

Becase Entecort is mostly released in the small intestine, it has fewer systemic side effects than prednisone and is generally better tolerated. however, you might have some trouble sleeping or wake up at night, it can make hot flashes worse if you get them. You can ask your doc about a very low dose of something like Xanax if sleeping is a problem. I took 6MP for 3 months. I stopped becuase I became anemic. HOWEVER, another doctor (at Mt. Sinai) felt that I was more likely to have been anemic from the CD, not the 6MP. I ended up getting iron infusions to bring my levels up, but that was a year after stopping the 6MP.

Something to keep in mind when you look up drugs on the web... when these drugs are in clinical trials, EVERYTHING that happens has to be recorded. That's why things like nausea, dizziness and stuffy noses show up everywhere. if someone gets a cold during the trial, it's noted and becomes one of the possible side effects.

When you take an immune modulator like 6MP your blood count needs to be checked on a regular basis. Just watch yourself when you're around sick people, and try to relax.

YP- what's Glycolax???

Susan
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debijo65
New Member
Joined : Sep 2007
Posts : 5
Posted 9/27/2007 8:09 PM (GMT -6)
Thank you both so much... I'm so glad I found this site. I am literally having anxiety attacks worrying about all that "could" happen - but I don't want to NOT treat it because that outcome is WAY worse.

I am a christian and I am trusting God to guide me... but it helps to talk to people who "understand" my fears... my concerns... my questions, etc.
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tinglebell
Veteran Member
Joined : Apr 2007
Posts : 532
Posted 9/27/2007 10:26 PM (GMT -6)
Welcome. I have been on entocort for almost 9 months and am about to pose a new topic myself about side effects. But I have been on other meds also. Short term results have been very successful according to everything I have read.
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Glad Bag
Veteran Member
Joined : Mar 2007
Posts : 699
Posted 9/28/2007 4:40 PM (GMT -6)
in my opinion, letting a chronic debilitating illness go untreated is far more risky than any "potential" side effects you find in tiny print on a printed medication pamphlet on the web...

i don't know if you realize, but almost any "reported" side effect has to be listed as a "potential" side effect, that does not mean that they researchers know that the "alleged" side effect was caused by that particular medicine.

participants in medical studies also tend to exaggerate side-effects.
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