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treatment for crohn’s disease

Read and learn more about treatment for crohn’s disease. For more, visit the Crohn’s Disease website DrCrohns.org

Q: Does anyone know about Suboxone being used for treatment of crohn’s disease?
i was diagnosed with crohn’s disease about a year ago. nothing has worked for me except for prednisone, which causes very bad side effects after awhile so i can’t take it for more than 3 months at a time. i met a girl today that was telling me about how she has had crohn’s for 11 years now and her symptoms were even more severe than mine and prednisone was the only thing that worked for her other than oxycontin and perks, which i’m not on any pain meds, (and when she was laid off her insurance ran out and turned to heroin to kill the pain) until she started taking Suboxone. She has been part of a study group for it for 2 years now and she said it has finally been approved for not only helping with opiate abuse but also for crohn’s disease treatment. she said it is a life-saver and she feels like a normal person again and has energy and it’s as if she doesn’t even have crohn’s. does anyone know anything about Suboxone for crohn’s disease? the only thing i’m finding information about it being used for is drug abuse. i really want to tell my gi doctor about it. please help.

A: hi stoe, I am a crohn’s pt. for 25+ yrs. Have you check the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation’s site to see what they have to say about it?
Try calling their hotline, live chat, or posting the ? on their open forum to see if anyone else w/CD has heard of it.

CCFA’s main HQ is in NYC and they do tons of research on IBD and work w/many scientists/pharmacy techs etc. to find the cause, cure, and a better way to treat the disease until a permanent cure can be found.

good luck and definitely give CCFA a look into and call them.

Q: How do I transfer my Crohn’s Disease treatment to England’s National Health Service?
My doctor in America recently told me to transfer my treatment for Crohn’s Disease to the NHS in England since I’ve been studying here and living here for two and a half years, so I could only be under his care in America when I went home for visits.
I’m scared that the NHS will not offer my medication, Mercaptopurin, as a treatment option.
I am also concerned because this medication requires blood work to check for liver damage, but I have an intense fear of needles. This is eased by numbing medication prescribed to me in America, but I am pretty much positive that the NHS would not offer that? If this was the case, is it possible to buy things supplementally? I’m sorry, I’m so confused!
Since I live on scholarships , student loans, and a crappy job, private care is not much of an option.
I should have mentioned that I do have an NHS card / #, so I know I am able get access to care. I was confused where to go from there…

A: I have Crohn’s & can tell you for a fact that the NHS is NOT the lowest treatment you can get. Personally I dont take your drug but it is available. The only problem you may have is with eligibility:
This is from an immigration site. If you have an existing condition then even if you qualify for treatment it may not apply to pre-existing conditions.
I’d check with Citizens Advice(CAB) or your local GP
“However, eligibility under this category will not generally apply if the overseas resident came to the UK knowing that they needed medical care. The exception is if they were specifically referred to the UK for treatment under a reciprocal agreement.”

Q: Treatment for Crohn’s Disease?
My boyfriend’s mother has crohn’s disease and she has had some problems with it. She recently took a vacation to visit us (12 hrs away), and the day she got back home she went to the hospital for chemotherapy treatments. She told my b/f that it was nothing to worry about that it was just treatment for her crohn’s. I don’t know much about crohn’s/treatments, but I have never heard of chemotherapy as a form of treatment for this disease. She has lied to him once before when she was having renal failure and she told him that it was just a simple kidney infection. Is chemotherapy a treatment used for crohn’s disease?

A: i think so. theorpy means cure.

Q: Does anyone have information on the use of injectable methotrexate for treatment of Crohn’s Disease?
My 15-year-old daughter is experiencing a severe Crohn’s Disease flare-up that has been resistant to several in- and out-patient medical therapies. Her G.I. doc now wants to try weekly, injectable methotrexate. Any information you can share? Thank you.

A: Methotrexate belongs to the class of drugs known as anti-metabolites. Antimetabolites impede the body’s natural chemical processes, such as DNA production and cell division. They are helpful in cancer treatments. The FDA is approving cancer treatments for Autoimmune Diseases such as Crohn’s. If you’re uncomfortable giving her a shot they do it in infusions. Before doing this, did your gastro say anything about Remicade or Humira? I have Crohn’s Disease and I’m on Remicade. If she is on 6 MP (Imuran) do not do this new drug. As you know she can only take Tylenol…that is about the basic that I can tell you off hand. I’m sorry she is in a flare, they’re trying to get mine back into remission and I hope they do the same for her. Good luck.

Pharmacy & Vet Tech/Crohnie

Q: Are hookworms an effective treatment for Crohn’s disease ? If so is the therapy available in the USA ?
What countries is it available in ?

A: Oh, my goodness! Yuck! I looked it up, and yes, there are studies showing that hookworm can be effective treatment of Crohn’s disease, inflammatory bowel disease, asthma and various other immune disorders. What a shocking discovery, but I don’t know if I could expose myself to it. I just typed your question in my search engine and found it. The lady I read about went to Africa and went barefoot. They can also cause undesirable side effects such as anemia. Thanks for an interesting question that made me curious enough to look it up. I learned something new today, because of you and it is a good thing to learn new things at my age.

Q: Has anyone tried Dr. Ray Lala’s healing mineral treatment for Crohn’s disease/Ulcerative Colitis?
While I will appreciate other remedies, I am specifically looking for results from the Dr. Lala treatment.

A: hi sm, I am a crohn’s pt. for over 20 yrs. Have you checked out the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation’s site for information?

They have tons of stuff ranging from diet, newer treatments to put pts. in remission faster, locating a local support chapter, as well as a live chat, a hotline, and an open forum where you can post questions to others who have IBD.

If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. There are so many scams out there which will take our hard earned $$$ by offering false promises of a cure.

When a cure is found for IBD, I am sure it will hit the newpapers first as well as our GIs.

good luck to you.

Q: For treatment of Crohn’s Disease (vs. Ulerative Colitis), do you recommend Prednisone or Entocort?
Since Crohn’s affects the whole digestive system (rather than the more localized areas in UC), I was wondering if any of you CD patients have had better (or at least adequate) flare treatment on Entocort, rather than on Prednisone. I’d love it if my daughter with CD could be treated with something other than Prednisone… Thank you.

A: I’ve had CD for about 10 years now. I was put on Entocort about a year and a half ago, and i love it! I have only had 2 flares since i’ve started taking it, and only had to be hospitalized for one. When the flares get acute, my doc puts me on the prednisone along with the entocort, but thats usually just for a two week period till everything calms down. As far as using Entocort for maintanence, i can’t say anything bad about it – I love it, its like a miracle drug to me!

Q: What is the treatment for Crohn’s Disease?
Is there a diet regime for Crohn Disease?

A: While diet does not cause Crohn’s, certain foods have been shown to irritate the condition in some people. In particular, milk, alcohol, hot spices, and fiber appear to be the most aggravating foods for some people with Crohn’s disease. Furthermore, individuals with strictures (areas of narrowing of the bowel) may develop increased symptoms by eating things such as nuts, seeds or popcorn. People with Crohn’s disease should eat a nutritious diet that contains protein; enough calories to maintain weight; vitamins A, B-12, C, D, and folic acid; and the minerals calcium, iron, and zinc.
Here are some websites that have tips and recipes.
http://www.remicade.com/crohns/crohns_lifestyle/crohns_diet.jsp

http://ibscrohns.about.com/od/dietandrecipes/?terms=diet+free+recipe+smoothie

Q: Stem cell treatment for crohn’s disease?
I have read a few articles stating this is a promising treatment with effects lasting longer than most prescribed drugs for this illness. I also read that skin cells can now be reprogrammed into making stem cells, which would please a lot more people since no embryos would be destroyed, right?

My question is when will this treatment be readily available for all crohn’s patients?

A: Well, the transplant is the same old bone marrow transplant that has been around for 50 years. Its called a stem cell transplant now because we now know that its the stem cells in the marrow that make the transplant work.

So, if it does work with crohn’s (but still not available to the public) all they are really doing is testing the statistics. If you are looking for the information for a a patient, they should try talking to their doctor to see if they can get into any of the trials for this.

A bone marrow transplant is the single treatment in an overwhelming majority of the diseases that adult stem cells can treat. It completely replaces the immune system, so it is pretty versatile for treating anything that originates in or damages the immune system. Crohn’s is an autoimmune disease, so it makes sense that this transplant may be able to treat it.

The stem cells in this case would come from one of two, maybe three sources… bone marrow, peripheral blood, or possibly cord blood. Skin stem cells would not be used in this case.

Embryonic stem cells are still used in research, and contrary to popular belief, the limited success of adult stem cells does not negate the need for embryonic research. But, to be clear, embryonic stem cells are not a part of this treatment.

Be warned though, this transplant is incredibly traumatic, phenomonally expensive, puts you at significanly higher risk for at least half a dozen cancers, comes with a min of a one year recovery time frame during which you will be out of work, and may leave you with life long medical complications needing meds.

Q: Starting Remicaid treatment for Crohn’s disease?
Would like to hear from people who are already with this teatment.

A: I have tried Remicade, and it didn’t seem to work well for me for long at least, and I had to stop taking it since I got a scary reaction once (trouble breathing, uncontrollable shaking), and some people DO get allergic reactions to it. But from what I know, it’s always given in a hospital setting and most people take Tylenol and maybe Benadryl beforehand, to help prevent a reaction. Humira (similar to Remicade), is less likely to cause a reaction since it’s made with human protein instead of mouse protein. I always found that interesting. haha.

To the other people who answered, just know that there is NO Crohn’s diet that works for everyone, and a gluten free diet is NOT always superior to meds, at least not for most people with Crohn’s. It might help some people or be superior to meds for a small number of people, but certainly not most people with Crohn’s. Not eating wheat or things with gluten is sure hard to do anyway, and I still don’t know how people with celiac disease do it, but I’m sure some of them cheat sometimes at least, and eat wheat products. haha. Rice bread and stuff like that tastes kinda crappy to me anyway, and I sure couldn’t just eat that all the time.

And it’s wrong to say people with Crohn’s actually have celiac disease a lot of the time. If anything, a lot of the time people with Crohn’s are told they have ulcerative colitis, but later on (like in my case unfortunately), find out it is Crohn’s. Celiac disease is pretty easy to diagnose from what I know anyway, by scoping someone and taking biopsies, and maybe taking specific blood tests too.

Q: Drinking “Ensure” as a treatment for Crohn’s disease?
Hey everyone, I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease going on 3 years ago. I have been pretty fortunate in that my Crohn’s isn’t really all that bad, I don’t really have that many flare ups and they haven’t really been severe up to this point….at least compared to some other people that I know with the condition. I take Pentasa to keep it under control. I have health insurance so I only end up paying $40.00 a month for the meds, if I didn’t I would have to pay around $400.00 for a month’s supply! <--You could buy a pretty nice car for that! Anyway though, I heard a while back that in Europe they were treating Crohn's patients with "Ensure". Yes I'm referring to the milk-like beverage you can buy at any grocery store. I was wondering if anyone else had heard this too, if so, is it actually supposed to be an effective treatment?

A: My logic would be that they are not really treating Crohn’s with Ensure but instead making sure that people who suffer from Crohn’s get enough vitamins in their diet. Many people with Crohn’s are not getting a steady diet because of their condition, so that makes me think that the Ensure is merely a dietary supplement for them. I know that this is also something that people with acid reflux should try because it has been recommended for me.

Q: Treatment for Crohn’s Disease?
I have been diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease 4 years now. My flare ups occur usually once every three months. Once I have a flare up the pain is awful. Is there anything I can do during my flare ups in order to be more comfortable?

P.S. I used to be a smoker for 12 years and I’ve quit for three months now. It doesn’t seem to help a lot though!

A: Have you heard of low dose naltrexone? It really helps with Crohn’s Disease. http://www.lowdosenaltrexone.org/
scroll down about one-third of the page to see photos of what low dose naltrexone does for Crohn’s Disease.

Q: Humira: treatment for crohn’s disease?
Starting this treatment soon, was wondering about the side effects and procedure. If it worked for anybody.

A: hi lak, I am a female crohn’s pt. who was on Humira for a while. It takes over 6 months for it to kick in so you have to be patient.

The drug company that makes this has an RN come to your home to teach you how to give yourself the injection. They follow up with you if you have questions and side effects.

Be sure to numb the area with an ice pack (not that dinky thing they give you) so you won’t feel the medicine going in.

For more information, check out the crohn’s and colitis foundation of america’s site. they have a hotline, a live chat, and a forum where you can post questions.

good luck to you.

Q: Know any natural treatments for Crohn’s disease?
I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease about 10 years ago and have been on medication ever since. I’ve been wanting to try to wean myself off them by doing some natural/alternative treatments. Does anyone know any good, proven ones?
I have tried Remicade and Entocort. My doctor mentioned Humira but decided against it.

A: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AlqhwhbHVYtxg73Nhc6CSGzsy6IX;_ylv=3?qid=20090329214012AAPlSqX

Check out my question, I would copy and paste it for your convenience, but there is too much info there. I know of multiple all natural substances which can be used and are cheap and effective.

Hey Travis, I wanted to make sure that you looked at my information because I care about your health so putting a link probably wasn’t sufficient. I’ve studied Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis for some time, to tell you the truth I have no social life whatsoever, I have OCD and social anxiety so I spend quite a bit of time immersed in research. The reason why mainstream medicine isn’t finding the cause of Crohn’s is because there are multiple causes, but the main underlying issue is usually if not always an autoimmune one.

The “immune system uses the lethal effects of oxidants by making production of oxidizing species a central part of its mechanism of KILLING PATHOGENS (wheat is a pathogen if you do not have the proper enzymes to digest it). Although the use of these highly reactive compounds in the cytotoxic response of phagocytes CAUSES DAMAGE TO HOST TISSUE, the non-specificity of these oxidants is an advantage since they will damage almost every part of their target cell. This prevents a pathogen from escaping this part of immune response by mutation of a single molecular target.

So in order to prevent pathogens from multiplying, the body attacks with a non-specific response which will damage target cells AND EVEN YOUR OWN TISSUE, for most people this is very small damage. In most people there is an enzyme which digests wheat, but if you don’t have this enzyme then your body will attack the wheat because it is treated as a pathogen.

DMSO and melatonin are all natural antioxidants which can freely move through any membranes, so using these substances neutralizes a lot of the oxidative damage but since a deficiency in the processing of wheat is a problem it’s best if you stop eating wheat and gluten which is in almost all packaged foods. I have pages of references to support this hypotheses, and the website I’ve added as a source goes into the process I described with more details. Melatonin makes you sleepy, and resets your biological clock in a way, so it’s best if you take this 30 mintues before you go to sleep like my brother who has Crohn’s.

Q: Has anybody been getting Remicade treatments for Crohn’s disease, but it is not working?
I have had three infusions and I feel nothing. Others have suggested that this has been a wonder of a drug for them.

A: Jasper,

I had remicade infusions for 7 years and in the beginning they worked really well for me but then they lost their effectiveness. From what I understand, it is a miracle medication for some but doesn’t help in the least for others. If it is not working for you, you could discuss the possibility of doing self injections of Humira. I know a few people who did terrible on the remicade but had great results with the Humira. For me the Humira didn’t work either but I hope that you find something that works for you. If you would like to discuss CD further just give me your yahoo messenger or email and I will get in touch with you. I have had CD for 14yrs and I am very knowledgeable about all the meds since I have been on them. :0) Best of luck with the CD, it is not an easy disease to live with.

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