Oh Yeah, Give Me More

It is the second day Crohn’s and Colitis Week. One of the mainstays with any Crohnie is medication. Whether it be pills, suppositories, IV meds, Home injectables, and now, back to pills. Ugh in the beginning, the only thing helping me was the Prednisone Then came the others, and when I say the others, I am getting ready to drop a list of medications that I have taken. Although not exhaustive, it is close. So, without further ado, may I present the list of my suffering!!

Medication Update - A list of medications that have been used but eventually failed, or just failed outright. Also, included are some drugs for my Iron Deficiency Anemia. Maybe later I will break some of these down with side effects, routes of action, and fun stuff like that. Also, my experience with them. As for now - here is a list:

5-ASA Meds

Pentasa

Rowasa

Asacol

Anitbiotics

Cipro

Flagyl

Vancomycin

Steroids (or THE DEVIL AKA SATAN)

Prednisone, prednisolone

Entocort

Immunomodulators

6 MP(Purinethol)

Azathioprine(Imuran)

Methotrexate

Biologics

Infliximab(Remicade)

Adalimumab(Humira)

Certolizumab pegol (Cimzia) - current meds

Vedolizumab(Entyvio)

Stelara

IDA Meds

I.V. iron sucrose(but NEVER dextrose. I will literally die)

Injektofer (first dose will be Thursday! Yay!! I need some iron energy!)

Probiotics

Aloe Vera Juice (yuck)

various herbs

Adds to the list Skyrizi. And now, Rinvoq. I am sure there are more, as most of the above list was compiled in 2015. Medications change, and come on the market, just about every two years. That is good for me, because my meds usually crap out after two years.

Another thing, being a Crohnie is expensive. Now, I have been lucky. I am poor, and my gastro is excellent, as is his medical assistant. They have been able to get me copay cards that amount to zero. I haven’t had a copay on my Crohn’s drugs in a while. But, before then, I spent a pretty penny scoring these life-saving drugs. I am not joking when I say life-saving. People have died from complications of Crohn’s. People have died because of Crohn’s. Dan O’Bannon, who is famously known for creating the scene in the movie “Alien” where the alien busts out of someone’s chest(please excuse the fact that I have never seen this movie.) He wrote this to explain how Crohn’s feels. He, then, later died from complications of Crohn’s on Dec !7, 2009. It happens. People can die. I almost died. But, I am still here, raising awareness for Crohn’s Disease.