anyone doing it without medication? can we say No?

hi all

I'm feeling really low at the moment so it's a struggle to make sense of anything.  I've read a few things and this seems to be a normal reaction to a 'new' diagnosis (remember I didn't think I had it until recently), but also read that it might be due to after-effects of surgery , or that I might have B12 deficiency - there are so many possibilities. I just can't get my head around putting more chemicals into my body that might start different reactions off and I wouldn't be able to tell these from 'normal'. Not just the immediate side effects but longer 'way of life' stuff like susceptibility to infections or sensitivity to sun etc. I don't even know if the disease is active. How I'm feeling at the moment isn't normal for me - I'm usually an active , hard-working person not a lethargic weepy neurotic woman. I guess I'm either going to delay taking any thing else (on Flagyl currently) until I feel a bit stronger or will try to be assertvive and see if I can take 5-asa instead.

London Red - thanks for the info; I'm seeing the consultant on 10th June - I've heard he's lovely. I just haven't had the experience I wanted with registrar or IBD nurse so it's lowering my confidence in contacting them in the future for minor or serious stuff.

You are on Flagyl? That may be the cause of much of what you are feeling. It is an excellent, excellent antibiotic but it is well known to cause anxiety and over-emotional feelings. I was on it for many months and I was weepy and anxious much of the time. Here is a website were you can read other people's experience with it.

http://www.askapatient.com/viewrating.asp?drug=12623&name=FLAGYL&sort=dateAdded&order=0

But before you stop taking flagyl, please remember that your doctor but you on it because you either have, or are at risk of a serious infection. Flagyl is a "big gun" and doctors only prescribe it if you really, really need it. The bacteria it kills are from the rectum/gut and are difficult to kill. I nearly died from an infection from an abscess, and flagyl and Levaquin saved my life. So I strongly suggest you stay on it. Once I found out that there was a reason behind what I was feeling, it helped me deal with it. I realized that it was just the drug -- not me -- and I would return to normal once I finished the course the doctor preseribed. Hang in there!

As Nanners said, I am one of those people who has been on 6MP for over a decade. I have had my dose increased at one point to see if it would be beneficial, but my liver levels went a bit out of whack. So I was brought back down to my original dosage. I am also on a small dose of prednisone and Xifaxan (which is an anitbiotic used off label for Crohns). At one point I was also on Pentasa. But this combination has caused minimal side effects and has kept me pretty much stable for over 11 years. If you find the magic combination of medication, Crohns doesn't have to be this big horrible thing. You can lead a relatively normal life with a few bumps. Its a matter of making adjustments and finding a way to do what you want to do. It can be hard to wrap your mind around it, but it can be done!!!