Newbie with a quick question.

As the title suggests I'm a noob to the forums and when it comes to Crohn's I have this annoying condition, 2 years, this month.

Anyway my question is . . . . .

about a week before Xmas I started to feel really unwell, no appetite, Diarrhea and general feeling of crappiness. So went to my local GP, told him what was wrong, he started me on 20mg of Prednisolone (As of now I'm on 10mg, going down to 5mg in a couple of days) and that day I started to feel a bit better. So as of now I feel, personally that is, I'm around 70-75 % to normality. I'm eating again, solid stools but I'm still going maybe 3-5 times a day. That includes the very annoying occurence of waking up during the night, at least twice.

My question is, should I ask my GI (I've a routine appointement next week with him) to increase my Imuran?My GP suggested it, but I'd prefer to here it from a GI as opposed to my local general doctor.

As of now I'm on.

100mg of Imuran, 10mg of Predisolone (weaing 5mg a week) and 4g of Pentasa.

Any suggestions would be welcome as I'm going nuts the past few weeks. I can't get a proper nights sleep, constant waking up to poop is driving me insane.

Hey Walrus and welcome to Healingwell.  I really think this is something you should talk to your GI about.  Usually these meds are dosed a therapeutic levels for your body and weight.  Could be you just hit a little bump in the road and the pred will work to quiet things down.  Although I have to say that it doesn't sound like things are really quieting down.  I think you are going to have to bump the Pred back up as you are still having the nighttime interuptions.  But do call your GI and see what he says.  Maybe you will need another med.  Good luck and keep us posted.  Hugs!

Hi and welcome!

Better out than in as they say. I really don't know if raising the dose of Imuran is a good idea, but if you think that can do the trick then go for it. Have you tried taking Imodium (loperamide)?

Post Edited (Ari12) : 1/8/2011 8:39:00 AM (GMT-7)

Ari12 said...
Hi and welcome!

Better out than in as they say. I really don't know if raising the dose of Imuran is a good idea, but if you think that can do the trick then go for it. Have you tried taking Imodium (loperamide)?

If I can take it with my current meds then I would. As for the odd cramp and the night time BM's I feel generally well. I can eat almost anything without regreting it an hour later

Can you stay at your current dose of Pred until you see your GI next week? If your symptoms haven't quite settled down yet you might need to do a bit more of a Prednisone burst or a slower taper. Raising your Imuran would probably take a few months to have any effect, so I don't know if that would be the quick fix you are looking for. It might be the ultimate solution though. Have you had your blood work sent to Prometheus Labs to see if you at a therapeutic level? That might be a good place to start. Then based on those result your doctor and you can discuss if you need to tweak your medication cocktail.

Also, if you know that you are going beyond your tolerated foods/beverages, then try backing off for a bit and give your body a chance to rest for a few weeks.