Anyone Ever exhaust ALL medicine options?

Im at the point now of exhausting all Medicine treatments. Failed Remicade, Been on Cimzia since Aug so Far that's not working, Last Promethus test came back inconclusive so doc doesn't know if Humira is an option. Surgery isnt an option for me either as I have Crohns from Mouth to Anus along with Inflammotory Bowel Disease. Tysbrai wont even mess with it. Has anyone lived of off Just Entocort or Predisone? Or what happens next? Dr says he will refer me to Doc in Gainsville but I dont know if Ins Co will cover it and we dont know if the Doc there can do any better.

So what does a Person do?????????????

Are you able to try diet changes? I know when I had exhausted all medicinal resources (9 years ago) I started the SCD while taking my meds. It really helped. In fact, it saved me from surgery AND helped me get healthy enough to get pregnant. It might be a viable option for you. I never believed in that stuff. Thought it was for the "granola crowd". HOWEVER... there really is something to it. Some people say it doesn't work for them. It is very strict, but TOTALLY worth trying, in my opinion. And if you've exhausted all other options, then you have nothing to lose.

I hope you find something that works for you.

I have tried everything but Remicade ( I cant try this bc of my mouse allergy) and Tysabri. I cant even have Prednisone anymore ( avascular necrosis). I have very serious bleeding issues and have learned to manage flares with Rowasa enemas, Lialda, Ultimate critical care probiotics( double when flaring), fish oil ( double when flaring), high dose vitamin d3 (when flaring I take 5000-6000iu per day), slippery elm ( 2 at bedtime when flaring) and I fast for the first 24 hours then strict SCD/no carb until I reach a remission state. I just stopped a bad flare last week with this routine.

I hope this information may help you in some way...
Debb

Erm, not as much as you have :-/

The immune suppressants (6M, Imuran) didn't work for me, nor has Remicade at a normal dose (having a double dose for 3 goes to see if that makes a difference). Not tried Humira and Cimzia ain't available in the UK, as far as I know. Surgery is still open to me, although unless the colon can be healed would involve removing the entire colon just to get rid of a 6cm stricture.

I'm shortly about to begin an elemental diet. Elemental diets have a good track record for getting people into remission, although not for keeping them there, unfortunately. I dunno how well it would work for Crohn's as extensive as yours, but it's surely got to be worth looking into to. If you can get the Crohn's under control, then the maintenance meds might start to work for you: they are better at maintaining remission than they are for getting a severe flare-up under control.

Also, as others have said, there's supplements, the SCD (Specific Carbohydrate Diet, if you want to google or search for it on HW) diet, probiotics, etc. There's almost no end to the 'natural' route once you begin, and those supplements don't come cheap, but I would rather go down that route than be on steroids indefinitely. It is not really safe to be on a high dose of steroids long-term, although some folks do stay on a low dose for a long time.