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17 year old son

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Crohn's Disease
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Posted 3/1/2012 5:21 PM (GMT 0)

My 17 year old son was diagnosed with Crohns at the terminal illeum about 3 years ago.  He is very careful what he eats and has taken Pentassa and probiotics only all this time (with the exception of steroids the 1st few months to get him stabilized).  He has had periodic flare ups with cramping and vomitting but we could always go to a liquid diet and get it under control quickly.  This has not been the case in the last month.  He has had almost constant cramping and hasn't been able to eat.  We are now considering Humira or 6MP for treatment. 

Any experience with these symptoms and treating with these meds would be helpful to know.

thanks

Posted 3/1/2012 6:19 PM (GMT 0)
Welcome to the forum. Both of these drugs have been used to treat and maintain crohn's disease in many many people. However they both go about treating it in different ways. 6mp is and immuno suppressant that treats crohns by suppressing the immune system, Humira is engineered to go after the protien that causes inflamation. I was given the choice of taking either one of these a couple years back and after talking it over with my GI I ultimately decided to go the Humira route. There are things to consider with both of these drugs and the decision of which to go on should be discussed with your sons GI. If considering the Humira route you may need to check with your insurance. When I went to take it a few years back it required pre approval from the insurance company. This is a great board and very informational and I'm sure more people will chime in as the day goes on. Good Luck
Posted 3/2/2012 2:16 AM (GMT 0)
My daughter went the prednisone/pentasa route after first being diagnosed. The prednisone will get things under control, but there is a large school of thought amongst GI's, that Pentasa is a useless medication.

After two years, my daughter developed severe Crohn's issues, and was then transitioned to Imuran,(6mp). 

There'll be differing opinions on Pentasa, but i don't believe it's a viable treatment option at all. 

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