Cyclosporine Treatment of Chron's

Hi Everyone,

I went today for a second opinion to a new GI, as my past year hasn't been very good. Since I have been on pretty much every medication and multiple surgeries my options are very limited.  The GI I went to told me that I have an option to start Cyclosporine, which would require me to be admitted to the hospital from 7 - 10 days to receive a continuous IV flow of the medication to set the correct levels right away.  After 7 - 10 days I would be discharged and would just take oral medication.  He said that based on study this has been a really effective medication for both fistula's and Chron's disease.  I wanted to know if anyone has heard of it as he was the 1st doctor that has ever mentioned this medication to me. 

Thank you,

Ella

Cyclosporine is actually a drug that has been used for many years for transplants as an anti rejection medication. My father was on it for 15 years post heart transplant. After 12 years or so he started developing kidney failure and he was told that could have been a side effect from the medication. Other than that, it was a great medication for him.

Cyclosporine was the only medical option I had left back in the early '90s when I'd used all the other meds that were available at that time, and my disease was too extensive for surgery.

I did all the pre-administration workup (which required a week in hospital in itself; I don't know if that will be necessary for you) but was ultimately told I couldn't have the drug.

You might like to pop over to the UC forum and ask about it there: I believe it's more commonly used with UC than CD nowadays.

All the best to you,

Ivy.