NO MEDICATION OPTION

I am new at it and as I learn more I come to you for input. I do appreciate your help, I have learned much from you all in these few months.

Again, I was recently diagnosed with CD, although I have NO symptoms. I have consulted with three doctors, two are in the gastro field, with one dealing only with CD patients. The third is my private doctor, an internist, but whom I respect highly. These are the advice that I have received from them:

1. The expert: she tells me that she would not want to let the illness to progress unattended, although she cannot be sure that it is progressive in my case and based on the tests that I have done, she is very surprised that I have no symptoms. In any case, she suggests a short term regime of Budesonide followed by 6 MP as the maintenance drug. I call this the "conventional approach"

2. My personal doctor: he tells me that there is time to make a decision, see how the illness develops, there are cases of people that do not need treatment, specially from those that got the illness late in life, I am 62. So, he says that there is no reason to rush. At most do the short term regime of Budesonide since in some cases, but not in all, it can help.

3. The other gastro doctor: do nothing, let us meet in 6 months unless problems develop.

Now, I carefully checked the medications recomended by the expert. Both are with potentially high side effects. Thus, given this, I wish I could do something, diet, etc., that does not involve drugs for the time being, but I am worried that if the bloody illness is progressive in my case I will regret my decision.

So, three questions:

a. What do you people think?

b. Is anyone NOT using drugs?

c. Is anyone in my case, meaning known CD but NEVER has had symptoms.

In my last post to you I ask something similar, so forgive me if I repeat myself.

Thank you for your wise input,

Erwin    

a. I would either start a maintenance med now or, if you really really want to wait, don't wait a whole 6 months.  Maybe a month or two but not 6.  6mp does sound scary when you read about it, but all meds are like that.  I had to stop 6mp due to elevated liver enzymes but that was reversable and I didn't develop any other problems.  There are other options if 6mp scares you too much.  Ask the dr. what other meds you could try first. 

b. I have been on Crohn's meds since diagnosis except that I stopped them all mid-December because I have very bad arthritis with my Crohn's and we cannot get the arthritis under control.  Last resort was a drug that wouldn't help with the Crohn's and it prevented me from taking the only drugs that have helped my Crohn's (biologicals).  5 weeks after stopping the Crohn's meds, I started getting sick and have had the worst stomach pains that I've had in about 5 years.  Now I'm back on the Crohn's meds but wondering how long it will take to undo the damage I've done. 

c. My GI has Crohn's himself and he said he's seen many Crohn's patients who never had any gut symptoms.  They only found out when being tested for other problems that can go along with the Crohn's like arthritis or eye problems.  So, a lack of symptoms doesn't mean you don't have it and it doesn't mean the symptoms won't rear their ugly heads.  Consider yourself lucky at this point if you don't have symptoms.