Failing Cimzia and maybe Imuran

We haven't completely given up on the combo yet, as it's only been 7 weeks on the Imuran (been on Cimzia 9 months). I do the Cimzia one shot every two weeks. We're giving it until January, then quitting the Imuran/Cimzia. Bloodwork shows I'm at a little higher than normal therapeutic levels, but he doesn't want to lower it (on 100mg). In the meantime, I saw a holistic doc and am going on an elimination diet, starting Monday. No dairy, gluten (wheat), soy, egg or sugar. He also started me on some supplements. So hopefully that helps, too.

If none of that works, I'll be stopping the Cimzia and Imuran and trying Remicade (never tried it). If THAT doesn't work, he wants to refer me to the IBD Clinic at Vanderbilt in Nashville for more specialized treatment (mtx, tysabri, clinical trials, etc.).

Oh, and I'm having a SBFT on Tuesday. I haven't had one since my dx in 2003 and he wants to see if my small bowel is involved (it wasn't then). Next week will be a year since this flare started. I'm ready for remission again!

I wouldn't give up yet on the Imuran at least. It takes up to 4 to 6 months to reach full efficacy, so maybe a little while longer and you will start seeing some improvements (at least I hope so:) I would think by January you should start seeing it working.

But I agree maybe the diet will give you some relief too. I personally follow a low residue diet all the time and that works best for "me". I hope this diet works well for you. Hugs!

Just wanted to update. Nine weeks on Imuran and 9 days into the elimination diet, and still no improvement. SBFT was normal, so no small bowel involvement (yay!). I'm still holding out hope that something starts working soon.