GI Question?

Hi All!

I had my first appointment with my new GI on Thursday, and whilst I was there, he did a couple of things that I have not come across before!

1 - he checked my hands - so he looked at the back of my hands, the nails, the way my fingers bent and their resistence, then he turned them over and looked at the palms and the wrists.

Has anyone else had this??

2 - he asked if there was any Jewish bloodlines in my family - anywhere. Is this something that is associated with chrohns/colitis?

3 - I gave him my family tree, as in our family (and I mean direct immediate family - my mums side, so her brothers and sisters, and their kids, so my cousins) we have multiple sclerosis, chrohns, colitis, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, small fibre neuropathy - just to name a few, and in my extended family (my mums mums siblings) these AI diseases are also present, along with a 2nd cousin dying from chrohns - the GI looked at me, and just patted my hand. Almost like he was telling me that I am screwed.

4 - he made a definate plan - a) Imuran, b) lanvis, c) drug trial - to be determined and d) surgery - to be determined.

I like this GI - he seems to know what he is doing - just wanting to know if anyone else has come across this type of thing?

S

He was looking at your hands to see if you have inflammation in the joints, and he was probably also looking for signs of anemia (the color of your nails, the color in the lines in your palm.

I'm glad you liked the doctor.

Thanks everyone!

I live in Australia, so they have different restrictions here on meds, which restricts what they can and can not prescribe.

For example - remicade is not prescribed in Australia for colitis, only chrohns, so if you need the remicade for colitis you need to pay $790 for each infusion, as the PBS does not cover it. If it did, it would cost $40 per infusion - Maximum. We do not have Humira available here yet for colitis - so a single prescription, one injection only is $1800 - no subsidies. Or if you get a script of 6 injections its $5400.00.

These restrictions also cover the use of the rectal meds - I have tried colifoam, salofalk liquid enemas and also the salofalk foam enemas (these cost $45 for 28, but the non subsidiesed price is $670) - and they cause more pain than what they help. I have given each of these meds over 6 weeks each to see if the pains would stop, but unfortunately, the pain is just as bad as having a colitis attack (so not insertion pain, its retention pain). The GI did suggest a suppository, as he has had other colitis patients with the same poblem with the enema meds. So that is something that will start the next time I see him. I am just trying the Imuran first, as I was on 6MP and had a terrible reaction, which he said was definately 6MP related, to see if I can tolerate the imuran instead. I am feeling like crap if that is any indication that it is working!

He did tell me that I had had hepatitis when I was pregnant with my daughter - as I was put on Salazopyrin for my colitis - and my LFTs went sky high, which is something I did not know, I was just told that I did not react well to it, and was taken off it really quickly.

I don't think I am anemic - as I take iron tablets, along with vit b, vit d, and also eat red meat a lot. (we are aussies, we love our red meat!). So, considering the constant bleeding, I am actually doing okay with that. I have, however, lost 6 kgs in 3 weeks, due to the diarrhea, which then means that I am not eating, as it only ends badly.

I am hoping that as he is a professor, that he will have more access to drugs/therapies than the other GI (the incompetant ***) did.

Thanks everyone!