Update: Still in remission 1 year after starting Xeljanz!

I just did my routine labwork my GI orders every 4 months. CBC, CRP, CMP, and lipids are all normal. My white blood cell count was so low, I worried something was wrong at first. Ha. I got used to seeing it much higher for so many years. Still waiting for calprotectin result, but I feel well and expect it to reflect that.

I still take oral mesalamine as well. Too scared to try getting off of it even though my GI said I could. Don't need enemas anymore though, which is nice after 14 years of those! Very grateful for Xeljanz. Hoping it continues to work for a long time (knocking on wood as I type this post...).

Big congrats on that....ive follewed your posts Sara over the last year....

1) u had worries at various times that the UC was returning....were these all blips or minor setbacks along the way?....
2) also can u say if u have experienced any side effects on the drug?
3) Has the drug cleared up any extra-intestional symptoms like joints, eyes or skin problems you were having

Thank goodness! I remember when you thought you were at the end of the line. So great that you're doing so well for so long.

Fantastic! I’m celebrating with you!

Adding my cheers to the crowd here. Such great news!

Thanks, Gritty and quincy! Yes, they're normal. I had just become so accustomed to the WBC being higher for so many years that when I first looked at it, I had to do a double-take, ha.

Oh that is great Sara! Now I can't remember, did you run into trouble when you tried quitting smoking? Are you still smoking? (This is not a "quit smoking!" post, I have been intrigued by the relationship between UC and smoking).

Happy for you Sara! I wish us all long remissions!!

q: Thanks, will do. If I could take 6 pills of mesalamine daily instead of 12, I would be happy with that! I have to bring Pumpkin to the vet today and am an anxious wreck. She gets extremely agressive at the vet and we had a really bad experience with the last one. We're trying out someone new today. It's 45 minutes away though (one of the bad things about living out in the woods and 30 minutes from a medium-sized city), and she acts like she's dying even driving 5 minutes to a vet. She somehow hurt her leg a few weeks ago and it's making a clicking noise when she walks and she has developed a slight limp, but other than that, she acts normal--still jumps up on everything, plays a lot, tries to hunt stuff in our yard, eats and sleeps normally, doesn't act in pain if I touch her leg, etc. They are probably going to have to sedate her and take x-rays which we've never had before (well, I have, but she hasn't, lol). Pretty freaked out because she's going to be absolutely terrified.

Yeah, it's weird. Well, you still remembered my smoking sagas, lol.

Thank you!

Hi Sara...how did Pumpkin do at the vet, and is there any insight as to her injury?
Can't blame her for not wanting to go to the vet 😳

q

I wrote a long reply this morning to poopydoop and it doesn't look like it posted--ugh!

Thanks, poopydoop, quincy, and Flowers!

My calpro came back around 65, which is higher than that last few times. Does anyone think I should be worried? This test has not always been accurate for me, but usually it shows as low when I'm quite ill, so this is the opposite. But 65 still isn't very high, right? My GI hasn't said anything yet.

For anyone who doesn't care about my cat, you can skip this part, lol. Pumpkin was terrified, but she did alright. She was very agressive, like usual, so the vet sedated her with gas. First time we've done that and I was really nervous. The vet said she did well with the sedation and went right to sleep (or whatever, not sure if it's more like twilight sedation we get or probably even lighter than that). They were actually able to do a physical exam on her, which was nice! She has a partially torn cruciate knee ligament (similar to an ACL in humans), which was what I feared after doing online research. The vet said if she doesn't have surgery on it, it will eventually get worse to the point she won't be able to use that leg! She told me it wasn't urgent and to do some reading on the surgery. The thing that will majorly suck is after surgery, I would have to keep her very inactive for 6-8 weeks! No jumping or running or it would just tear again and we'd be at square one. My cat is very active and wild, so I feel like this would be extremely stressful for both of us, but if the alternative is she will no longer be able to use one of her legs, I don't see any other option. I may get a second opinion. I liked this vet a lot, but this is a huge decision, and I want to make sure this is really necessary. She's almost 11, but she's still really active.

She also said she has arthritis in both ankles. I requested bloodwork since she was already sedated, which they said all came back normal, and the vet said her heart and lungs sounded good! They were able to get all her vaccines done while sedated too, which was a huge relief because she was overdue for those. And I'm thankful she hopefully doesn't remember most of it since she was sedated.

Thanks, q. Yes, the vet said I'd need to put her in a large crate when I'm not home. Luckily, I work from home and don't go a lot of places these days so I'd be able to be with her almost all the time. But still, it sounds like it would be terribly stressful for both of us. Really sucks.