GI-- you are Fired!??

I am currently off all drugs except Asacol, just met with my GI and he wants me to start 6-mp, even though I am having no blood, awesome bowel movements etc...

Went off imuran and prednisone and have never been better.

Could just be a placebo effect but so what, these brutal drugs -- imuran, remicade, 6mp, are barely better than placebo's in the studies that got them approved and the side effect risks aren't worth it. (only 46 percent of people at 1 year on Remicade were in Remission, 22 percent on placebo were and only 21 percent were off steroids!! Why bother!!)

I am firing my GI. Dude hasn't done a colonoscopy since 2009 and thinks I am good until 2012??? What the? ? I have had a pretty bad year -- 3 cycles of prednisone and a failed imuran attemp after 20 years of just being on Asacol -- you'd think you might want to see what kind of damage, if any, I have sustained before whipping out your RX pad!

Shouldn't you take a look before you prescribe me a chemo drug called 6-MP!!!!!

Thoughts? Am I being stubborn? Not sure what I will do if flares start causing me problems again. Supposed to get a blood test in 5 weeks to see how I am doing on the 6mp I am not going to take!!

I know!! And the funny (sad?) thing is that this time I followed my pharmacists schedule for going off Prednisone -- she couldn't believe how fast I went from 50 a day to zero my previous 2 times... And now I am not having any issues. Doc figures Asacol doesn't work anymore for me since that's what I was on when my problems started --- yet he still tells me to take it?

How can a GI possibly recommend taking medication without taking a look inside?

I'd find a new GI. This one sounds like he has mental issues.

i dont't know if it's a standard protocol or just my gi's feelings, but I only get a colonoscopy ever 3 years.  songlady is the only one i have heard that gets them yearly.

 

i am confused though about your doc wanting to put you on 6mp if you are doing well?

 

what are your symptoms now?

I agree with you.... personally if you are doing fine, and he wants to put you on more medicine, he should at least take a look to see how things are before putting you on more medicine.

bacon, I just read your comment in the psyllium thread - your GI tells you not to take in so much water?! Goodness, given the amount of liquid we send out as D , etc.... my GIs have always urged me to drink more and guard against dehydration!
As Peety said, you already know what you need to do..... ah, doc shopping......

This happened to me and I high-tailed it out of that GI's office and found another one. On my first flare, he set me up for failure on Asacol by having me taper too fast off pred and having to start the taper over twice.Then once I was off prednisone, and in remission, he dropped me too fast to a low dose on Asacol. Then, I flared, stress compounded things. After I spent a weekend in the ER, he whipped out a script for 6 mp. I said whoa-hhh. I decided against his wishes to give Asacol another try. This time, however, I told him I want mesalamine rectal enemas and mesalamine suppositories (this message board fortified me). With that arsenal, now THAT's a path to remission and maintenance. I'd have to be staring at another course of prednisone to reconsider 6mp. Hopefully that will never happen or be a long way off.

The colonoscopy schedule is actually a decent one, there's no need to do scopes yearly or anything. Once you reach the 10 year mark, with active disease, then they tend to become more rigorous with cancer screening, yearly scopes, etc. Why don't you just say to him "No thanks, I don't feel I need that med". I mean, if you like the guy well enough, you don't have to do what he suggests, you know? You could ask him for another scope, if you're curious- sometimes you do need to be pro-active, tell him what you want. Might be worth a try- a good doctor/patient relationship has to have some give & take.