What to have for your hospital stay? A big circle of friends and family to keep you busy. I do not know the hospital, it is preferred if the surgeon is jpouch experienced (hundreds of happy...
If I recall IV steroid means hydrocortisone which can also be taken orally. Steroids alone should not be reason for hospitalization, doc may want to do bowel rest and IV nutrition to get you...
Not exactly blaming somebody, but having some anger in you can be a useful driver for recovery and sometimes deal with the system when it gets lazy. Surgery can be a good choice at 20, yes there are...
Qsam6, When I read your story I see you need a different GI for your own sake, and you need to make the name of the old GI public for other patient's sake. Maybe do a blog somewhere and share your...
If I recall correctly the hydrocortisone is delivered into the IV twice a day in the hospital, so if that is all you are getting it is a real waste to be there 24 hours a day. Maybe do that as...
Indeed doctors follow a protocol that somehow represents best practice consensus and keeps them in a comfort zone regarding others judging their decisions. The only beef I have with that is that in...
I thought it was illegal to bring them in. I was never able to claim any medical expenses from the US on my taxes in any case. The threshold for medical expenses is ridiculously high. Maybe I am...
From what I learned budesonide is used for small intestine and not colon because it dissolves before getting to the colon. I got budesonide enemas from a swedish manufacturer and had them brought to...
What I read early on when my son was diagnosed was that for mildly medicated patients the life expectancy of UC patients is actually higher, for two reason, they eat healthier so cardiovascular...
Friend has UC, in his early twenties now. Last fall he was running out of options, we just spoke to the mother and he is still doing great. We took some notes on what combo he got but it is best if...
Killcolitis, my understanding is that CD is ruled out by the endoscopy done before planning surgery, no guarantees about the future but at least it is something. My view is favorable to surgery, but...
Well, it is ironic that a 23 old graduate student takes offense. In other disciplines at 23 you would be in the apprenticeship phase let alone something as complex as IBD. The point is clear, you get...
Well, from my son's experience I thought surgery was a great option for young people to rebound and be disease free. I am intrigued though by the experience of another youngster friend of ours who...
If I had a chronic condition, namely sick and in need of drugs for life, I would certainly want a large insurer that cannot drop me. That is called the "public option". In any other scenario I...
I apologize if I sound blunt but the only way I see things working out is if he goes for surgery. Otherwise what you experience now is what you can expect, and it does not sound you can deal with...
What "relatives" think is not that important, but your mom better be on your side if you are going for surgery at your age. The giving-in is nonsense, it is about doing surgery on your terms vs....
I am no doctor but have seen this movie before. I would try the multiple antibiotic regime but without prednisone. Prednisone is good at masking the symptoms while the disease is getting stronger,...
That sounds like a good plan. Maybe 10 months to be back in action is too conservative, if you do 2 step it is likely to be less than that. In any case see if you can line up meaningful things she...
Levi, I spoke to the mother of the patient yesterday. He continues to do well. In this treatment they do not destroy the immune system. It seems to be a bunch of antibiotics, folic acid, stem cell...
Yes Levi the doctor is Austrian and the personnel is spanish speaking, so I do not ding them for bad spelling. I have spent weeks in different California Hospitals with my son and the care givers are...
Although I have posted positively on surgery, a young friend in a flare after failing Remicade seems to have responded very well to stem cell therapy by Dr. Hellenthal. His practice is in Nicaragua,...
I am sorry your son is going through this, please be aware that exhausting the options fast is better than exhausting the same options slow. If you need some high level opinion, a friend spoke very...
I am afraid the coverage by private insurers like Aetna, and the medical cost inflation of the privately insured population have no incidence on the US deficit or future generations. Insurers do this...
If I recall correctly insurance paid for the pre-6MP Prometheus test but denied the post Remicade Prometheus test. I was more upset with the doctor that asked for that test than with the insurer, if...
Ok, here are some notes for the first surgery, all subjective perspective. One agonizes over surgery vs. waiting for a miracle cure. Wasting my son's youth waiting for pharma was not fair. After I...
sweetpeasmom: I will be happy to. Ours was a university hospital also, based on the surgeon choice not so much on the hospital. For a young person like your daughter it makes sense to do a...
My son also went from Humira to Remicade. Humira never helped even at double dose, and neither did Remicade. I think it is a long shot, and an expensive one in time, inconvenience, and cost. You will...