Infusion Therapy Anyone?

[bluegrassbrian]

So I was diagnosed with Crohns Disease back in November of 2020 (not the best time to be in a hospital but there I was). Never an exciting diagnosis but it was quite the relief compared to the initial assumption of a cancerous mass in my small intestine.

Common treatment for Crohns and some other inflammatory gastro issues is infusion therapy with biologic medications. Basically every 8 weeks I go to my gastro office, sit on a heated/vibrating recliner, and have Remicade pumped into my vein.

Certainly, medical details are personal and private if so desired, but does anyone else do infusions?
How long have you been on it?
Good results?

If only I could get a pipe rolling in here - ah what a wonderful world it would be.

 

[ashdigger]

Well, I infuse Bourbon and Caffeine in my system daily….

I have a good friend with Crohns and he has infusions, no clue what drug it is, but his life is relatively normal now.

He can’t eat popcorn and when he gets out of whack he only eats Cream of Wheat for a week, but he’s definitely not debilitated by it.

Good luck though

 

[RustiePyles CPG]

My wife has to have a 6 hour infusion every 6 months. It puts her puts her out of commission for about a week every time.

 

[bluegrassbrian]

My wife has to have a 6 hour infusion every 6 months. It puts her puts her out of commission for about a week every time.

Yowza what a bummer.
I don't get any kind of side effect or lingering issues from the therapy. The Benadryl they give before hand is another story altogether.

 

[RustiePyles CPG]

Yowza what a bummer.
I don't get any kind of side effect or lingering issues from the therapy. The Benadryl they give before hand is another story altogether.

Yeah they give her a pretty heavy dose of benadryl with hers as well. she's out cold for most of the 6 hours.

 

[CoffeeAndBourbon]

With my allergies, I have a love/hate relationship with the dryl...
It's the only antihistamine that really works well for me

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

I have ulcerative colitis. Up to a year and a half ago, could control it with the mildest drug available. Then it suddenly erupted. I tried one infusion drug, it didn't work. I'm now on Stelera, self injection every 8 weeks. That seems to be working quite well.

 

[bluegrassbrian]

I have ulcerative colitis. Up to a year and a half ago, could control it with the mildest drug available. Then it suddenly erupted. I tried one infusion drug, it didn't work. I'm now on Stelera, self injection every 8 weeks. That seems to be working quite well.

Nice!
My aunt used Remicade for almost 20 years to treat her rheumatoid arthritis. Now I use it for crohns.

I know with biologics, after some time a certain drug can lose its efficacy and a different one can be implemented.

 

[irishearl]

My wife gets infusions monthly due to an immune system dysfunction. Fortunately, she's on Medicare as it costs $19,000 per infusion. The cost of some drugs here in the US is beyond criminal.

 

[bluegrassbrian]

My wife gets infusions monthly due to an immune system dysfunction. Fortunately, she's on Medicare as it costs $19,000 per infusion. The cost of some drugs here in the US is beyond criminal.

Mhm, beyond criminal - evil. The nature of the big beast unfortunately.
Luckily I've got pretty damn good insurance and I've just about met my out of pocket maximum. I'll have at least a few months of completely free medicine!

 

[puff_not_snuff]

Sorry to hear you are going through that and I don't write this with any amount of jest but have you read about fecal transplants? I have read that it helps people with IBS but not sure if with Crohn's as well. Btw, I know someone who was diagnosed with Crohn's around 98 and has been in remission for most of those years.