Meds

[McFel]

Hi everyone. This is just a concern for my bf. His attending physician (not a gastro specialist) gave him 3 meds for his suspected Crohn's Disease:

1. Metronidazole 500mg tab

2. Mesalazine 2gm/50ml Enema

3. Prednisolone 20mg tab

Are the above meds same with what you are being prescribed or you are taking the same? Please advise. Thank you.

[SORRELHIPPO]

I have had Crohn's for over 30 years, at various times have had this mix of medications. If I remember it correctly, the first is for infection, always worked for me. The second is for the Crohn's and the final is to reduce the inflammation in the intestinal area. I am presuming the prednisolone will be on a decreasing dose when it starts to have an effect. Good luck.

[McFel in reply to SORRELHIPPO]

Hi Sorrelhippo, thank you for clarifying things. It really helps me to at least help my bf explain his meds. His attending physician also added two more meds, thats what he said yesterday. May I ask from you? What are the tests have you undergone to get into the diagnosis of having a Crohn's Disease? He himself had a Blood Tests, Calcium, Vit D and comes out normal except for the Fecal Calprotectin which was 140 high and stool had slight blood on it. He's bit worried about his condition. He is 36 yrs old. Pls advise. Thank you very much.

[SORRELHIPPO in reply to McFel]

I did not have a Faecal Calprotectin, but was diagnosed in the mid 1980's so may not have been done then. Had a colonoscopy, (tube up rectum) with look see, they saw ulceration in the rectal area and just above, and they removed some tissue for biopsy, then was given diagnosis, they now keep an eye on my ESR shows inflammation, I think. I had had 4 weeks of dreadful diarrhoea, lost massive amounts of weight and was getting confused from dehydration. Have had ultrasounds, Barium meals, Barium Enemas and CT Scans in the doughnut shape over the years. I have swung from remission to relapse a lot, as the damage has moved along the digestive tract to different areas. Need to keep checks on certain vitamins as things like B12 will not be absorbed if certain areas of intestine damaged. I now have to have this in injection form and Vit D as spend a lot of time indoors these days. Did manage to work part time up until 2008, so was able to continue to earn, I am considered someone who took this badly, a lot of people now, with better medications around, do not get it as badly as I did. I did need one bout of invasive surgery, but managed to work after this, so not bad. I had made it into my 50's by then. Must admit at the start I had not expected to still be functioning reasonably at 68, but I am, just need to know where every toilet is. I think the 2 most important things are to come to terms with the diagnosis, (stress does not help) and then work out what diet suits you as an individual, the best. I have problems with milk (but always have had) roughage especially green veg. (puree a lot ugh) citrus fruits and a few other things. It is a suck it and see, for a lot of people eggs, steamed chicken, fish and bananas are OK, I also find white rice and pasta fine, baked potatoes (innards only) oh and for me smooth peanut butter is a good protein. I did have Cognitive Behavioural Therapy to assist me in coming to terms with living a life I had not envisaged, had been going to be a high flyer, the world my oyster. My main bit of good luck, was that I worked in the Health Service, so had seen/worked with many people who had debilitating illnesses and long term diagnoses, so I was aware that lots of people did have these sort of problems, but it is a shock to discover that we are mortal. The one good thing I felt, was I did not get it in my mid to late teens,when a lot of people do, which messes up their education, so really affects their future, at least I had managed a qualification before this, so I could work. If I have anything badly wrong in this, someone else on here will correct me, give him my best.

[Valbaty54]

Hi, Metronidazole is an antibiotic, in case there is an infection. Mesalazine is an anti-inflammatory which nearly all of us start on, but, it's in enema form so maybe the doc is thinking Ulcerative colitis which is a relative of Crohns. It only affects the large bowel. Pred is a steroid which will reduce inflammation quite quickly and usually they are taken for a short time in decreasing dose. All of these sound like good choices - hope your bf improves soon!