Yup, I refused it, I saw this exact downside. Had a chunk resected for Crohns in 87, and I don’t even know if I have any active Crohns or just other fun stuff since they can’t get a cam past the stricture at the anastomosis, where they sewed it together. They said they had a “test run” pill, a placebo that would dissolve if it got stuck, I still refused.
Uggh. I get shudders just thinking about prepping. About a decade or so ago I was hospitalized for what turned out to be Diverticulitis, and I was so miserable I refused to prep for the x-rays. Here’s a tip for Diverticulitis patients, don’t let yourself get dehydrated! They talk about seeds but not that.
My first resection was '96, had some strictureplasties later. I do know it’s active, don’t need no pillcam to confirm that (but a colonoscopy did confirm what me and my consultant already knew).
But never really had a big issue with colonoscopy prep. After all I’ve got CD - emptying my bowels of liquid, forcefully, is second nature!
But prep for a bowel CT/MRI scan is a whole other game. Probably best to stop here, or risk ‘too much info’ upsetting our comrades on these threads.
The problem with Crohn’s is that it can appear anywhere from one end of the GI system to the other. So treatment is not only a matter of what drug(s) to use, but where to deliver it. The traditional approach is systemic meds, regardless of where the disease is, but there are a few drugs that target specific areas, like Entecort. Some kind of (smaller) Pillcam that sprays drugs right at areas of disease (maybe even automatically) would be terrific. Obviously much more work needs to be done, though.
I totally get why you say that. As someone being told it may be best to move from immunosuppressants to a ‘biological’/anti-TNF treatment (one or other of those things ending in -mab) I see why targetting drugs at inflamed/active disease areas would be great.
My suspicion (it’s more than that, but I am not a doctor or medical scientist) however, is that underlying causes need completely different approaches - and treatments. Current drugs are merely symptom management tools in most cases.
The microbiome has much to do with it IMHO but we just don’t know how, yet. Bacteriological approaches will, I hope, one day be found that assist or replace current chemical approaches.
I’m also aware that CD can appear anywhere in the GI tract, but typically it seems to be small intestine and if it is elsewhere (large intestine) don’t they tend to diagnose ulcerative colitis these days? (Rhetorical question, but if you or Urbanicus wish to continue our discussion, perhaps this thread is not the place to carry it on. If I saw a separate thread dedicated to the topic, I’d be there, for sure.)
