Treatment for Crohns Disease
04.29.10
Crohns Disease treatment is a life-long commitment, as this chronic condition is marked by flare-ups and remission periods that sufferers will unfortunately be forced to deal. Crohns Disease symptoms, and possibly one or more stays in a hospital.
All of that works together with the general stress of life to affect the course of your disease. When it all combines together — you get fatigue. You feel tired, listless. I know. I’ve been there. Proper Crohns Disease treatment is crucial, and it is important to learn everything you can about this debilitating condition.
The goal of medical treatment is to reduce the inflammation that triggers your signs and symptoms. In the best cases, this may lead not only to symptom relief but also to long-term remission. Treatment for Crohns disease usually involves drug therapy or, in certain cases, surgery.
Doctors use several categories of drugs that control inflammation in different ways. But drugs that work well for some people may not work for others, so it may take time to find a medication that helps you.
In addition, because some drugs have serious side effects, you’ll need to weigh the benefits and risks of any treatment.
Anti-inflammatory drugs
Anti-inflammatory drugs are often the first step in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease.
They include:
• Sulfasalazine (Azulfidine). Doctors have used this drug for many years to treat Crohns disease. Although it can be effective in reducing symptoms of the disease, it has a number of side effects, including nausea, vomiting, heartburn and headache. Don’t take this medication if you’re allergic to sulfa medications.
• Mesalamine (Asacol, Rowasa). This medication tends to have fewer side effects than sulfasalazine has. You take it in tablet form or use it rectally in the form of an enema or suppository, depending on which part of your colon is affected.
• Corticosteroids. Corticosteroids can help reduce inflammation anywhere in your body, but they have numerous side effects, including a puffy face, excessive facial hair, night sweats, insomnia and hyperactivity.
More serious side effects include high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis, bone fractures, cataracts and an increased susceptibility to infections. Long-term use of corticosteroids in children can lead to stunted growth.
Also, these medications don’t work for everyone with Crohns disease. Doctors generally use corticosteroids only if you have moderate to severe inflammatory bowel disease that doesn’t respond to other treatments.
A newer type of corticosteroid, budesonide (Entocort EC), works faster than do traditional steroids and appears to produce fewer side effects. Entocort EC is effective only in Crohns disease that involves the lower small intestine and the first part of the large intestine (ileocolitis).
Corticosteroids aren’t for long-term use. They can be used for short-term symptom improvement for about three to four months. They’re also used in conjunction with other medications as a means to induce remission.
For example, corticosteroids may be used with an immune system suppressor — the corticosteroids can induce remission, while the immune system suppressors can help maintain remission.
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