I have a case of what is called refractory diarrhea. That means that all the standard and more conservative approaches to getting myself into remission didn't work.
Prednisone DID work, but it took so much out of me in other ways (high blood pressure, glaucoma, osteoporosis, adrenal insufficiency {I got hooked on labotatory cortisol} etc.) that I had to stop. Fortunately, at that time the FDA has just released Entocort for use in this country. USA. The Canadians had been using it for years. Anyway, I switched over to it and slowly weaned myself off prednisone. That is another story in itself that I won't go into here.
Added to that was Imuran, an immuno-suppressant. That cocktail has done the trick for me. I would not advise this regimen to anyone else. The only reason I am doing it is because I wanted to be part of my grandson's lives and, maybe, even have one of my own. It was either this or sit on the pot the rest of my life. Not a good option.
Entocort is a corticosteroid, like prednisone, but, unlike prednisone, it is not a systemic drug. It does not affect all systems in the body. Entocort zeros in on the gut and the side effects, while they can be similar to pred, are nowhere near as severe. I am checked out every three months (I take my car in at the same time) and so far, I am doing fine.
It took ten years of suffering and four doctors to get it right.
Right now, life is
Lots of love,
Sally
