#1 ·
Hey
So, we're looking at a potential treatment—nothing is set in stone yet.
It's moderate Crohn's disease (dealing with a fistula near the sigmoid colon connecting to the bladder that flares up and then recedes, plus some skip lesions in the small intestine—one big one about 4 inches long). Overall health is doing alright (on metronidazole and steroids for the last month), adult, diagnosed about six months ago (thankfully caught early).
The current combo of metronidazole and steroids hasn't really done the trick—specifically regarding closing that fistula—so now Infliximab is on the table.
Spent way too much time Googling yesterday, so now I'm curious
- if anyone here has actually used it—what was it like?
- any pros from the experts out there—doctors, pharmacists, molecular biologists, whoever you are—what's your take?
From what I've read, success rates look pretty good, but then you see the scary side effects (demyelinating diseases, lymphomas, etc.) + even if it works, it seems like a lifelong commitment.
Also, a bit of a theory question—from what I gather, Infliximab is 75% human and 25% mouse IgG1. Why can't they just use 100% human immunoglobulin (if that's even possible)? Wouldn't that cut down on the nasty side effects—at least the allergic ones?
Oh, and what does monoclonal antibody actually mean anyway?
One more thing for the professionals—be real with me—given everything, do you think it's better to try Infliximab first or just go straight to surgery?
Thanks, everyone!
So, we're looking at a potential treatment—nothing is set in stone yet.
It's moderate Crohn's disease (dealing with a fistula near the sigmoid colon connecting to the bladder that flares up and then recedes, plus some skip lesions in the small intestine—one big one about 4 inches long). Overall health is doing alright (on metronidazole and steroids for the last month), adult, diagnosed about six months ago (thankfully caught early).
The current combo of metronidazole and steroids hasn't really done the trick—specifically regarding closing that fistula—so now Infliximab is on the table.
Spent way too much time Googling yesterday, so now I'm curious
- if anyone here has actually used it—what was it like?
- any pros from the experts out there—doctors, pharmacists, molecular biologists, whoever you are—what's your take?
From what I've read, success rates look pretty good, but then you see the scary side effects (demyelinating diseases, lymphomas, etc.) + even if it works, it seems like a lifelong commitment.
Also, a bit of a theory question—from what I gather, Infliximab is 75% human and 25% mouse IgG1. Why can't they just use 100% human immunoglobulin (if that's even possible)? Wouldn't that cut down on the nasty side effects—at least the allergic ones?
Oh, and what does monoclonal antibody actually mean anyway?
One more thing for the professionals—be real with me—given everything, do you think it's better to try Infliximab first or just go straight to surgery?
Thanks, everyone!