After my colonoscopy today my doctor thinks that I have left sided Ulcerative Colitis. I apparently have some pretty severe inflammation in my rectum & descending colon, along with skin tags and ulcer scarring. My doctor didn’t see any inflammation in my terminal ilium but that doesn’t mean that the same thing goes for the rest of my small bowel. So, we’ll just have to wait and see what pathology says. Although in December it said I have Crohn’s. And apparently my paperwork today said I have Crohn’s. So who knows what the hell is going on.
My doctor also wants to start me on Cimzia. We have to wait for the labs to come back before we go to the insurance to see if I can get on it. Hopefully I can. I’m tired of being sick. Although my doctor also mentioned surgery today and I had a bit of a meltdown. He asked me if I wanted to keep living like this. And no, I don’t want to keep fucking living like this but I’m also not ready for fucking surgery. That’s a huge fucking decision and not one that I can make lightly. I told him I’m not ready for surgery. There’s quite a few biologics out there to try first and then Entyvio just got approved by the FDA and that’s one that is used after the other biologics and therapies have failed. I’d definitely rather go that route than jump right into surgery. It’s not like I can change my mind after it’s done.
If the Cimzia is approved a home health nurse will come to my house and teach me how to do the injections. I’m not thrilled about the idea of giving myself shots but if it helps, it’ll be worth it. I could always have my boyfriend(I’ll refer to him as M) do them. I just looked up the price of it and holy shit is it expensive. I hope I apply for the co-payment card and don’t have to pay that much for the medication. It’s $3,000 a dose. I really hate how expensive it is to treat IBD.
I’m definitely not feeling well after my colonoscopy though. I’m having some abdominal pain. But that’s to be expected after what my body went through with the colonoscopy today. I’m hoping that I’ll be feeling better tomorrow.
Although I am slightly frustrated with the fact that in a space of 5 months we went form the Lialda and not wanting to go to what my doctors call The Big Guns to talking about surgery and having to use The Big Guns. I’m pretty convinced at this point that the Lialda really did a number on my system and put me into a flare that we can’t get under control. It’s so frustrating.
I hope the Cimzia helps. I know Caremark covers my Humira with only a small copay, so hopefully they’ll cover the Cimzia for you without being jackasses about it. I hope it helps and you get some relief. It does seem hasty to jump straight to surgery without even trying the biologics first. My gastroenterologist started me on biologics only a few months after I was diagnosed, since it quickly became obvious that the first-line treatments weren’t working.
I hope it helps too. I’m ready to be feeling better. I hope they aren’t jackasses about it. Life is hard enough as it is some days without having to fight the insurance company over medications. I thought it was hasty too with the surgery suggestion. It’s not like my whole colon is affected right now. If it was or if I was going to the bathroom a lot more than I currently am I might be a little more open to the idea. I’m glad I’m not the only one who’s had to go to the biologics so quickly. It just sucks how quickly this disease has progressed in 5 months 🙁