Crohn's Chronicles :: Entyvio Fail

A couple of weeks ago, I had another colonoscopy to see if and how much Entyvio has been working for me. I have still been experiencing symptoms, so my GI needed to see what was up.

Bottoms up! Oh, Suprep...a necessary evil.

I got to speak with my GI after the procedure, and he let me know that there had been virtually no change in my intestinal inflammation from a year ago. The pictures show the same level of disease. So Entyvio has not been working for me. At least, it's not going to be the medication that puts me into remission. I guess that it could have done absolutely nothing, and my inflammation and disease could have looked much worse. But that could also be because I have been taking Lialda {an anti-inflammatory}. So who knows. But either way, my Entyvio journey is going to come to an end.

He also removed a few polyps. I got the biopsy results back, and it showed an Adenomatous polyp {pre-cancerous}. He removed it, but I am now at an increased risk of developing more of these polyps in the future, which also increases my risk for colon cancer. Having Crohn's already does that, so I am really thankful that my doctor will now be monitoring it more closely to catch any future polyps early. The good news is that most of these type of polyps never turn into colon cancer, as long as they are caught and removed.

So for the short term, I have started taking steroids again to directly address the inflammation. I will take an Entocort taper for the next 2 months, which is supposed to be less harsh than Prednisone {which is what I have taken in the past}. I'm hoping that it is as effective, just with fewer side effects. I will work with the infusion center to wean off the Entyvio, and that will depend on insurance approval on the next medication.

It's really hard right now. I'm still sick. I have spent a year on a medication that has failed, and I am basically starting over. I'm not really sure why the Lord is holding off healing and remission. But I know He hasn't left me, and I am thankful that I still have a good care team and that I still have treatment options. They might be dwindling fast...but I haven't exhausted everything yet. I am just continuing to process this chronic disease that has no cure, leaning on Jesus for His strength.