Long term effects on biologics
Hi,
I have been diagnosed with UC 2.5 years ago and have had as couple of moderate flares in this period.
The last flare dates back to early may this year and started with the usual proctitis which, despite the topical treatment, eventually spread to the distal colon.
I am currently on prednisone, pentasa and rectal foam, and hopefully will be able to decrease soon the 30 MG/day i am currently taking.
My GIs seem to all agree that I need to go onto a biologic sometimes in august to help reduce the inflammation. The GIs however have differing ideas regarding the biologic I should go on.
I would like to understand what the long term side effects of these drugs could be and whether I can ever imagine stopping this therapy.
Also, various biologics have been named… Humira, Stelara, Entyvio… but I have no idea which one is safest.
Thank you for your question, @MisterD. I hope you find some relief soon with your UC, and luckily, there are plenty of biologics out there that can have a positive effect on your disease. This article below helps explain the difference between the medications, their uses, and potential side effects. I hope this helps you navigate your decisions--please keep us posted!
https://inflammatoryboweldisease.net/treatment/medications/biologic-therapies--Julie (Team Member)
I'm a little late in replying, so I guess my advice and info is a little pointless now! However, I'd be interested to know which you went with? Stelara and Entyvio are similar drugs, in the sense that they are both Monoclonal antibodies. Stelara often begins to take effect the fastest.
~ Sahara (Team member)
