Lowering Medication Dosage
I've been diagnosed with Crohns for 10 years and have been pretty lucky generally. Last year my immunosuppressants and mesalasine stopped worked quite so well so I was flaring slightly for a while and have since been put on Entyvio started in Jan 24- The entyvio worked immediately - literally from the first infusion. And now Im self injecting every 2 weeks. I think however that as it worked so fast and now Im more constipated which is a rarety that the medicine may actually be slightly too strong for me. I am also not sure I can cope with the side effects long term. I'm exhausted, headaches, nausea, weight gain. Has anyone tried dropping the dose of their bioloigic? Im thinking perhaps I could try injecting once per month and see how I go with that? And hope that it also reduces the side effects?
Any thoughts/advise?
Hi
. That is a really interesting question. I can't personally speak to this, but I did find this article on de-escalation of biologics: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37943286/. Overall the results look promising in that when patients did have a relapse, re-upping the medication was generally effective. The conclude that "Any consideration for de-escalation of biologic therapy in IBD must be tailored, taking into account the risks and consequences of a flare and patients' preferences." One thing that is unclear is the definition they are using for "de-escalation." Is it halting treatment or, as you are looking to do, cut back? The main point seems to be working closely with one's doctor. Hopefully others will chime in with their thoughts and experiences. Best, Richard (Team Member) Thank you. Yes I’m going to discuss with my doctor. Will read the article 😀
