rp1965

My cousin's son was diagnosed with Crohns disease around the same age as your daughter, this is the usual age when this disease erupts with symptoms, maybe a bit older, but his symptoms were bleeding during bowel movements and quite intense abdominal pain. He was prescribed numerous pills in the beginning, one name that stands out was Methotrexate, never agreeing to the intense steroid therapy the gastro doctor suggested because of the posibility of swelling up and appearing "chubby". He then opted for Remecade which did not provide the results expected, although the treatments were not followed precisely as prescribed by the doctor, and most recently, now at 19, due to his disgust with having dealt with the intense treatment of the disease and not much positive results, decided not to treat at all. His mother of course is concerned, but can also understand his decision. There can be serious reprecussions from not staying the course with Crohns, but he will not continue with treatment at this point. Another sad issue with this disease is regarding some of the treatments which have shown promise and decent results such as Remicade and others are still considered "experimental" for treatment with Chrons and are not covered fully by insurance. This was the case up to his last treatment, I do not know if this medication has been fully accepted as of yet. A very concerning issue which I feel is a travesty which makes this an expensive disease for a Crohns sufferer's parents to have to deal with also. His FDA approved meds were covered, but htere were so many that I remember my cousin stating her co-pays were $300 a month, I don't know if she finally looked into the mail order pharmacy in which Blue Cross charges a lesser co-pay with the ability to order a 90 day script unlike getting the meds from the local pahrmacy,but that does not matter now since he is not taking any meds. Since there have been remissions and good results with Remecade, I always wondered why won't the insurance companies agree to cover those treatments in full, the cheap b@$#@&%$ they are, health insurance plans are no where near what they used to be. You also have a difficult time considering it is never easy to see one's own child with a chronic illness, I have a hard time seeing my cousin's son and hearing how he copes. To add icing to this cake, Chrons is a disease which will need constant lifelong treatment, another aspect of this condition which has also caused him to be depressed at times, not being able to live his youth like others his age. But, hopefully, your daughter will hit a long remission and never exit it. I have heard of very long remissions with this disease, that is a possibility. Good luck, I hope your child does well.