Latest GI Checkup: Doing Well

So this past Thursday (October 2, 2014) I had an appointment with my gastroentrologist. I usually type out a summary of the drugs I am taking, my symptoms, and any questions I may have. Also I gave my doctor a copy of my Crohn's history with any major events that I made myself. I feel it is always worthwhile to keep good records (not only for medical history but also because I think it is nice to have some type of archive of your own life). What is funny is he was telling me how patients can come in with binders showing how many times they go to the bathroom, pass gas, and what they eat. My doctor said he tells patients to just throw out all the binders about what they eat and other data. He had a really good line which I have thought about some. He was pointing out that in managing chronic conditions the goal is to make them so they don't feel chronic. The point being that if you are recording your every breathe, what you eat, what you do, essentially you are worrying so much about your condition that worrying becomes part of the chronic condition. At the end of the day if you don't feel well you will go to the doctor and they will try to fix you.

Anyways my doctor in my visit asked if I was OCD when I gave him full history of my Crohn's disease. I laughed because I actually am not OCD and told him I just like to keep detailed notes. It was interesting that from the last time I saw him (back in April).  From the last time I saw my doctor I lost about 1 pound which is interesting since I would have thought I gained a couple of pounds. In another month or so I go for my annual physical so I will see how I am doing overall. Anyways one of my questions was if my doctor has started using Entivyo which was approved earlier this year for Crohn's. My doctor mentioned that he to date hasn't had any experience yet however he wants to wait until the drug has been out a while (I guess to see potential side effects and see if it can work). Also I asked about the Cologuard test that also came out earlier this year. His comment was that the test is good for finding polyps, however not very good at finding cancerous polys (his observation was that this was almost a backwards way of doing it). My believe is that as time goes on the technology will continue to improve and get better at not only finding regular polyps but also cancer polyps as well. My last question was when my doctor thought I needed a colonoscopy. His response that since Crohn's patients have an increased risk of colon cancer usually around 7 years after diagnosed is when a colonoscopy is done. Of course if there is an issue it will be done sooner.

Well I am happy I am in remission and have been for quite some time. Truly I am lucky and grateful that Humira is still helping.