Is Inflammatory Bowel Disease Contagious?
Monday April 28, 2008
Some people think that IBD is "all in your head." Some people think that IBD is caused by stress or a so-called Type A personality. We know that these aren't true. But now apparently some people are also concerned that IBD could be contagious. Could you pass IBD on to your spouse, your children, or other loved ones? Not likely -- find out why.
Comments
I just read through all these comments and my input is this: most of us UC sufferers seem to link antibiotics with the onset of UC. In my youth (I am now 61 yrs old), my family doctor prescribed antibiotics for EVERYTHING. I was diagnosed with UC (moderate to severe primarily located in the rectal area) in 1998. I underwent eight days of hospitalization, very, very ill. Since that time, I have been in and out of flares. At the moment, I am experiencing a flare of almost a month’s duration. Taking 30 mgm of prednisone (doc hates this as I already have osteoporosis), 6MP 50 mgm (on this steadily for four years and it HAS NOT kept me in remission), Flagyl, Colazal and Cort enemas. Not to mention the Benicar (for high blood pressure) and Toprol. I am trying my best to keep to a very light diet…soft boiled eggs, jello, probiotic yogurt, low-salt chicken broth for dinner, to no avail. I haven’t seen blood this morning which is a plus. Already lost eight pounds in four weeks. The doctor wants to start me on Remicade but I am very reluctant. Anyone have success with UC on Remicade?
Hi, I do know a friend of mine that has UC and is now trying Remicade for it. she has been doing great. For 3 years she was in and out of the hospital on Steroids and antibiotics, ulcers were coming out of her skin, it was really bad. Now with the Remicade she has been doing great. I myself have Crohns disease and been on Remicade and 6MP for about 4 years now and have doing great. Some days not so good but most days really good. It all depended on what i ate. I would say if nothing else is working and you are a good candidate for Remicade i would try it. You can always go back on what you were taking if the Remicade does not work, but you have to give it some time too, (i believe anyway) the only thing is, if the Remicade doesnt work and you get off it, you most likely will not be able to try it again, at least my doctor says that there is no guarantee that if the Remicade was doing good for you and then you get off to try something else and then go back on it, chances are it will not work at all. email me if you have any questions or just want to talk via email.
Hi Chrissy,
That’s my name too! I did a lot of reading about the Remicade. One thing I wanted to point out, which is important. Years ago, I worked as a lab tech in a hospital. I was exposed to TB but never came down with the disease. Some time later, I took a patch test for TB and it came back positive. This does not mean I have active TB, but from what I read about the Remicade, if you have been exposed to the TB, it just may become activated.
I am so happy for you that you are doing well on the Remicade. I lost a dear friend a few years back. She had Crohn’s Disease since 1984 and developed Addison’s Disease. Her thoughts were that she went off her prednisone too quickly. We know we have to taper this drug, apparently she didn’t. Well, one thing led to another. Her health went downhill and she died of sepsis in December of 05. She was only 58. Her only complaint before entering the hospital one week before Christmas was a very back back ache, which turned out to be infection of the kidneys. One sad story.
I would love to talk to you via email. You can email me at polishprincess46@yahoo.com